Last fall, I decided to go fully dark. This was due to a few reasons, with the main being that I had had a balayage for so long I almost forgot what I looked like with my natural hair colour. It was also becoming kind of trendy to go natural and voluminous, and that's what I was aiming for. The initial chocolate brown was gorgeous, done by Toni & Guy. Over time though, as my postpartum hair grew out to its original thickness & regained its much darker, almost jet-black colour, my head started looking really heavy. It felt like a one dimensional drape, and I started missing the tumbling layers, depth and complexity that a balayage gave it. That's when I decided to reach out to Marcus from Toni & Guy once again, a whole year later, to help me ease back into highlights.
The whole process from start to finish, including Marcus's famously meticulous hair cuts, took just short of five hours. I sat down at 11am, and left the salon by 4pm. This was honestly great for me, as I have - no joke - sat down for around 10-11 hours for past balayage sessions. Depending on how thick and long your hair is, and what kind of colour you want to achieve, it may take less or more time. For me, I specified natural, elegant, and ashy-blonde, which would wash out to a lighter colour over time. I'll call this the "upgraded" balayage, which is a lot less dramatic than the bright blonde highlights I used to get in my 20's -- like no makeup-makeup, but for your hair.
The photo on the left is how my hair looked after Marcus's haircut & blow-dry (1.5 hours in), and the photo on the right is how my hair looked immediately after the bleaching, colouring, toning, blow drying & styling (done by Toni & Guy's main hair colourist, sorry I cannot recall his name!). You can see the subtle yet very effective result afterwards - how much more "organised" and rejuvenated my hair looks vs before.
I got my balayage done on Sep 23, and a week later, my hair lightened up a little (photo 1 - Oct 2). The 2nd photo with my friend is from Oct 5, which is how it looks now! I am super happy with it, and I also secretly love how it reminds me just a little bit of the carefree person I was before baby. Trust me when I say you'll be so pleased with your decision of going to Marcus at Toni & Guy for your first cut/balayage!
Toni & Guy Hong Kong
Address: G/F 15 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2191 9819
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