Partial Balayage vs. Full Balayage: What’s the Difference?

Published April 29, 2022

Partial vs. full balayage? Both hair highlights are easy to love. Balayage is an effortlessly stylish hair trend achieved by hand-painted highlights. Clients appreciate the technique since it creates an authentic sun-kissed look and is much easier to maintain than traditional foils. To begin, you should get a better understanding of balayage before getting into the full balayage vs. partial debate.

Balayage Overview

The French word “Balayer,” which translates as “to sweep,” is where balayage got its name. The term refers to the method of coloring your hair, not to the color itself. Balayage is a procedure in which hairstylists paint highlights onto the hair by hand to achieve a more advanced, natural-looking highlight.

Balayage is a hair coloring procedure created by a French hairstylist for the purpose of achieving a natural highlight. The process involves hand-painting a thick combination of lightener onto a portion of hair with brushes in one of three different paint designs, namely, “Singles,” “Slants,” and “V’s.” Then, the designers apply lightener in a “sweeping” motion, starting thin at the roots and building up to the ends.

The procedure ensures complete control over the application of color and results in reduced overgrowth and increased contrast in the hair. As a result, you’ll have the finest natural-looking highlights you’ve ever seen. Due to the absence of heat and foils, the hair is left in great condition and free of stripes as a result of the elimination of foil lines.

Partial Balayage vs. Full Balayage

Full balayage is a method that involves the addition of highlights throughout your hair. This is an excellent and popular treatment for anyone who wants lighter hair without the constant care associated with root grow out.

Similar to full balayage, a freehand hair coloring method is used in a partial balayage, in which highlights are placed on a particular area of your hair rather than all over. Typically, it is applied around the face or to the upper layer of hair, with an emphasis on the ends.

Hair Styling and Coverage

If you’re looking for subtle style improvements, partial balayage is the way to go, while full balayage is for more radical alterations to your hair. Partial balayage involves fading or lightening your hair in sections, but the full balayage method thoroughly bleaches your hair, leaving only 5 to 7 cm of the root.

Time and Cost

As mentioned, full balayage means highlighting the entire hair, which takes slightly longer than a partial balayage process. A full balayage will take three, sometimes four, hours in the salon, whereas partial balayage only takes 45 minutes to finish.

Full balayage is always more expensive than partial balayage since it requires more appointments with the hairdresser. On average, full balayage costs from $250 to $500, depending on the location, and partial balayage costs from $70 to $130.