10 Balayage Highlight Ideas Perfect for Spring

By Victoria Moorhouse
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Like pastels, floral sundresses, and the need to furiously clean out your apartment, there's one spring beauty trend that returns every. single. season—Balayage highlights. Lucky for you, it also happens to be one of the most low maintenance.In you're unfamiliar with the term, "balayage" is a highlighting method where color or lightener is applied to the hair in a freehand painting technique, according to Nancy Braun, a L'Oreal Professionnel Artist and Owner/Hair Colorist at Balayage by Nancy Braun. The highlights are strategically placed on your hair, most commonly around the face, so that it mimics what the sun does naturally, and so you have little to no visible grow-out. Of course, that also means less frequent salon appointments and less cash.Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and basically every Victoria's Secret Angel iconically wear the look—there's a high chance one of their pictures accompanied your friend to the salon—and the technique is a favorite among top celebrity colorists for creating a super natural, seamless color for their clients.From warm and rich auburn tints to California blonde strands, keep scrolling to check out 10 balayage hair color ideas that'll finally convince you to get highlights this spring.
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Khloe Kardashian

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Khloe Kardashian's colorist Tracey Cunningham famously took her from a deep brunette to a bright blonde with this technique focused around the ends.

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Chrissy Teigen

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One of the best things about balayage is that it creates dimension within your hair color without being stripe-y. You can see the proof in Chrissy Teigen's hair, which features deep roots, golden browns, and cool blonde highlights.

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Jennifer Aniston

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

If you want to add more movement to blonde hair, look no further than Jennifer Aniston's multi-dimensional blonde strands.

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Gisele Bündchen

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If the word "ombré" makes you think of those dramatic gradients from 2008, it's time to rethink the word. It's purely a color shift, as demonstrated by Gisele Bündchen, and it can be done as subtly as you'd like.

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Jessica Biel

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It can be as seamless as Jessica Biel's hair color, which features more caramel, light-reflecting tones towards the bottom.

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Jenna Dewan Tatum

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The technique can be used to refresh dark brunette manes with chocolate brown strands placed around the face.

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Mindy Kaling

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Simply ask for more highlights placed all around the head for a more noticeable look, similar to Mindy Kaling.

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Sarah Jessica Parker

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SJP's hair features a high volume of highlights placed near her roots. The well-blended base allows for a cool, edgy grow-out without harsh lines.

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Shay Mitchell

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Want to try out the cool blonde trend without actually changing your hair color or going platinum? Problem solved. Just look to Shay Mitchell's ash-toned balayage highlights.

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Ciara

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Ciara's auburn-toned highlights bring warmth to her gorgeous base color.

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