Where Has All the Balayage Gone? We Ask the Experts if This Hair Colour Is Over

It’s 2013, I haven’t coloured my hair apart from a blonde T-section in the 90s, and yet here I was sitting with bleach all over the mid section and ends being constantly reassured that this new style of highlighting called Balayage was going to change everything. As a dark brunette I can wholeheartedly say the colourist was right.

Balayage is the technique whereby freehand highlights are placed away from the root to give your hair a more natural sunkissed finish. This new colouring style meant for the first time in history someone in my hue-group was able to lighten their hair without obvious roots or high contrast highlights. This new technique also meant I, and other brunettes, could flirt with blonde without the constant upkeep of appointments or root touch ups as it could be achieved through bleach or by using a contrast tint depending on how light you wanted to go. I was hooked and I would go back to the salon once a year to lighten the ends.

I continued my love affair with this style of colouring for a good 10 years, until recently when my grey took over and now I don’t have the privilege of leaving my hair for six months in between appointments, often even having to do root touch-ups at home. Because of the upkeep and cost I decided to go for a natural-looking semi permanent instead and lighten with an all over tint.

But just like the phenomena of suddenly everyone picking up their Longchamp bag, recently I started to notice that everyone else had also started to switch from balayage and the obvious two-tone finish to a more natural all over colour. Where you couldn’t once shake a stick without hitting someone over their balayage head, hair colour was starting to look more uniformed and natural. I checked through Instagram and TikTok too and even the influencers who once had this multi-shaded hair seemed to have gone back to their “natural” colour.

I decided to reach out to two of the leading hair colour experts in the UK to find out if this was true and what the new trends for hair colour for winter 2024 were instead.

Experts Featured in This Article

John Clark is a senior colourist at Nicola Clarke salon

Jo O’Neill is head of technical education for Toni & Guy

Is Balayage Still As Popular?

It’s not so much the technique which seems to be out of favour, but the heavy two-tone finish. “Clients have definitely moved away from bold placement and bold brightness,” Jo O’Neill, head of technical education for Toni & Guy tells PS UK. “Instead they are opting for much more of a delicate and natural finish, something that gives a slight elevation and brightness to the hair for a more natural finish.”

This has also been seen by John Clarke, a senior colourist at Nicola Clarke salon, “The ombré style of balayage that was popular for so long has evolved into something more refined and delicate,” he tells PS UK. “Gone are the dramatic over bleached ends and it’s more blended and polished.”

Why Do You Think Balayage Is No Longer on Trend?

“Our clients are wanting to work more with their own natural hair tones,” says O’Neill. “Now it’s about bringing those out and making them look beautiful.”

It seems the trend for winter 2024 is more about a subtle finish than that contrasting pop of colour. “I think the bold ombré and dip dye clients have adopted a more subtle and chic way to wear balayage because they are moving away from the grungy rock chick look,” says Clarke. “Softer pieces and less of a dramatic contrast between the base shade and the highlights is an on trend and chic way to wear balayage,” he tells PS UK

What Are the Hair Colour Trends For Winter 2024?

As we head into winter, it seems its less about the colour and more about the placement, “There’s still the option for a darker root, but because of the depth and tones we are using, there isn’t such a contrast,” O’Neill tells PS UK. “This means you avoid the double tone look.”

According to O’Neill the most popular colours clients are asking for this season has been a combination of rich golds, soft delicate or deep coppers, gold mahogany, mahogany, chestnuts and for richness, all tones of cherry reds.

For Clarke it is all about the muted tones, “Glossy champagne, taupe, mushroom, iced chocolate,” he tells PS UK. The poster girls for this look are Taylor Swift, Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez and Zendaya.

Is it the end of Balayage? Who knows, but this winter, 2024, the grunge-y two tone obvious hair colour seems to be out and instead we have expensive, natural-looking hues. For now anyway…

Lauren Ezekiel (she/her) is an associate editor at PS UK, where she writes about all things beauty and wellness. With a degree in journalism she began her career in 2008. Lauren is obsessed with skincare, hair and makeup. A mum of two, Lauren is an advocate for the benefits of beauty and self-care for your mental well-being, which inspired her award-winning charity initiative We C U 2020. Her work has been published in Grazia, OK!, Health & Beauty, The Sun, Asda, Dare and Metro.