How to Create Beach Blonde Hair Sans Sun

1. Tailor the Tone

Cool or warm? Beach blonde can be both, so tailor your client’s shade to their features. As a general rule, tones which are in contrast to a client’s skin tone and eye color tend to stand out more than those which are in harmony. That means working with warm, golden blondes  Opens in a new tab if their skin is cool and reaching for ashy hues if their skin is warm. If skin is neutral you can mix up any shade.

2. Sweep On Foilyage

The painterly strokes of balayage  Opens in a new tab mean it’s a go-to technique for beach blonde hair. After all, the trick is to make locks look like they’ve been caressed by the sun – not lightened in the salon. To dial up the lift, try combining with a few pieces of foilyage  Opens in a new tab, AKA balayage in foils. You can do this with Blondor Freelights  Opens in a new tab (great for open-air and foil lightening) or BlondorPlex  Opens in a new tab (which features the benefits of our WellaPlex No1 Bond Maker  Opens in a new tab).

3. Try Babylights Too

To really enhance dimension, consider adding a few babylights  Opens in a new tab, too. These are micro-fine highlights that mimic the shade hair would naturally go during childhood summers. You can balayage your babylights, fusing the two for soft, subtle, seamless freehand strokes. Better yet, you can place them alongside foilyage for a multi-dimensional feel.

4. Then Go Chunky

Placing chunky highlights  Opens in a new tab next to babylights takes hair’s texture and dimension to the next level. So, why not foil a few weighty ribbons? You can paint them root to tip or with a balayage technique  Opens in a new tab. Less is more with this trick, so choose your chunky pieces tactically. The front, the sides and a couple through the back will catch the light in the dreamiest way.

5. Start At the Front

When applying beach blonde highlights  Opens in a new tab, place them through the face-framing layers first. Then, work your way backwards, before leaving the lightener to lift hair to the correct underlying tone. Why the front first? Because these sections will end up having Blondor on them for the longest, resulting in a light, bright and beachy money-piece  Opens in a new tab that – bonus – makes your client’s complexion glow. Just keep in mind that hair around the hairline tends to be more fragile, so you’ll want to add plenty of WellaPlex and check on the lightener regularly as it develops.

6. Maintain the Mane

Whether your client’s beach blonde shade is cool-toned or warm-toned, they’ll want to keep hair from turning brassy with a color-kind routine. Recommend they use a purple shampoo  Opens in a new tab when hair veers too warm, like INVIGO Cool Blonde Color Refreshing Shampoo  Opens in a new tab. 

7. Smooth Beachy Strands

Lightened ends may need a little extra TLC, so suggest your clients treat their hair to a trifecta of nourishing formulas. First, there’s the ColorMotion+ Color Protection Shampoo  Opens in a new tab, which is packed with antioxidants. Then, there’s the ColorMotion+ Color Reflection Conditioner  Opens in a new tab, designed to level up shine. And, finally, the ColorMotion+ Structure+ Mask  Opens in a new tab will support each strand’s strength and enhance smoothness, so hair remains soft and manageable – perfect for blow-dries and beachy waves.