To think this wasn't a good balayage ?

[pattypatta]

I went in and asked for balayage as I want to lighten my hair through the middle and ends.
I will post picture of what I wanted (or close as ) and what I got ..
Opinions ?
Shall I bleach it again ?
Will it lighten ?

I would go back to the salon and ask them to fix it

It looks subtle and I like it, but it's not as bright as the pic. I've seen some pretty awful ones out and about.

It looks nice but maybe could have been a bit lighter.

Go back and say it isn't light enough at the ends. It looks nice but maybe too subtle. Better too subtle than too strong though.

It looks nice and subtle but jot like the picture.

Did the hairdresser say why it wasn’t lighter? Perhaps your hair would have been damaged if she took it up too many levels in one go?

You have very dark hair so it will take you a while to get the desired effect. I have the same colour hair as you and it wasn’t until the third or fourth time I had my balayage done that it started to show like in your example picture. If you add more bleach now you risk damaging your hair and ending up with a very ginger colour. It’s just the nature of lightening dark hair!

I quite like the colours, too.
Isn't the issue with how horizontal it is?

Yeah that's not ideal, but it depends how the bleach takes to your hair I think...

Could you say it wasn’t as noticeable as how it is on the picture. It’s done much softer on your hair, not as dramatic.

That's the worry ..if I bleach it now will my hair snap.
I've bought a redken hair mask and I've used it twice And can already see a improvement in my hair.
I'm booked in for end of jan so I'm hoping that my hair will be in good condition for another go.

My hair is very dark and the bleach lifted it quite a lot. Maybe my hair is just easier to bleach? The whole process (cut, bleach, then balayage) took about 5 hours.

I think yours looks nice, but it's pretty subtle.

You have lovely hair but you didn't get what you asked for since more ginger at the ends and doesn't stand out at all as the first picture does.

Go back.

My DD1 has hair like yours and DD2 produced an effect like your first picture on it with a home kit.

Rather than let scatty DD1 loose on her hair, DD2 then went to the hairdressers and paid a lot of money. The result was really poor. Fortunately we are longstanding customers so when I complained the owner redid it for her.

There seems to be a certain amount of artistry involved with bayalage and not everyone is good at it.

From my experience, the brightness will shine through more after a few washes! So you might start noticing a difference after a little while!

Have you ever had a red tone on your hair before?

It will just need lifting a couple more times. Hairdressers can only do so much when you show them pictures, they're working with your hair. Yours has quite warm undertones so will need a lot of toner when you go back next time and in between.
I like yours as it is now though, subtle which is what balayage was always intended to be.

I have had a red tone on before but I'm talking 3-4 years ago

I think you should go back, it's really not similar to the pic and if that wasn't possible they should've explained that.

Did they put a toner on after bleaching? If so, that will wear off and the lighter colours will come through more - I've got medium brown hair, and my balayage initially looked dark chestnut brown with lighter reddish/caramel bits, but as the toner came out, it reverted to medium bornw but with blonder/caramel bits. I'd give it some time.

I would go back. It's nothing like it. O have balayage done and I've gone back a few times. Saying that my natural colour is like yours and I had to give up with the blonde balayage as it always went yellow after a couple of weeks. I stick to red balayage now and although it fades quickly, it looks much better than yellow.

I have this problem and agree with PP that balayage involves skill and artistry. My usual hairdresser does a lovely cut, a whole head of colour and highlights etc. However she's not very good at balayage and I recently left her with orange/yellow lighter sections that aren't merged at all but a very distinct line where the bleach was put on. This is the second time this has happened so I won't be getting her to do that again and will find a more experienced hairdresser for balayage in the future. I also have very dark hair so it will take time to get it the shade I want it.

I'd complain, it doesn't look like it should