Balayage Short Hair: 45 Stunning Color Ideas and Techniques

Balayage short hair combines the perfect blend of dimension, style, and low-maintenance beauty. This hand-painted highlighting technique creates stunning, natural-looking results that grow out seamlessly. For example, did you know that the term “balayage” technique provides stunning results ‘to sweep?’ It’s perfect for shorter styles, creating beautiful dimension without the hassle of frequent touch-ups.

The beauty of balayage lies in its hand-painted application technique to give it a very natural look. Therefore, when it regrows, it won’t show any harsh or ugly lines. This makes it perfect for the modern woman who is busy and always on the go and who simply doesn’t have time to spare.

Ready to transform your short hair with beautiful balayage? We’ve curated 45 stunning ideas organized by color family to help you find your perfect match!

I. Blonde Hair Color Ideas

1. Blonde Balayage Short Hair

Let’s start our list with the most basic of all balayage colors – blonde. This shade is called white honey, and the reason is quite simple. You have a darker, light brown base or undergrowth covered by a diamond white or beige blonde top layer.

2. Balayage for Short Blonde Hair Color Ideas

This is a diamond blonde in a lob or long bob. The basis, this time, consists of a dark brunette, which helps makes the white even more prominent and shiny. The cut itself is very shaggy and edgy, with layer upon layers of strands everywhere.

3. Nutmeg Balayage Short Hair

If you don’t like very pronounced blondes, you can keep it a bit more demure with this nutmeg blonde. It’s a darker shade that borders on brown more than anything – which means you’ll be able to get away with it as a fall color. Even if this is a long hair example, it is nonetheless a perfect one!

4. Fall to Winter Blonde Hair Color Ideas

You will need a shade of blonde that can make the crossing between seasons and take you from autumn to the snow season. This might just be the perfect balayage short hair one. The top and back are all about rich browns while the front is pure white snow.

5. Shades of Caramel and Copper Hair Color Ideas

Here is how you do balayage short hair the professional way. This blonde shade is a mixture of caramel, copper, and honey highlights. They come together to create one of the most beautiful shades of blonde.

6. Silver Balayage Short Hair

This hipster take on the old platinum blonde is the stuff of dreams for a New Year’s Eve party. The great thing about it, however, is that it also works in the middle of the summer, especially as your festival looks. The messy, half-up top bun styling is also very cool!

7. Golden Blonde Balayage Hair Color Ideas

Since metallics are a new rage right now, replacing the matte trend in everything, from lipsticks to makeup to hair colors, it’s only natural that pure gold would have made an appearance sooner or later. This is golden blonde balayage.

8. Sandy Blonde Hair

Here’s a classic that will never go out of style. Sandy blonde is that kind of shade that simply looks good on everyone, no matter your skin tone or the color of your eyes. Plus, you can wear any color you want with it.

9. Manhattan Blonde Hair

This is one of the newer and more cosmopolite shades of blonde which you can use to construct your balayage short hair. It’s called Manhattan blonde, and it’s just as posh, luxurious, and beautiful as you would expect it to be.

10. Dirty Blonde Hair Color Ideas

We end the blonde portion of our balayage short hair ideas list with a dirty blonde. The amazing thing about this one is that it requires low maintenance. Even if you have some re-growth, it will still look as if it’s a part of the original color. The braided, half-up, half-down styling is also as pretty as it gets and helps beautifully highlight the hair colors.

II. Brown Hair and Black Hair Color Ideas

11. Balayage on Short Dark Hair

Let’s take a look at brunette ideas for balayage short hair. This is a soft brunette that will work perfectly if you need a special look for Christmas day or your Christmas office party. It has a few eggnog highlights which will keep you in tune with the holidays.

12. Blended Balayage on Short Hair

You might have heard about this version of balayage. It’s called blended and this is what it looks like. Essentially, it offers a seamless transition from one color to another. Therefore, as time goes by and your hair grows, you won’t even notice the changes.

13. Caramel Brunette Hair Color Ideas

Not only is this a gorgeous and warm brunette with an obvious chestnut glow, but it also has caramel highlights that sweeten up the deal. The roots are dark and smudged so that they look completely natural and in tune with your color.

14. Dark and Toffee Balayage

If caramel is not your color and you want to go for something even more scrumptious as far as highlights go, how about toffee? It has a silky and shiny finish to it, and it plays into the whole metallics trend we’re experiencing right now.

15. Dark Hair Color Ideas with Copper

Speaking of metallics, you can go for the real deal with some copper peekaboos on brunette hair. They will soften your features and attract light.

16. The Subtle Balayage

Ok, let’s say that you don’t want to go all out with your hair color or that you have an especially strict office dress code. What do you do then? You go for subtle balayage, of course. This, for example, is a dark chocolate base with just a few vanilla lowlights.

17. The Honey Brunette Hair Color Ideas

Another shade that you can try if you only want to get some lowlights or peekaboos is honey. It works wonderfully on brunettes, especially if you place them right around the face. They will illuminate your features, making them look a lot softer and more feminine.

18. Balayage Highlights on Short Hair

This gorgeous asymmetrical bob is the perfect choice if you’re in love with balayage short hair ideas. The blonde highlights come down in layers and make it look like it has a lot of volume by adding more depth and dimension to the cut.

19. The Jessica Alba

Here’s a celebrity who couldn’t resist this trend and went for brunette balayage short hair herself. Jessica Alba is still wearing her signature dark chestnut hair color, only enriched with some barely visible highlights.

20. Brunette and Gray Hair Color Ideas

Not just any gray, of course. This is mushroom gray on a very dark brunette. As far as balayage short hair ideas go, this one is perfect for those cold and dreary fall months which precede the snowy December when everything is happy and colorful.

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III. Red Hair and Copper Hair

21. Red Balayage Hair Color Ideas

Let’s move on to the reds. There are so many shades of red out there that it can become difficult to choose from, especially when you’re going for balayage short hair. However, you can pick according to mood, season, a special event, or simply if you find a shade that attracts you most.

22. Tiger Red Balayage Short Hair

Meet tiger red, a very modern red that has been sweeping Instagram up and down in the past few years. It’s called this because it mixes darker and lighter shades of orange-copper red in a pattern that resembles stripes.

23. Pale Red Balayage Short Hair

Just to show you how exhaustive and extensive our research is, we even have a solution for the ladies who love red hair but don’t want to commit to it. This is pale red on a brown base. You get the best of both worlds with no actual commitment.

24. Twilight Orange Hair

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the ladies who want to show the world just how brave they are with their hair color. For them, we have discovered this amazing twilight orange-red shade. It descends in a beautiful balayage from top to bottom.

25. Velvet Red Balayage Short Hair

The inspiration for this one was red velvet cake. You can start with a dark chocolate base and add some red velvet strands to a long bob. If you layer the strands and create beach waves, they will separate from the brunette and you will see them better.

26. Fiery Red Balayage Short Hair

This combination has a cherry cola red base and a fiery shade on top. Once again, simply twisting the upper strands around your iron curler and creating some sweetheart curls will showcase them a lot better.

27. Auburn Red Pixie

If you’ve ever wondered what would a modern fairy’s hair looks like, this is it. It would be an auburn red pixie haircut with tangerine highlights and blonde ends. Remember to keep the roots a bit darker than the rest of the hair, to make everything look more natural.

28. Red Blonde Balayage Hair Color Ideas

Mixing red and blonde is always a good idea. Depending on the shades you choose, the result looks like a big scoop of strawberry and vanilla ice cream. And, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want that? However, we do advise that you see your stylist about this combination and you do not attempt it at home.

29. Summer Red Balayage Short Hair

Red and blonde also go perfectly well together in the summertime. They mimic the colors you beautifully see in nature. Start with a deep red base and use a golden blonde for the tips.

30. Comic Book Red

What could be simpler and more fashionable right now than comic book red? You can be Scarlet Witch or Black Widow with this amazing balayage short hair idea. The basis here consists of rich mahogany and the ends are neon red.

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IV. Purple Hair

31. Purple Balayage Short Hair

Now it’s time for purples so let’s see how they lend themselves to balayage. The easiest and most basic way you can use this color is by applying it over a dark brunette base. You can even use several shades to make it look more organic.

32. Lavender Balayage Short Hair

Probably one of the most loved purple shades of all time, lavender is one pastel girls all over the world simply cannot get enough of. If you decide to go for balayage instead of a solid block of color, it will look a lot more effortless and natural.

33. Royal Purple Balayage Hair Color Ideas

If you’re feeling regal and don’t know how to express it, try royal purple. It’s a perfect color for the winter holidays. Just think how amazing you’ll look in your sparkly New Year’s Eve party dress with this purple hair color.

34. Purple and Blue Hair Color Ideas

Real balayage means mixing more than one tone or shade to get a realistic and natural feel and look. This style combines purple and blue strands for added depth and dimension.

35. Purple and Turquoise Hair

If you’re feeling creative and a little crazy regarding your balayage short hair, you can always go for some turquoise strands in your purple hair. They will brighten your look completely and highlight the color of your skin and eyes.

36. Grape Purple and Blonde

Now here’s a combination we could get behind. This shade is called grape purple and it’s mixed with a sandy blonde. The result looks like swirls of ice cream and we cannot get enough of it. It’s perfect for your easy balayage short hair ideas.

37. Orchid Purple Balayage Hair Color Ideas

Meet orchid purple. And once you do, say goodbye to every other shade on the planet because this is going to be your color forever and ever. Yes, it’s that gorgeous. Make sure to use several shades of orchid purple, so that it’s true balayage and not just one block.

38. Lilac Long Pixie

This long pixie with side-swept bangs is giving us maximum jealousy because our hair doesn’t look like that. It’s mixed with a dark plum base, and just look how well it takes deep matte red lipstick! Simply fabulous.

39. Pearl Shine Balayage Hair Color Ideas

There are all sorts of shades of purple in this look. However, the thing we love the most is the mother of pearl white strands which tie everything together and bring a fantastic luminosity to the entire structure of the haircut. The bob haircut simply looks illuminated from within.

V. Blue Hair and Green Hair

40. Inky Balayage Short Hair

Where to start with this look? It’s an overgrown or long pixie cut, very feathery and asymmetrical, with side-swept bangs. It has been dyed in a washed-out inky purple with a few dark lavender streaks crossing the fringe. The feather embellishments on one side are also to die for.

41. Green Hair for the Win

We now enter the final stage of this article, the green balayage ideas. This is the classic dark forest green, with darker roots and slightly lighter tips. You can almost feel how cold it is and how it smells of pine and knotted grass. This is perfect for your medium-length hairstyle.

42. Short Hairstyles with Highlights and Lowlights

This is a shoulder-length bob with green highlights and turquoise lowlights. The basis is the same forest green we saw earlier. However, it also has a blueish hair tone which you can’t miss!

43. Lime Green Balayage Short Hair

Just as the name suggests, this is acid lime green on an all-natural brunette base. It looks like something out of a comic book or out of a superhero movie, which we adore. We also love the carefree beach waves. Look at how colors can bring more life to your hair!

44. Peacock Green Balayage Hair Color Ideas

Not sure which shade of green or blue to choose? Not to worry. You can always go for peacocks and wear them all at the same time. Here’s a pro tip – though. Try to find shades that work well together, such as shades that belong to the same palette. Look how the colors complement each other. Try it out!

45. Moss Green Balayage

As much as we’re in love with the color in itself for being so dark, rich, and glossy, something else has caught our eye. The model has chosen to add a little something extra to the hairstyle. It’s a blue streak right at the back of her head, that makes this cut look very architectural. What a beauty! Have your hair done like this and get more sleek than you were.

Frequently Asked Questions About Balayage on Short Hair

What is the difference between balayage and highlights?

Balayage is a freehand painting technique that creates a soft, natural-looking color transition, while traditional highlights use foils and typically create a more uniform, striped pattern. Balayage grows out more naturally, requiring less maintenance than traditional highlights which often show more noticeable regrowth lines.

How long does balayage last on short hair?

Balayage on short hair typically lasts 3-4 months, depending on how quickly your hair grows and how dramatic the color difference is from your base color. The gradual, painted-on technique means that regrowth is less noticeable than with traditional coloring methods, allowing for longer periods between salon visits.

Is balayage good for thin or fine hair?

Yes, balayage is excellent for thin or fine hair because it adds dimension and the appearance of volume. The strategic placement of lighter pieces creates depth and movement, making hair appear fuller. For the best results on fine hair, ask your stylist for subtle, delicate balayage rather than chunky or dramatic color contrasts.

How do I maintain my balayage short hair?

To maintain balayage on short hair, use sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners formulated for color-treated hair. Apply a UV-protective product to prevent sun damage and fading. Deep condition weekly to keep hair healthy and vibrant. Using purple shampoo once every 1-2 weeks can help prevent brassiness in blonde balayage, while blue shampoo works best for brunette balayage with caramel or honey tones.

Can I get balayage on very short hair or a pixie cut?

Yes, balayage can be done on very short hair, including pixie cuts. The technique needs to be adjusted for shorter lengths, with more delicate application and strategic placement. On very short styles, even subtle balayage can create beautiful dimension and texture. Consult with a colorist experienced in short hair techniques for the best results.

How much does balayage for short hair cost?

Balayage for short hair typically costs between $150-$300, depending on your location, the salon’s reputation, your stylist’s experience level, and how dramatic the color change is. While it may seem more expensive than traditional color services, balayage often proves more cost-effective in the long run due to its lower maintenance requirements and less frequent touch-ups.

Ready to Change Your Look?

With 45 stunning balayage short hair ideas to choose from, you have plenty of inspiration for your next salon visit. Remember that balayage offers the perfect blend of style and low-maintenance beauty, with seamless grow-out that keeps your hair looking fantastic between appointments.

Now that you’ve seen the blondes, brunettes, reds, purples, and greens, all that is left is for you to decide which shade you’re going to get!

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