What is the difference between balayage and highlights?
Balayage or foils: what actually changes
If you have looked at a price list in Italy and found meches, shatush, colpi di sole and balayage all sitting next to each other, you are not missing something obvious. Those words get used loosely, sometimes even by the people selling them.
There is a real difference, though, and it comes down to two things: where the lightening starts, and what happens as it grows out.
Foils (meches)
Sections of hair are separated, wrapped in foil, and lightened from the root.
The result is more even and more defined. You can decide precisely how many sections and how close together they sit.
The trade-off is regrowth. Because it starts at the roots, after a few weeks there is a line where the new growth meets the lightened hair.
Balayage
The lightener is painted on freehand, without foils, starting lower down.
The effect is more gradual: the top stays darker and the lightening concentrates through the lengths and ends. Because there is no hard starting point, the regrowth does not leave a line — it keeps looking deliberate as it grows.
It is not automatically “more natural”, which is how it usually gets sold. A balayage can be very bold. It is softer at the root, which is a different claim.
Shatush and colpi di sole
Shatush concentrates the lightening towards the ends, for a sun-lightened effect. In practice the line between shatush and balayage has blurred, and many salons use the words almost interchangeably.
Colpi di sole is the traditional Italian name for lightened sections — usually what you would call highlights, often finer and further apart.
If the result matters more to you than the vocabulary, the useful question is not “shatush or balayage” but how high up you want the lightening to start.
A note on asking for this in Italy
The word to be careful with is not the technique. It is “just a bit”.
If you want a specific amount of lift, or specifically want to avoid warm tones, say it directly — bring a photo if you have one, and say what you do not like about it as well as what you do. That last part is the one people skip, and it is usually where results go wrong.
You can do all of this in English here. It is the reason we bother to say so.
How to choose
Three questions usually settle it.
How often do you want to come back? If you would rather stretch out appointments, the lightening needs to start lower down.
Do you want it to read as coloured, or not? A defined result and a soft one do not come from the same technique.
Where are we starting from? That one is not up to you — it is up to the hair you have. Going from dark brown to a cool blonde is a different road from starting light, and sometimes it takes more than one appointment.
That last question is also why we do not put a price for this work on the website. It is not evasiveness: a figure written without seeing your hair is a promise that does not survive the till.
Questions we get asked
- Which one lasts longer?
- Balayage, because the lightening does not start at the root, so the regrowth does not leave a visible line. With foils the line shows sooner. "Lasting" here means staying presentable as it grows, not that the colour fades less.
- Will it damage my hair?
- Any lightening opens the cuticle and takes something out of the hair - that is the mechanism, not a flaw in one technique. What makes the difference is how far you push in a single appointment, and the condition of the hair you start with. Going from dark brown to blonde in one sitting is almost always a bad idea.
- What if my Italian is not good enough to explain this?
- Chelsea speaks English as a first language, so you can describe what you want the way you would at home - including the parts you do not want. If you would like her specifically, say so when you book.
- How much does it cost?
- It depends on length, starting point and how many steps are needed. We quote in the salon after looking at your hair, rather than putting a figure online that then does not match. The consultation is free, and shampoo and conditioner are always included in the price we give you.
If you would rather ask about your own hair than read about hair in general, that is what the consultation is for. It is free, and it commits you to nothing.