If you've never been able to pick a side of the highlights vs. balayage debate, now you'll never have to. Meet colour melting: The low-maintenance, high-payoff hair dyeing method that brings the best of both worlds.
Colour melting is a hand-painting technique that adds brightness, dimension, and movement to hair without demanding constant upkeep. As to why (else) it's trending right now? “Winter often calls for a softer, more natural style,” Nick Stenson, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Nick Stenson Beauty says. “People are looking for low-maintenance ways to keep their colour while still looking polished and effortlessly blended.”
Intrigued? Keep reading for all the expert insight you'll need on colour melting, plus some inspiration shots for your next salon visit.
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How is colour melting different from balayage or highlights?
Stenson says that the key difference between colour melting and other common dyeing methods is that “it creates a seamless blend of tones with no harsh lines.” Balayage creates a gradient effect, usually placing blended brightness around the mid-lengths and tips, whereas highlights add contrasting lighter streaks starting at the roots.
Colour melting strikes a balance between the two: It focuses on soft colour transitions from roots to body, which makes it easier to grow out and maintain than traditional highlights. But by utilising multiple shades and strategic areas of higher contrast, colour melted hair maintains more definition than the ombré effect of a gradient balayage.
While the results are polished and expensive-looking, colour melting can also spare you from pricey touchups. “The subtle transitions also allow clients to extend the time between salon visits,” Stenson says.
How does colour melting work?
Colour melting is intended to create natural-looking results, which means subtly placing brightness where the sun naturally would. While some dyeing techniques embrace chunky contrast, Stenson says that this one is all about seamless blending: “Think of it as painting wet-on-wet so everything melts together naturally.”
Similar to a balayage treatment, larger sections of hair will be treated by hand. “I typically work with two to three shades within the same tonal family and apply them in a gradient, overlapping each colour so there is no harsh line of demarcation,” Stenson says. “The key is feathering and smudging the transition points, often using a root smudge or gloss to create a soft, diffused shift from root to mid-length to ends.”
Which hair types and colours are best suited for colour melting?
“This look works on all hair types, but it’s ideal for wavy or curly hair because the texture enhances the dimension and movement of the blend,” Stenson says. While fine or very straight hair can be colour melted, he notes that your stylist might need to make accommodations — like a deeper root colour or more strategic layering — to prevent the colour from looking flat.
Colour melting treatments work for a wide range of shades, but since the final results are subtle, it may show up differently. “Medium to light hair colours (think dark blonde, light brown, caramel, and golden blonde) are best for this look because it shows and blends beautifully,” Stenson says. “Dark or virgin hair may require some pre-lightening of the hair to create enough dimension for the melt to show through.” Colour melting can also be a helpful technique for a grey hair transition, since it focuses on eliminating harsh lines and allows you to experiment with multiple shades at once.
If you have grown-out highlights or a balayage, Stenson says might be an ideal time to try out colour melting: Building off of previous colour treatments, it can refresh your hair while taking it in a more natural direction.
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Grace McCarty is the associate beauty editor at Glamour.
This article originally appeared on Glamour (US).
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