balayage


ba·lay·age

B5037750 (bä′lā-äzh′)n. A technique of coloring hair in which the stylist applies the color by hand to create natural-looking, graduated layers of highlights with a less apparent regrowth line than in traditional highlighting.
[French, a sweeping, balayage, from balayer, to sweep, from Middle French, from Old French balaier, from balai, besom, alteration (influenced by baloi-, stem of baloier, to move about agitatedly, from Late Latin ballāre, to dance; see ball2) of earlier Old French balain, either from Breton balazn, besom, or from Gaulish *balatno-, the broom plant (Cytisus scoparius), both Breton and Gaulish from earlier Celtic *banatlo-; see bhā in Indo-European roots.]

balayage

n (Hairdressing & Grooming) a. a technique for highlighting hair in which bleach or dye is painted onto sections of the hair with a brushb. (as modifier): the balayage technique; the balayage look. vb (Hairdressing & Grooming) to highlight hair by painting bleach or dye onto sections with a brush [C20: from French, from balayer to sweep]