balayage - does your hair need to be wavy?

[CatchIt]

I am desperate to do something with my hair. I currently hate it. I had ds 18 months ago and I have loads of wispy hair where it's grown back. It's a crappy dark 'blonde' (being kind to it!) and it's quite long even though I keep it up nearly all the time.

I'd like something like this where it's long enough to put up (I ride so need to be able to put it up under my riding hat) and is a nice blonde. I'm unsure whether with balayage you need to have it slightly wavy. If it's the case I can't spend time faffing with it as a) I'm lazy and b) I don't have time to fart about with my hair.

What do we think?

Those pictures have been created with tongs. So, l don’t think you’d *have to have wavy hair - just that it is a good option to show it off.

Does it look a bit shit if it's straight though?

Honestly, I'm so clueless, style and beauty are not my friends! 😳😂

My hairdresser advised me it needed to be longer and wavy... he then went and cut me a mullet so I’m not sure I’d listen too hard to his advice

Dd has it done don’t have any pics on my phone but her hair is poker straight and it was done well so looked lovely.
The wavy hair for photos is just an easy way to show off all the colours. I prefer balayage to highlights it looks a bit more natural and a good choice of colours can look really good on any hair.

Yes it needs to be done with tongs to really appreciate it, it's a look designed to be wavy.
An ombré effect is a better look for hair worn straight.

Ombré? What's that?

It's very similar to balayage, but without the subtle colours strategically painted on to highlight specifically on curled sections of hair.

mine is very straight but looks better tonged

I have balayage (much more subtle than those pics to be fair - no dye on the top layer of hair at all) and always wear my hair straight. It's a really subtle effect and I like it. If you want less subtle then it does tend to look better with a bit of movement, but I just searched "straight balayage" on Pinterest and I don't think any of them look bad!

I didn't have wavy hair, I had shoulder length bob too! Loved it, only changed and my hair was getting ruined with blonde.

that isn't really balayage though since it goes right up to her roots. If you want that you will need to be really specific. It might be called root stretch balayage?? (but I'm not a hairdresser so could be giving you a bum steer).

Anyway take a photo since normal balayage will start lower down on the head.

Balayage can be on any part of your hair; ombré starts (mostly) somewhere below the root.