Balayage and Ombre have been all the rage for the past few years. It started with dip-dye, and eventually evolved into ombre, balayage, and then a fusion of both. I believe the end-goal is for a natural looking colour that’s easy to maintain because it’s not dyed to the roots but still noticeable. I’ve also been on the trend for a while because plain black hair just isn’t my thing and I’m definitely not rich enough to dye my whole head and keep maintaining the colour with my quick growing hair which ends up with nasty looking harsh roots. So, I took a step further this year and not only chopped off a lot of my hair, but also dyed it a vibrant, beautiful purple. Here’s how I did it:
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Where did I do to get the purple balayage done?
I got my hair done by Paris from Ritual Salon in Toronto. It’s a little hidden away, but it’s definitely a gem. Not only is the inside aesthetics, but the service quality for all their services is amazing. Now, I haven’t tried any services beyond hair, but from what I could see on social media, there’s no disappointment. I found this salon through Paris, whom I found online looking up hashtags like #torontohairstylist, #torontohair and so forth.
And I know I’ve gone to many different hairstylists before to get my many years of ombre and balayage done, but no shade to any of my past stylists, they also did a fantastic job. However, for what I wanted this time, Paris seemed to be the perfect match. Not to mention the salon is in Toronto, which I do visit very often being a Toronto Youtuber.
How much did it cost?
It cost a pretty average price for what I wanted. I feel like if I went to any other regular salon, they’d offer the services for more or less the same price. I often don’t like to give out the actual prices online because I don’t want it to waver the opinions of whether people want to get their hair done by the salon or not. However, I promise you, it is a pretty standard price. As I’ve said time and time again, I’m not rich enough to get super expensive things and hair itself is already pricy, so you know I’m always looking for a deal if possible. I’d say the best thing to do would be to call in and schedule for a consultation to figure out exactly how much everything will cost all together for the purple balayage or whatever you plan on getting. I really did like the consultation with Paris because we went over everything together from pictures to what I wanted or was thinking about to the actual conclusive price. I feel like most salons don’t give a conclusive price often.
What did you ask for?
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When it comes to getting purple balayage, ombre, or anything really, a reference picture is always the best way to ask for something. Many hairstylists are very visual people and unless you’re giving them the power of creativity, if you want to get exactly what you asked for, give them a photo of exactly what you want. I brought in some photos of ombres, how I wanted the purple balayage to look, the colour, and also a specific length I wanted my hair to look. And from where we brainstormed a bit and spoke about how the colour would fade and what colour would be best. Although, aside from the specifics of what I asked for, generally, my main goal was a mix of purple balayage and ombre, a shorter straight cut with textured ends (so it won’t look like a mop with how much hair I have), and for it to be dark and vibrant purple.
How long did it take?
The whole process took about 4 hours, which may seem like a lot to people who haven’t bleach and dyed their hair before and very little for those who have. Keep in mind, I did have blonde balayage from the previous year already in my hair and my hair lightens pretty quickly. So, overall, less bleaching would be needed to get the super light blond that the purple would sit on. I kept the bleach in my hair for about 30 minutes and didn’t have to go under a fan (thankfully). I actually hate going under fans with bleach, I always feel like I’m suffocating from the bleach fumes.
How is the current state of your hair (healthy or not)?
My hair is pretty resilient in my opinion. It doesn’t take damage too easily, especially when it comes to dyeing. Obviously, whenever you bleach it does damage your hair, but my hair still stays rather silky and not brittle feeling. I’m not sure why it does that, but I would assume a big part of it would be me not using many heat products in my hair out of laziness and only washing it twice a week (which is now once a week since I coloured it).
However, I do have to point out that it will probably get damaged more than usual- or rather more than it naturally would from wind/sun/etc because I do find myself straightening it more often now. Before I’d never straighten or curl it with heat tools, so that will take a toll on my hair. No biggie, I’ll just chop it off if it gets too dead.
What is your current hair routine and colour maintenance?
In short, I just avoid washing my hair for as long as possible.
If you have anymore questions about my purple balayage, feel free to comment down below or message me on any of my social medias!
Want to see what else I’ve done to my hair? Check it out here:
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