What is a Color Melt?

What is a color melt?

A color melt is a technique where a base color is blended into another color to create dimension in the hair.  This is often done by blending a base color with balayaged sections for a  seamless transition from your root color to your end color.

When you have a color melt, you usually want to blend a different tone and/or lightness to the mid lengths and ends.  You do this by stretching the base color down and blending it with either a balayage or with a different tone of color.  Some stylists do this by alternating a balayage blend and a tonal blend so you can create depth and dimension to your color.

There are a few things to know about a color melt

1. When blending the color in with a balayage a toner will probably be needed afterwards to bring the two colors together.  The balayage will lift the color out of the hair giving it a pop of color, but it will be very raw, and need to be toned.  
2. When creating depth with a color melt, you don’t want to go darker than your base color.  Naturally your roots are always darker than your mid lengths and ends so it is best to melt darker to lighter at the ends always.  
3. The transition where the base color meets the lighter color or balayage should be blended well.  Otherwise you could be left with harsh lines, brassy tones, and/or splotches.

Color melts are also fun to do if you have all over pre-lightened hair.  You can blend a number of rainbow colors together with color melting.  This is a great way to make a statement and play with different tones. It is also a good technique if you have a natural base and want to play with bright colors on the ends too .  For example, if you have brown hair you could melt your brown base into copper gold and get a really cool pop of color. Talk to your hairstylist if this sort of technique sparks your interest.