29 Trendy Balayage Looks For Short Hair
We bet you didn't know giving up on quirky hair colors isn't necessary for short-haired folks!
Christina Benjamin began her career nine years ago as a stylist at one of Michigan’s prominent salons in the Metropolitan Detroit area. This allowed her to master the cutting-edge technique many clients and celebrities sought. Being a driven and creative stylist, she specialized in short-hair custom cuts, color, and wig units.
Read full bio of Christina Benjamin
Experience: 8 yearsArshiya Syeda is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of StyleCraze with 8 years of experience. Prior to that, she was a content writer who combined her writing and research skills to write over 200 high-performing articles on hairstyles, hair care, and skin care.
Read full bio of Arshiya Syeda
Experience: 3 yearsAsmita De is an associate editor with over three years of experience. She graduated in English Literature from the University of Calcutta. She has collaborated with several digital companies and reputed publishing houses as an editor.
Read full bio of Asmita De
Experience: 2.5 yearsBhumika is a content writer with 2.5 years of expertise in crafting articles across diverse genres. She graduated from the University of Delhi and completed her post-graduation from Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi.
Read full bio of Bhumika Daga
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Trying the balayage technique on short hair might get dicey. Because of the length, you have to be more conscious of where and how you apply hair color to short hair. But here are 29 beautiful balayage short hair trends to inspire. Because a balayage done right on short hair is the best look! It can be quite challenging, but with the right technique, the outcome is amazing. Your hairstyle becomes more beautiful and fashionable. Don’t believe us? Just scroll and see for yourself! But before that, here’s how you can balayage short hair right at home!
Before You Get Started- You can experiment with different sectioning and coloring techniques like horizontal, diagonal, or zig-zag. So, talk to your hairstylist to pick the suitable one for you.
- Excessive washing may damage your balayage. Stick to 2 to 3 days of hair wash per week. You may use highlight-enhancing shampoos to maintain the color.
- Balayage requires touch-ups at a hair salon every 12-14 weeks for proper hair maintenance.
In This Article
How To Balayage Short Hair
You Will Need
- A Balayage Kit
- Clips For Sectioning
- Toothbrush
- Gloves
- An Old Shirt
- Comb
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
Method
- Brush/comb your hair to get rid of any tangles. Ensure that you are working with hair that hasn’t been washed in a couple of days.
- Put on your gloves and wear an old shirt that you wouldn’t mind getting stains on.
- Following the instructions on the balayage kit, mix the lightener and developer.
- If you have a bob or a lob, clip away the crown section of your hair and start working with the lower layers.
- Using a toothbrush, start applying the highlights onto your hair.
- Ensure the lights are heavier at the tips.
- Take thin and evenly spaced sections of hair and brush the lightening mixture onto your hair from the mid-lengths to create a “swept on” effect.
- If you have extremely short hair, apply the lightener only to the crown section of your hair.
- For bobs or lobs, unclip the crown section and apply the balayage to these layers.
- Once you’re done, leave the lightener on for the amount of time specified on the kit.
- Shampoo and condition your hair.
Key Takeaways
- It may get tricky to try balayage on short hair, so it is better to figure out where and how you want to apply it beforehand.
- Balayage is a technique of hair highlighting that can texture and dimension to your short hair.
- It is important to get touch-ups every 12 to 14 weeks to maintain it.
- You can choose from various balayage types to suit your preference, such as soft blonde balayage, high contrast, smooth transition, soft texture, etc.
29 Balayage Hair Color Ideas For Short Hair
Check out this selection of short hair balayage styles, each with a unique mix of tones and techniques. Take these as inspiration for your next salon visit!
1. Soft Blonde Balayage
The above bob effortlessly merges shades and subtle blonde highlights that work well for all face shapes and skin tones. With a brunette base, the balayage seamlessly brings everything together and portrays a minimalist look you can don anytime.
2. Platinum Blonde Balayage
The platinum blonde balayage is an alluring hairstyle you can bookmark for the frosty weather. The hairdo creates a deep texture and volume that is ideal for women with fine hair, while the babylights soften the face and accentuate the best facial features. A stunning hue and cut you can opt for if you gravitate towards humble styles.
3. High Contrast
It is so hard to achieve the perfect high contrast style with short hair, but this artist has done the look complete justice. The deep brown roots smoothly blend out to a pale blonde, creating a drop root effect in this chic pixie. The dark undercut helps add dimension, emphasizing the darker roots.
Trivia4. Fiery Gradient
This style is on fire! The hairstyle quite literally looks like a flame with the strawberry ginger hair blending out to a warm but pale blonde. The undercut adds to the flame-inspired style while also helping add the illusion of length of to the face.
5. Soft Contrast
We love how this style has the perfect amount of texture. Because the short style is stacked at the back, only the crown layers have been lightened using the balayage technique, creating a smooth blend that does not add too much texture to the already existing volume. This look is perfect for smooth silky hair.
6. Gray Pixie
We love our pixies! Especially when they hop onto the granny train. The gray balayage on this undercut pixie if one of the most badass looks we’ve come across. The black roots seamlessly blend into the gray lights, creating one of the smoothest transitions we’ve seen.
7. Rooted Sterling
The lights on this look start very close to the roots, creating a drop root effect. The sterling gray has been swept on to create a textured gray look that is just accentuated with the dark roots. This is one of the simplest and cutest sterling gray looks we’ve come across and we absolutely adore the style.
8. Unicorn Balayage
There is no highlighting technique that can’t be unicorned. We love how the vivid pastels in this style have been painted onto this A-line bob to create a sweeping effect. So much so that it is sweeping us right off of our feet. The streaks begin very close to the roots, creating a drop root effect and we are positive that this style will look as stunning fading out as it does freshly painted.
Trivia9. Dirty Blonde Babylights
We love the subtlety that comes with the babylights effect. This balayage has a transition so smooth that it makes the style looks like it faded out naturally. The style has texture and depth, making it perfect for women with short hairstyles and fine hair.
10. Strawberry Blonde Texture
Talk about volume. If you love texture and volume, this style is for you. The transition from black to strawberry blonde begins very close to the roots on this bob. The blonde is multi-hued to add texture while the roots add depth. But that’s not it. The tips of the sections towards the front of the hair have been further lightened so that they perfectly frame the face.
11. Smooth Transition
There are few things we love more than the perfect smooth long crop, and one of them is perfect blending. The warm tones of the rich brown base of this style have been seamlessly blended out to a cooler blonde. This look is chic and glossy perfection.
12. Purple Texture
We love unnatural colors. Especially when the styles they’re used incorporate expert fading. This purple balayage on a pixie starts with a black base that transitions to a deep purple, which blends out to a rosy lavender. We heart the balayage ombre effect that this look has.
13. Purple Rose Melt
Talking about expert fading, they’re even better when you incorporate more than one color. The natural black has been beautifully painted with shades of purple and rose gold, and we’re head over heels in love with the result of the balayage. The black roots blend out to a purple, which beautifully fades into a rose gold.
14. Cherry Pixie
Using multiple shades from the same color palette is the best way to add texture, and this look does just that. The style has multiple shades of cherry red, adding dimension to this cute short pixie. The lighter hues allow the color to pop while the darker ones add depth. Christina Benjamin, a licensed cosmetologist, adds, “ This is a beautiful fall or holiday festive color for a crop short haircut.”
15. Blonde Contrast
The best way to balayage a short style that has volume at the crown is to ensure that the lights are heavy towards the front of the crown. That is exactly what this style does. With heavy lights at the front, the side swept fringe perfectly frames the face creating the perfect tousled look.
16. Textured Ginger
This is the shortest balayage style we’ve come across and we’ve mesmerized by the colors and the amount of precision. The ginger base has been expertly blended out to a fiery orange toward the front of the crown while the sides and back retain the natural base color. Licensed cosmetologist Christina Benjamin says, “This is what patience and a steady hand can create. The attention to detail in the cut and color is amazing. I love the color placement and variations of ginger.”
17. Dirty Blonde Balayage Pixie
We love how defined this balayage is. The high contrast on this style has been minimized by expert blending. The crown has been evenly blended out to a lighter brown than the base. The artist then spruced up the volume at the crown with defined lights that add the perfect amount of texture. This refined technique showcases a stunning blonde balayage hair look, balancing contrasting parts of the hair beautifully.
18. Dirty Blonde Texture
If you have fine hair and need texture, this is the style for you. The natural dirty bronde base has been blended out to a dark dirty blonde. The color has been swept on, creating the perfect amount of texture and depth.
19. Brown Balayage
The balayage on this style is so subtle, yet so gorgeous. The dark brown has been toned out to a lighter brown. The mid-lengths have splashes of lighter color to help add movement. The dark roots add depth while swept on balayage effect adds texture.
20. Soft Texture
This is the perfect sun-kissed balayage to sport if you have fine wavy hair. The look adds subtle texture. The natural base has been seamlessly blended out. The look is low maintenance, soft, and rooty. Being completely on trend and low on maintenance.
21. Ash Babylights
This ash hair color has a babylights effect and has been blended out with the perfect amount of texture for the granny hair look. The A-line bob has lighter strands of gray near the front and a heavy rooted look from the back. Christina Benjamin agrees with this lovely pick saying, “I’m in love with this cool sultry look. The color and cut is a 10 for me!”
22. Charcoal Melt
We thought we’d seen most perfect blends until we stumbled upon this style. The dark black roots have been seamlessly blended out to a light charcoal. The balayage ombre look has been perfected with color that has been swept on to create texture while retaining the smoothness of the look.
23. Dirty Flamingo
Dirty pastels have become our new favorite trend and this color is helping nail the look. The dark roots add depth to the style. The color has been swept on to create texture. While the balayage starts very close to the roots and does not have a very evident fade, the look is sure to grow out seamlessly.
24. Ice Melt
We’re scouring the dictionary to find the right words to describe this look because it has rendered us utterly speechless. The black at the base has been blended out to a beautiful metallic blue. The artist has created the perfect balayage by painting on streaks of silver over the blue and blending the blue out to a beautiful ashy sterling.
25. Peekaboo Balayage
It’s safe to say that we’ve not come across many looks that are more dimensional than this one. The rich brown base has been faded out to a mahogany brown, which then taken on vivid blues, reds, and yellows. The balayage at the crown incorporates a neat transition from brown to blue whereas the lower layers have been painted in vibrant reds and yellows, creating the perfect balayage and peekaboo crossover. Balayage on short layered hair accentuates the natural layers and adds dimension and depth to the short hair making it appear dense.
26. Subtle Brown
We cannot get over how classy this subtle brown fade looks. The balayage looks so natural, sprucing up the style just enough to add dimension. The hair has been lightened from the higher lengths, near the framing sections. The transition starts closer to the mid-lengths around the back. If you want the perfectly natural sun-kissed look leaving none the wiser about your color job, this one’s for you.
27. Sterling Blue
We love the cool tones on this one. The black hair perfectly blends out to a sterling blue. The artist has incorporated movement and definition by adding splashes of silver in the style, making it dimensional and textured.
28. Brown Blonde Balayage
This elegant brown balayage on short hair looks like every girl’s dream. The subtle shade change into blonde at the tips adds texture and dimension to your hair. The hair color is ideal if you want to change your appearance without coloring your entire hair.
29. Ombre Balayage
Who said you can’t combine multiple colors to form one hairstyle? This hairstyle uses purple and different shades of green to create a trendy and versatile hair color. Alternate the color sequence from cool to warm undertones for fun and colorful results.
All these short hair balayage ideas showcase the versatility of the technique. So whether you are aiming for an easygoing look or something more classy, here are styling tips to keep you looking your best and fabulous. Check them out below!
Styling Tips For A Balayage On Short Hair
The balayage is one of the most popular hair trends, especially when you want to add depth and dimension to your locks. Whether it’s a bob, pixie, or any other short hairstyle, balayage highlights really give your hair texture and brightness. Here are a few more practical styling tips for making the most out of your balayage short hair:
- Use a texturizing spray or mousse to add some extra volume to your locks, especially at the roots. They leave your hair looking more feathery, and each little wave gives nice depth to the color.
- Balayage and beach waves go hand in hand with each other, more so with short hair. Try using a curling iron or flat iron for loose, tousled waves. This style is perfect for dressing down for casual outings or a weekend look!
- Waves give you a relaxed look that is perfect for casual outings, while straight hair can be really sleek and classy, ideal for formal events or business meetings. Use a straightening iron and style it straight for more contrast in the light and dark colors, ideal for special or formal occasions.
- Heat protectants not only protect your hair from damage but also preserve color and shine in your balayage.
- Limit exposure to heat as it can cause fading and loss of vibrancy.
- Accessorizing using hairpins, a headband, or a scarf will enhance the look of your balayage.
- Get your hair trimmed and refresh the color from time to time so that your look remains fresh. Since your hair grows out pretty fast, it is necessary to hold the shape and structure of the cut. It also prevents split ends.
Balayage short hair creates depth and dimension, and you can really style it well with these tips. Provided you care for your hair regularly, use the right techniques while styling your hair, and have a little creativity using accessories, then you will be more than ready to show off your balayage.
Infographic: 7 Popular Balayage Hairstyles For Short Hair
If you think balayage hairstyles are only meant for medium and long hair types, you are mistaken. This hair fashion work on all hair lengths and even very short hair. Balayage gives the tresses a perfect, sun-kissed look and adds dimension to the mane. This hairstyle looks effortless and blends well with natural hair. Check out the infographic below to take a look at some of the most popular balayage hairstyles for short hair.
Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team
The perfect balayage short hair looks shared on this post are inspiring enough to challenge the notion that balayage only looks good on long hair. On short hair, this hair coloring technique adds contrast and oomph. While it may be tricky to get it right, balayage short hair can stump other hairstyles flat once done well. As balayage is a coloring technique rather than a hair color, it is important to consult a hair stylist before you get it done. You can choose your favorite shades and even ombre to get the perfectly accentuated and decorated crop of hair on your head.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is balayage safer than highlights?
Balayage is more damaging than highlights as the process requires stronger hair dye and bleaching agents to get the desired results and careful and proper hair care to prevent any hair issues.
How long does a balayage take on short hair?
On short hair, a full balayage takes about 1.5 – 2 hours, while partial highlights may take 1-1.5 hours. Christina Benjamin, a licensed cosmetologist, adds, “This is true granted you do not have any color correction or previous color to remove. This may increase the timing of the service to achieve the desired color.”
What is the difference between a balayage and an ombre?
Balayage is a hair coloring technique where hair color is painted over tresses in a sweeping movement with a free hand. An ombre is a hair coloring trend where the hair is darker at the roots, gradually getting lighter at the ends.
How much is a balayage on short hair?
Getting a balayage on short hair can range from 70$-150$, depending on whether you get partial or full highlights.
Illustration: Trendy Balayage Looks For Short Hair
Image: Dall·E/StyleCraze Design Team
Want to wear your short hair in a new way? Check out the amazing video below that shows how to achieve the perfect balayage highlight for a stunning, natural-looking finish.
Read full bio of Christina Benjamin
Read full bio of Arshiya Syeda
Read full bio of Asmita De
Read full bio of Bhumika Daga
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