Recently, Deena and Kassidy and Karin went to a workshop with Tracy Cunningham at her Beverly Hills salon. Tracy Cunningham is a celebrity colorist with a number of well-known clients and she was kind enough to share many of her formulas and techniques—including Khloe Kardashian’s formula! While we won’t go into all the little details of the current hair trend techniques, we would like to share with you what’s popular and trending now. One word we’re sure everyone is familiar with is balayage, however, most people don’t actually know what it means. The term balayage comes from the French word meaning “sweeping.” When it comes to the hair world, one of the main things that separates it from other techniques is that it allows the stylist to use free-hand painting—no foil is used. This allows for a natural, sun-kissed look because the hair is painted where it naturally falls or lays. Balayaging the hair results in a softer, less noticeable regrowth line, which means less maintenance is required. Similar to the balayaging technique, is a hair trend we at Studio Savvy like to call a color melt. Color melting blends the highlights with the base so that there is no harsh line. It keeps depth at the roots and the ends light. Dark hair next to light hair emphasizes brightness and lightness. When it comes to a color melt, multiple shades of color are used to create the “melted” effect; so it’s all about a soft graduation effect, regardless of the colors used. Color melt allows for a lot of dimension throughout the hair and movement in the color. The other key in a color melt is to use a gloss at the end to melt the colors together. One hugely popular technique that Tracy Cunningham touched on in her workshop is babylights. Babylights are delicate highlights that mimic those fresh, natural highlights given by the sun. The results are subtle and beautiful. Babylights are low maintenance because the grow out is softer and more subtle. They can be done on any hair type and color—in fact, most of the time we combine a variation of these techniques to get the beautiful results all you fabulous fashionistas desire. We at Studio Savvy would also like to remind all of you to please remember to wash and condition your hair every couple days in this dry weather. It is very important to remove buildup on the scalp and replenish your thirsty ends! We also want to encourage you all to ask your stylist about any of these trendy techniques during your next visit; and until then, friend us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram (@studiosavvysalon) and Twitter to stay up to date on all of our fabulous adventures!