From hair colors for short hair to celeb-inspired looks to hair ideas for different cuts, here’s everything about balayage short hair!
(Also check out: Balayage vs Ombre: All Questions Answered About the Hair Color Trends)
Balayage gives the sun-kissed look. Personally, I love balayage hair as it’s more natural, low-maintenance and also an easy way to color your hair right at home. How convenient?! Yeah, A lazy person like me would love the easiest life hacks!
So let’s go through some balayage short hair ideas. From colors to hair trend to celeb looks, here’s everything you need to know before coloring your short hair. Let’s check out!
Balayage Short Hair Ideas
Balayage is done without brushes, unlike the highlights where foils and brushes are used. So it’s applied by hands for a natural sun-kissed look. This coloring technique creates dimension as it is applied on random strands. It is also low maintenance compared to other hair application techniques.
1. Short Hair Color Ideas
The hair color trends for balayage that you need to try are different shades of brown – dark chocolate, caramel, light golden brown, the classic retro style honey blonde and even bright highlights like violet, burgundy, orange and yellow!
2. How to Choose the Right Color for Balayage on Short Hair?
Coloring for short hair is a great idea! So what if you have already experimented with your hair length?! You can go ahead and color and look chic! So, just like any other hair color techniques, even in balayage there are a few steps to choose the right color.
- First of all, balayage is all about making the hair color look as natural as possible. So, it’s ideal to choose two shades lighter than your natural hair color. For example, copper, golden brown and medium chocolate brown look good for dark brown hair. For natural black hair, dark chocolate brown works well.
- It is also important to choose a color that complements your skintone. If you have warmer under tones then darker shades of highlights work well like latte or medium brown. If you have cooler tones, then colors like ash and honey blonde work well.
3. Balayage Short Hair Ideas for Different Cuts
No matter how short or long short (if that make sense) your hair is, balayage can be done in many different ways. Of course, the base point remains the same that the hair color should look natural. So, the balayage placement is important.
Choose the high points of your hair where you can create the sun-kissed look. Also, randomize the strands of hair to keep it more natural. You can even play with intensity for a relaxed look. Always show a pic of the style you want to your colorist, so it’ll be easy for them to understand what’s in your mind. Here are some celeb examples of different haircuts and short hair color ideas:
A. Balayage Pixie Cut
Coloring hair for pixie haircut seems tricky. But balayage for pixie is easier than highlights. Partial balayage on random strands is a good idea. Or you can highlight the front tips. Check out Anne Hathway’s chocolate brown and dark brown balayage hair.
B. Balayage for A Line Bob
A-line bob is wherein the hair in the front is slightly longer than the back. Try more than two colors to create a natural yet sophisticated look. In fact, go for a different color in the front and a different color at the back to create a statement.
C. Balayage Short Bob
Go for more intensified color on the hair tips that in your case, fall at ear level. And keep it as naturala as possible on the crown. I loved Emily Browning’s darker hair tips.
D. Lob Balayage
Try coloring only a few strands of hair starting from the ear level. Take cues from Margot Robbie for a sophisticated look. You can try subtle ombré short hair balayage by opting for higher intensity at the root tips.
E. Medium Length Balayage
You can try coloring your hair that’s similar to lob balayage. Randomize the color at the hair tips.
4. Blonde Balayage
Blonde is a popular hair color. From runways to actresses to the Kardashians, the blonde has hit a new high! If the shade is chosen rightly, blonde balayage highlights work well for all shades of brown and black hair colors. For balayage brown hair, try honey blonde, light brownish blonde and chocolate blonde hair colors highlights. For black hair, try ash blonde and golden blonde!
Also check out: Blonde Hair with Lowlights: 21 Chic Ideas to Choose From
5. Brunette Balayage
Brunette highlights give the most natural sun-kissed effect on brown hair. A typical go-to color for brown haired girls. Well, when I cut my hair short, I’ll come back and read this section for tips! Check out some balayage short hair color ideas for brunettes…
A. Light Brown Hair with Highlights
Girls with light brown hair should go for latte, chestnut and honey. Light brown hair with caramel highlights is perfect example of brunette balayage.
B. Short Dark Hair with Highlights
For dark brown hair balayage, try ginger and caramel highlights. Other choices include copper and auburn.
Also read: Highlights for Brown Hair: 35 Celeb-Inspired Highlights & Lowlights Ideas
6. Balayage on Black Hair
Black hair in itself is beautiful and natural, but can be enhanced with balayage. Brown might be an ideal choice for balayage on dark hair. But you can create a statement by sporting short hair highlights like mahogany, ash blonde or pink, too! Check out other balayage dark hair ideas!
a. Burgundy Hair with Caramel Highlights
b. Black Hair with Blue Highlights
c. Black Hair with Red Highlights
d. Black Hair with Auburn Highlights
e. Black Hair With Caramel Highlights
7. Ombré on Short Hair
Ombré hair color gives a bold look. You can go for a striking difference between the darker roots to lighter tips ombré or a subtle (sombré) one. Ombré on short hair works well if it’s a bob or at the most, a short bob. But then it’s not a good idea for cropped pixie cuts.
For a really bold look, you can go for a color that’s three shades lighter than your natural hair color or bright colors like red, blue or green. Or if you wanna keep it simple and natural, then go for a combination of both ombré and balayage and choose a shade closer to your natural one.
8. Subtle Balayage for Short Hair
Highlights look prominent and can change your entire look. However, balayage can be done really subtly. You can go for a subtle balayage with a natural hair color. Or you can try partial balayage just at the front.
And the best part is you can even do it yourself. If you’re wondering, how, check out an entire DIY balayage tutorial and advice for balayage short hair at home!
9. How to Maintain Short Hair with Highlights
Maintaining balayage short hair is no different than long hair. Of course, the pros are, it’s easy to maintain compared to long hair and even if your balayage goes wrong (I’m sorry, I hope that won’t happen), it’s easy to fix it in less time and money (yay! happy dance)! So, coming back to maintaining short balayage hair, here are a few tips:
- Choose a shampoo that’s color hair specific. Also, condition your hair after you shampooing, but avoid it touching your scalp as extra product buildup can cause dandruff.
- Choose a shampoo that suits your hair type. If you have dry hair, go for a clarifying shampoo or if you encounter dandruff or hairfall after coloring, go for the best shampoo for color treated hair that suits you.
- Use a mild shampoo that produces less lather. The more lather it produces, the faster the color fades.
- Also, hair masks are great for dry hair as they restore the moisture. Try herbal products as much as you can.
- Reduce the usage of heat products. Since, you have short hair, there’s lesser amount of styling required. So, let it dry naturally as much as possible, as it’s good to keep your hair healthy and lustrous.
- For more info, check out our list of ideas for Best Shampoo for Color Treated Hair
So, these were a few balayage short hair ideas. Which color are you gonna try? Let us know! Tag us @shilpaahujadotcom on Instagram. We would love to see your looks!
Also read:
– Hair Color Ideas for Balayage Ombre and Trendy Hair Highlights
– Highlights and Lowlights: What’s the Difference & What’s Right for You
– What Are Underlights & How to Rock the Hidden Highlights Trend
–Best Shampoo for Color Treated Hair: Make Those Highlights Last
Sahana is a Senior Staff Writer at ShilpaAhuja.com. With an experience in fashion and lifestyle writing, Sahana is responsible for Indian and international fashion week coverage every year, and is developing an expertise in apparel trend forecasting. She also writes about health and fitness, having pursued yoga for 6 years now. She’s not a gym person at all but is all for “running in the park” and is an amateur cyclist. Books and coffee are her other passions. She’s also an amateur photographer. She’s a hardcore Bollywood fan and she loves to cover the nostalgic topics on the same. From fashion trends to famous characters, she can make anyone love Bollywood! Her best article has been 90s Bollywood fashion, a readers’ favorite so far! Prior to her experience with ShilpaAhuja.com, Sahana has written as a freelance author for online magazine, Mashup Corner, and interned at EventsHigh as a content writer. Her blogs on basic fashion, makeup, fitness and city’s food joints that gave her a chance to experiment with her writing. She also has voiced her opinions about feminism and equal rights for men and women at PolkaCafe journals and after quitting her job, she decided to take up writing as her full time career.
Sahana is an engineering graduate and has worked in an MNC, Tesco, for more than a year as an Operations Support. It was her sheer love for fashion that made her quit the monotonous 9 to 5 job to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She’s originally from Bangalore and is currently settled in Chennai (she’s loving the city)! For any queries and discussions, contact her at [email protected]. You can also tweet her at https://twitter.com/Sahana_17