ideal coloring to avoid root effect and enhance white hair (photos before/after)

Very trendy in 2024, inverted balayage is an ideal coloring technique to enhance your hair and your hair bring more contrast while offering a natural result. Contrary to scanningwhich allows you to lighten fine hair strands and create a “highlight”, reverse balayage involves darkening the hair strands give a “low light” effect.. The goal of these two techniques is to give greater dimension and contrast to the hair, but with different undertones.

Because it brings darker shades to the hair, inverted balayage is often recommended for light to medium, natural or colored hair (blonde, dark bluebrown) but also for those who want camouflage what we call “root effect“. Hairstylist Thomas Tuccinardi, an expert in this technique, shares some before/afters on his Instagram account.

Reverse balayage, the ideal technique to avoid the root effect

After a little too much bleaching or highlighting (often done poorly), the hair regrowth can be very visible and create streaks at the roots. This is what we call the “root effect”. To make up for this i mix the root with the rest of the hair without bleaching the hair again, reverse balayage is highly recommended. It allows you to create harmony throughout the hair, keeping certain points of light on the length, without the need to go through the bleaching phase. Hairstylist Thomas Tuccinardi explains that he achieves this result by applying different glosses to the hair. The only downside is the longevity of this cleanser, which fades with every shampoo and you’ll need it refresh after 6 to 8 weeks.

The benefit of doing reverse balayage on white hair

By bringing darker shades to the hair, reverse balayage can be very interesting white hair. Gives more dimension to the hair, create contrast and a contouring effect. Enough to give the hair a less “straight” and less soft side, while remaining natural and tone-on-tone. It can also be suitable for gray hair that lacks harmony, with lighter or darker highlights in certain areas.

Reverse balayage and gray blending, what are the differences?

Very trendy too, gray blending is a technique that consists of a combination of the classic balayage technique and reverse balayage to create contrasts within salt and pepper hair. Highlights can be darkened or lightened as needed to add more shine or dimension. Indeed, in certain cases, it is sometimes recommended to go through a bleaching phase to lighten certain areas of gray hair or hair. Then we are talking about gray blending, not reverse balayage. Blending grays can also be interesting for those who want to transition from colored hair to natural white hair and have a “root effect”. The hairdresser will bleach the lengths to blend them with the white roots.

In short: Advantages and disadvantages of reverse erasure

Its advantages:

• Provides more dimension and contrast to light/medium hair
• It allows you to avoid going through the discoloration phase
• Makes it possible to camouflage the effect of dark roots/light lengths
• It brings more dimensions to white hair

His weak points:

• It requires regular salon maintenance
• Not suitable for dark hair
• Not suitable for those who have the effect of light roots/dark lengths

Head of beauty/fitness/nutrition department

After working for the Marie Claire and Prisma Media groups, Inès arrived at aufeminin in April 2022. She is responsible for the beauty, fitness and nutrition departments, and loves to decipher the latest…