The Money Piece: How To Adjust For Natural Or Bold Balayage

How To Use Strategic Placement To Modernize Your Balayage

Classy, customizable and serving up the effortless, lived-in looks clients are booking for, balayage is never going out of style. But like all trends, balayage is rapidly modernizing to cater to every client’s dream hair—whether that’s a more natural, blended result or dramatic, high-impact contrast.

Don’t worry—Alfaparf Milano National Artistic Director Cassie Siskovic (@cassiskovic) and Professional USA Guest Artist Grayson Troy (@graysontroy) shared their secrets to both: A strategic money piece.

Swipe to see Grayson’s before and after:

Watch the step-by-step process behind each technique with BTCTV!

Use the money piece to map out high-contrast dimension.

What looks more natural when straightened and pops when curled? Grayson’s high-contrast, lived-in balayage, and the key to creating it is all in the placement. The best place to start? The money piece, where clients will see the most face-framing brightness.

Tap the beaker for Grayson’s high-contrast formula!

• Formula A (face frame)

  Alfaparf Milano BB Bleach High Lift 9 Tones + Alfaparf Milano 20-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer + 30-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer (1:1)

• Formula B (lowlight)

  Alfaparf Milano Color Wear Gloss Toner 05N + 07.35 + 9.5-volume activator (1:2)

• Formula C (base)

  Alfaparf Milano Evolution of the Color 5 + 6 + 10-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer

• Formula D (global toner)

  Alfaparf Milano Evolution of the Color Senses Collection 9.45 + 10-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer

• Formula E (face frame toner)

  Evolution of the Color Senses Collection 10.05 + 10-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer

Here’s how Grayson kicks off his technique:

1. Start by sectioning off the Mohawk, following the round of the head. This will create depth on top of the money piece.
2. Section your money piece, adding an extra finger length toward the back. Remember, a money piece may LOOK small a first glance, but it reveals a lot of weight when it’s curled or pulled back.
3. Begin foiling alternating babylights and teasylights from the side of the head at a diagonal back, starting with a babylight right at the scalp. Overdirect and tease to drop each subsequent foil.
4. The last foil in the fringe should be the farthest up, almost beyond the round of the head. Tease and weave. 
5. The result: A seamless start to a front-to-back blend, placing solid brightness in the front and dimensional depth in the back.

Pro tip: Don’t leave any hair out of the foils—especially around the face where we want the balayage to be brightest! Grayson likes to weave down instead of up to make sure no hair is left behind.

Want to recreate the look? Find an Alfaparf Milano distributor near you!

Create a more natural, blended balayage by pivoting.

For clients who would rather have a more natural, seamless result, Cassie’s ultra-blended balayage technique with gloss toner is the way to go. Trust us—this low-contrast, “Italian” balayage makes your client’s hair look like the lightener is growing straight from the root. 

Click the beaker for Cassie’s formula!

• Formula A (face frame)

  Alfaparf Milano BB Bleach Easy Lift 7 Tones + Alfaparf Milano 10-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer

• Formula B (base)

  Alfaparf Milano Color Wear Cream 13g 9.3 + 2g 8.44 + 3 pumps Alfaparf Milano Pigments Rose Copper + 5-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer (1:2)

• Formula C (color melt)

  Color Wear Gloss Toner 010.04 + 9.5-volume Oxid'o Peroxide Cream Developer (1:2)

Here’s Cassie’s go-to technique for maximum impact with less foils:

1. Start by carving out little baby hairs right at the hairline. Avoid creating rigid shapes.
2. Create a very fine weave, then pivot to complement the round of the head and avoid harsh lines of demarcation.
3. With the final foil, connect the face frame to the interior with a “brightening weave,” or a very soft shatter toward the interior paired with a bold slice.
4. Cassie also recommends using the recession area as your pivot point so the foils sit parallel to the part line. The result: A pop of color with diffusion on the interior.

Pro tip: Make sure to pay attention to how light your client’s ends are–even if they’ve never colored their hair before! While Cassie’s client has plenty of natural lightness on her ends, you may have to tip out the ends on clients who don’t for a more seamless result.

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