Lauren Conrad bad balayage I Ombre hair gone wrong I beautyheaven.com.au

There isn’t normally any occasion that I’d tell you not to follow the beauty advice of Lauren Conrad, and while the above image doesn’t really offer much by way of advice, it certainly does reveal a thing or two about what not to do when it comes to colouring your hair.

Do you see her tresses? It looks as though her ends have been caressed with a paintbrush that’s been dipped in an off white paint. The separation of the two colours is too distinct and way too obvious – not at all what balayage should be about.

Balayage is based on the ombré hair trend, the very definition of which is ‘shading’ or ‘shaded’. It’s a gradual, sheer change that is supposed to be somewhat undetectable, and as you can see – LC’s version is certainly anything but.

So what would we tell Lauren (and Rumer Willis, for that matter) about rocking the ombré hair trend right? There are a few tips we can think of…

BEGIN WITH HEALTHY HAIR

If the ends of your hair are dry, brittle or even split in places, you’ll find that the lighter hues (which are normally either bleach or peroxide-based) will kind of ‘latch’ onto those strands and seep into the cracks that develop as a result of unhealthy hair. It’s then that your hair may undergo a real, irreversible health issue. Treating your hair to regular deeply nourishing hair masks is a sure fire way to repair your hair over time. Teaming Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Treatment Mask with a regular hair trim will ensure your strands are in top health and good shape for an ombré style.

DIY RIGHT

If you’re going to attempt balayage at home, please pinky promise me that you won’t go dip-dying your ends into a bucket of bleach. The results will be obvious and catastrophic, let me tell you. Instead, opt for an at-home hair colour that is designed to deliver a brilliant ombré result. One that blends brilliantly with your current hair colour and delivers a near-undetectable finish where the two hair hues blend together. We love L’Oreal Paris Préférence Wild Ombrés as it has been formulated and designed to lighten the ends of hair, creating an ombré look and comes complete with an expert brush to easily create a customised and natural result.

STAY NATURAL

If you do decide to go down the DIY route, it’s important to ensure you stay as close to your natural hair colour as possible, while still achieving your desired result. The great thing about L’Oreal Paris Préférence Wild Ombrés is that it comes in two different shades, making it perfect for those with a darker natural hair colour that want to add another dimension to their hair colour and those with lighter strands that want to rock subtle, sun kissed ends. As a rule of thumb, don’t go more than two to three shades lighter than your current colour and you can’t go wrong.

What are your best tips for at-home balayage? Or at-home hair dye for that matter?

135 Member Comments

Petal 29 Jul 2017 12:29 PM

How-to: ensure you don't rock bad balayage

If I wanted the balayage look, I'd go to a professional.

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Mayy 23 Jul 2017 5:51 PM

Really want to try this soon. I think I might leave it to the experts to do it!

sootyblack_14 23 Jul 2017 3:23 PM

I wouldn't attempt this myself... Eeep...

Chicklet 22 Jul 2017 11:19 PM

This looks good if done well, but I don't colour my hair.

jillian206 22 Jul 2017 9:28 PM

Never knew there was such a trend?!

Shop A Everyday 22 Jul 2017 8:18 PM

It always looks nice on the gorgeous stars though

josella432 22 Jul 2017 2:38 PM

I wouldn't do this at home myself. In my hands, best left to the experts.

Lynetty12 21 Jul 2017 11:47 PM

I would always joke with my hairdresser saying that ombré done at home was "home-bre". We would see a lot of girls around with a very distinct colour line. It's just not a good look at all.

blackkittykat82 20 Jul 2017 7:34 PM

Unusual to see Lauren Conrad putting a foot wrong. I had no idea you could do balayage at home :-/

nicsta 20 Jul 2017 6:10 PM

I've had balyage for years as it's so easy to maintain. But I wouldn't do it at home!

Beauty Obsession 20 Jul 2017 5:53 PM

I like balyage and it's great if you want lighter hair but don't want of regrowth...I wouldn't call mine balyage but I like my highlights painted in a way that I can get away with inches of regrowth...

MelissaFay89 20 Jul 2017 5:09 PM

I wouldnt dare try this at home

Yohanna 20 Jul 2017 4:23 PM

I do not do "extreme" bayalage, just more of a sunkissed look. HAve been doing free hand "highlighting" (or better word, spilling colour randomly) over my hair for almost 2 decades.

softness 20 Jul 2017 4:09 PM

Great tips! I tend to be have hair that does this look naturally + streaky bits from the genetics + sunshine but I like reading articles like this nonetheless. I like the Stay Natural tips!

Clarebear91 20 Jul 2017 3:43 PM

I just got half a head of foils done, but with these tips I will consider baylage next time. Its looks amazing.

Seezora 19 Jul 2017 9:55 PM

I wouldn't do this to my hair with dye. I prefer the natural sunkissed look I get in summer when I have been out in the garden (I always slip, slop, slap). My hair gets just enough sunlight to go lighter at the ends, with some natural highlights.

jlsta 19 Jul 2017 6:12 PM

I started a thread in the forum for balayage maintenance. I agree with our bh members, don't try diy balayage. Definitely go with a professional :)

Sally10 19 Jul 2017 5:19 PM

I've seen enough balayage disasters to put me off this look :P

lauratough 19 Jul 2017 2:54 PM

Oh how I'd love to do Balyage! If only it wasn't so expensive! xx

bebeautiful34 19 Jul 2017 2:40 PM

I tried that L'oreal balayage pack and it actually turned out really well! So easy to use, I was impressed

Goddess..... 19 Jul 2017 10:37 AM

Clashing two different colours that are almost the same except one is lighter & one is darker is not good on blonde's especially this look but ok if it was two different colours yes that would be fine, Thanks for the info BH.

Jenniqua 19 Jul 2017 10:36 AM

I am not really in to the balayage look, but for some people it really suits them.

Rpear 19 Jul 2017 6:30 AM

I won't ever try diy hair lightening ! My hair is too dark and I'm sure I would just do damage

A lady at work just did a diy version of this and it didn't turn out how she wanted at all. ! I will leave it to a professional if I ever do that again one day. I don't mind the looks. Lauren changes her hair so often , I'm sure she will not have this for long! She prob just needed something to go with her tan. Aww the hills .. I miss that show haha

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katrina176 19 Jul 2017 3:02 AM

Not a fan of this look.

Chrystalage 18 Jul 2017 10:10 PM

I think Lauren's hair looks fine. It's a little different but it looks ok to me. It's not something that I would attempt myself.

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