Reverse Balayage Is Perfect For A Subtle And Low-Maintenance Look

If you've gone into the salon to lighten your hair at all over the past few years, you're probably familiar with balayage, a low-maintenance hair color technique that lightens sections of hair to give it an overall sun-kissed appearance. Balayage is a great technique to use when you want to give your hair a naturally lived-in look that could easily pass for your normal hair color, and it's especially popular when transitioning your hair to the warmer months, as it can brighten your appearance.

But what if you're looking to skip the bleach and make your highlights pop without going lighter? Or, perhaps you're simply trying to transition back to your natural color? There's a technique for that, too: reverse balayage. Reverse balayage is the perfect coloring trend for when you're looking to add some depth to your current color. Instead of lightening sections of hair, reverse balayage darkens sections of hair to give your color some dimension.

Reverse balayage is also a great option if you're looking to seamlessly let your hair grow out into its natural color or even if you're just looking for something a little bit different but don't want to switch up your look too much. Because reverse balayage tends to allow your hair to grow out nicely, you won't need to get it touched up often, making it the perfect stress-free style. Interested in trying it out the next time you go to the salon? Here's some reverse balayage inspo to get you started.

When getting reverse balayage, it can be tempting to ask for warmer or cooler tones depending on your personal preference. However, if you're looking for a super subtle and low-maintenance look, keep your tones pretty neutral. Neutral shades will go well with any season and allow your root growth to look more natural if you slowly transition back to your natural color.

Anyone who's ever bleached their hair knows that it involves a ton of maintenance; sometimes, it's too much to keep up with! You may be ready to go dark again, but perhaps you don't want to do it in one fell swoop. Enter: reverse balayage. Reverse balayage allows you to darken your hair gradually so you can still hold onto some sun-kissed bits for a little while longer.

Reverse balayage is also a great technique to use if you're looking to tone down warmer hair colors. A beautiful copper tone can sometimes look brassy, but adding sections of darker hair into the mix helps keep the warmth from being too overwhelming.

Looking to take your hair from summer to fall? Start to transition your hair into the cooler months by getting a dark brown reverse balayage dye job. If you don't want to go all dark brown, don't; just use the reverse balayage technique to add some dimension back into your hair, and go into the salon every few months to brighten your lighter pieces, too.

Maybe you love how your lighter strands brighten up your face, and are hesitant to go dark because of it. Don't be! Simply ask your stylist for a reverse balayage, and say you'd like to keep more bright sections around your face. You'll still get dimension added into your hair without compromising the brightness of your front pieces of hair.

Have you embraced an ultra-neutral medium-ashy blond as your normal hair color? We're sure it looks stunning on you, but there's a chance it could look even more stunning by adding some dark caramel tones into the mix using the reverse balayage technique. You'll keep that ashy blond look (especially if you ask your stylist to stay away from the strands around your face), but you'll add some stunning depth into the mix.

If you can pull off bright red or copper tones in your hair, first of all, we're exceptionally jealous. But maybe your usual copper hair color isn't cutting it for you. If that's the case, go ahead and add some dark copper tones to your hair. This can help tone down an ultra-bright head of hair and also offers a great way to do some color correction to copper strands that may be too warm for your liking.

Let's be honest: Getting your hair colored often isn't super budget-friendly, and a color job that requires regular maintenance only adds to the strain on your wallet. If money has been tight for you recently, reverse balayage is a great hair color technique to ask for, as it doesn't require super frequent touch-ups. Plus, we love the depth it's added to the linen blond hair color pictured above.

Maybe you've heard of the popular "brond" (half brown, half blond) color trend recently and are dying to hop on that train. If that's the case, we have a simple solution. You guessed it: reverse balayage. Reverse balayage is the best technique to use when you want your color to toe the line between brown and blond, making it perfectly suitable year-round.

Do you love your lighter hair, but for some reason, it's seemed a little blah recently? If you're looking to switch it up without sacrificing your blond strands completely, reverse balayage could be the way to go. It will add a wealth of dimension to your hair without darkening all of it — perfect for when you need just a little something different.

If you've decided you're done coloring your hair entirely and want an easy way to grow it out seamlessly, go into the salon one last time and get a reverse balayage color job. Reverse balayage can make the transition from even a sunwashed blond to an ultra-dark brown as smooth as can be.