Summer is fast approaching and Waterstone Salon wants to help one lucky Free Fun in Austin reader kick off the season in style. Enter our Waterstone Salon giveaway and you could win hand-painted highlights using the French balayage hair coloring technique (a $175 value), to lighten up your summer look!
Waterstone Salon
What is Balayage?
Balayage is a hair dying trend that is rapidly gaining in international popularity. A French technique that is used to create a more natural, sun-kissed look, balayage is a freehand method of highlighting hair by hand-painting on the color.
Balayage at Waterstone Salon
In need of a fresh, new look for summer, I recently visited Waterstone Salon to give balayage a try. My natural hair color is a darker blonde, which I usually get partially highlighted, but I was curious to see how hand-painted highlights would look.
My stylist, Monica Haponski, explained that with balayage I wouldn’t have a dramatic grow-out line, like with highlights, because of the way the color is applied. The treatment will also last a lot longer. Highlights typically need to be reapplied after six to eight weeks, whereas balayage color looks natural for eight to 12 weeks.
Monica didn’t use the traditional foils when applying color, but instead used what looked like a palate and paintbrush to paint highlights in my hair. She expertly matched my natural hair color from my roots, to make my hair the same color throughout, then gave me soft balayage highlights to lighten the whole thing up. She also placed a toner on my hair while shampooing, to minimize my hair’s brassy yellow tones, the result of too many bleached highlights over the years. Monica’s expert scalp massage was to die for and completely eliminated the headache I had been suffering from all day. She is truly an expert at making her clients feel pampered and understood! I absolutely love the flattering color she chose for my hair.
Before and after
You can really see the difference in my before and after pictures. I hadn’t realized how many extreme colors were hanging out in my hair! I am excited that this new look will require less maintenance (hooray for saving time and money!) and will continue to look natural as it grows out.
Stylist Monica Haponski
Stylist Monica Haponski
Monica was born with glitter in her veins. Following graduation from Vidal Sassoon’s Academy Santa Monica, she began specializing in color in Beverly Hills, before later moving to Austin. Monica enjoys helping her clients achieve their ideal look by really listening to their desires, and teaching them how to use products and styling tools at home.
Besides being a color genius, Monica also offers hair extensions, eyelash extensions, microderms, and waxing.
In her time away from the salon, you can find Monica being active with her dog, spending time with family, trying new restaurants, traveling, and checking out all of the great events around Austin.
Waterstone Salon
Waterstone Salon goes above and beyond to make all clients feel like pampered guests. If you’re looking for a place to treat yourself, or someone you love, to a day of relaxation and transformation, Waterstone is the place to go!
Waterstone Salon is located in the heart of Austin, at 3016 Guadalupe St., Suite B-100, 78705 (across from Wheatsville Co-Op). Call 512-373-7546 to schedule your appointment for highlights or a host of other services.
Balayage Giveaway
Enter below for your chance to win balayage highlights with Monica at Waterstone Salon! One winner will be selected at random on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 and notified by email. Official rules.
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