Balayage Highlighting with Susannah

**Guest post by our Featured Stylist of the Month, Social Media Director, and beauty blogger at A Greater Gorgeous, Susannah Craft**

Heyo! Susannah here again. I thought last month would be the end of my time as a guest blogger, but as it turns out, I'm this month's featured stylist and I'm here to tell you about my favorite service, balayage highlighting!

Okay, first of all, I know you're all asking yourselves how to even pronounce the word: it's bah-lee-ahge, that's a soft g. It comes from the French word for "sweep", so we like to get fancy and pronounce it the way it's supposed to be pronounced. Sometimes you'll see it written "balyage" or "baliage," too. For our purposes, we're going to call it balayage.

So what is balayage highlighting? To put it simply, it's a highlighting technique in which you freehand-paint the highlights onto the hair instead of using foils (or the dreaded highlighting cap -- run as fast as you can). It allows your stylist to be more creative & precise with highlight placement, and to give you a more customized look.

The results end up being a more natural-looking highlight; more sunkissed than highlighted. You know how kids get those amazing highlights from spending all that time outside in the summer time, and then over the course of the fall & winter they start to grow out and look even more amazing? That's what balayage highlighting imitates. And that's why it's my favorite service! It's such a beautiful, natural look. It brightens you up without making you look over-processed.

Want to see some examples?

Gorgeous, right?? Giselle is known for being the first major celebrity to sport this grown-out-highlights look, and she rocks it well, don't you think?

So who is balayage highlighting good for? As you can probably see from the photos, balayage highlighting -- in the pursuit to create a more natural look -- leaves a little bit more root showing than your typical foil highlights, so balayage is great for the woman who isn't afraid to see a little bit of her natural hair color. And guess what? That means that as the highlights grow out, you don't get an obvious line of roots vs. highlights, allowing you to go longer between your appointments. This is a great service for low-maintenance and budget-conscious ladies.

Think you might be interested? Balayage highlights are 20% off with me, this month only! Give us a call at (804) 285-2490 or visit mylabella.com to book an appointment. If you're still not sure, at the very least we can have a consultation and talk about what you have in mind!

I look forward to seeing you!

Susannah

Featured Stylist of the Month: Susannah

Here at La Bella, we like to consider our salon an intimate, yet upscale environment in which we take pride in personalizing the experience for each and every one of our unique and beautiful clients. Not only that, we are also an extremely tight-knit, family-like group who embraces each other for our own special talents, personalities, and style... after all, each one of us contributes a special ingredient to the recipe that is the La Bella Hair Studio Experience! Month by month we will be featuring a different hairstylist to offer you the opportunity to get to know us better, and to give us the opportunity to shine one by one!

The Featured Stylist for the month of September is....

Susannah!

After graduating from JMU, Susannah completed her apprenticeship at La Bella and is now a Junior Stylist. She has a wide range of interests that have led her to a focus in cosmetology. In addition to being a stylist, she is a beauty blogger at agreatergorgeous.com, and has created her own line of natural lip balms (available at La Bella and online). Susannah’s focus as a stylist is to help clients feel as gorgeous as they can, whether that be through helping them create a new look for themselves or through helping them embrace their natural beauty!


Q: How long have you been in the industry?

A: I've been licensed since March of this year, but since I completed my apprenticeship at La Bella, I've been doing hair here since the summer of 2011.

Q: What is your favorite service to perform, and why?

A:I love to do balayage highlights! They're different from traditional foil highlights because they're painted on in a more free-form way, and the result is much more natural and sun-kissed. Since this technique leaves more root showing and creates an uneven line of highlights, it's perfect for people who want low-maintenance (or low-budget!) highlights. You can go up to 12 weeks between highlights because they grow out in such a natural way!

Q: What are your two favorite products, and why?

A: First is Schwarzkopf's Thrill, which I always use on my male clients who want a little style in their hair without looking like they've got product in. It's a perfect amount of hold, and it's not shiny. Second is UNITE's Blow & Set, which is a miracle for women with hair that resists being styled. I grew up with fine, stick-straight hair, and curling my hair was never worth the effort -- the curls would fall out within an hour or two. But once I found Blow & Set, I could curl my hair and it would still be curly at the end of the day! It's like magic - and it's so light, you can't feel it in your hair.

Q: How would you describe your personal style/niche?

A: I've always been simple and feminine in the way that I dress. Classy, without being preppy. But I love to throw in something bold, like a head scarf or false eyelashes! Simple is good, but it's always fun to try new things. 

Q: What is your number one beauty tip?

A: Don't be afraid to try something new, whether it be a hairstyle or makeup look. At first you may feel like it looks strange, but that immediate reaction is usually based on seeing yourself looking so different. Give it 15 minutes, and I guarantee you'll feel like you look totally normal - and you'll get tons of compliments!

Q: What is your favorite quote?

A: "Real style is never right or wrong. It's a matter of being yourself on purpose." G. Bruce Boyer

Now that you know a little more about Susannah, let's see what our team mates had to say about her:

Shandy Myers: " I admire Susannah's passion for the industry. Through everything from her blog to classes, she is always looking for the latest trends and techniques to share with those around her. The best part is that she actually teaches her clients to recreate the trends at home. Overall, she is an awesome stylist, who is dedicated to her clients truly feeling La Bella's motto!"

Sarah Ditulli: "Susannah is a really thorough and careful stylist. She takes a lot of care in developing and evolving her own personal style. I also love that she takes a long time to consult with her clients and really takes pride in giving them exactly what they are looking for!"

Jessie Menz-Crenshaw: "It has been awesome to see Susannah grow and to see her enthusiasm for the beauty industry expand. She started as a receptionist at La Bella and went on to become an apprentice. She is now a Junior Stylist as well as our Media Director, and has created her own beauty blog. She has a great natural artistic ability to make her clients look beautiful and also help people feel beautiful. She is always giving people tips to do simple tricks at home to keep up their style. Her young raw talent and excitement to learn has been an inspiration to our team and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her!"

Eric-Michael Steward: "I have known Susannah but a little time but I find her enthusiasm and desire to learn about the industry infectious and inspiring, not to mention that she always brings good snacks."

Shanti Lynn (Me): "Susannah has an eye for things many people may overlook- I believe that stems from her passion and drive to achieve perfection with each and everyone of her clients. She is never afraid to ask questions when in doubt, and her receptive quality to any information is uncanny. She has a way of making you feel extremely comfortable opening up to her and trusting her abilities without doubt, and a lot of that is the confidence she exudes on a daily basis! I have loved getting to see her evolve into her own style and know she can and will go far in this industry."

Congrats Suse, and Happy Hair Stylist of the Month to you! 

As a big thank you to each and everyone of you from Susannah and the La Bella team were are offering you a couple of awesome deals during the month of September, inspired by her preferred products and services!

For the month of September the Thrill and Blow & Set are buy one get one half off (in any combination of the two)

Trying to get your hair back to a more natural or "fall friendly" color for the fall? Or just simply want to try something new? Come in and get the balayage technique with Susannah during the month of September for 20% off!

Call La Bella today to book your next appointment: (804)285-2490