Blonding & custom color
Balayage, Blonding & Custom Color
Hand-painted balayage, woven highlights, face-framing brightness, grey coverage and glosses — placed to suit your face and to grow out softly instead of stranding you at a hard line.
Placement is everything
Blonde that suits your face
Two people can have the same shade of blonde and only one of them looks right in it. The difference is almost never the toner — it’s where the lightness sits relative to your features, and how it’s blended at the root.
Cait places brightness where it actually flatters you, then chooses the technique based on how much maintenance you honestly want. If you can’t get back every eight weeks, she’ll steer you to balayage rather than sell you highlights you’ll resent growing out.
K18 is worked through every lightening service, because lift is where hair integrity is most at risk.
Balayage or highlights?
Balayage — painted freehand, stops short of the root, grows out
softly, retouch every 3–6 months.
Highlights — woven in foils, blended to the root, more uniform
brightness, retouch every 8–10 weeks.
Lightening services
Blonding & Balayage
Priced by hair length and density — you’ll get a firm number before anything starts.
Color & tone services
Custom Color, Coverage & Glosses
For going richer, covering grey, resetting to an even base, or simply making your current color look new again.
Recent work
Blonding & Color Gallery
All work by Caitlin Richards at Studio 360 Salon, Chatham Township.
Booking tips
Getting the Most From Your Appointment
Tell Cait about every previous color
Box dye, henna, a bad toner from two years ago, at-home bleach — all of it changes how your hair will lift, and none of it is a judgement. Hidden color history is the single most common cause of an uneven result, so please mention it when you book.
Bring photos of what you don’t want too
Inspiration pictures are useful, but “too warm”, “too stripey” or “too ashy” tells Cait more than a dozen photos of the same blonde. Both directions help her calibrate.
Book a gloss between big appointments
A standalone gloss is short, inexpensive, and does more for how your color looks than almost anything you can buy in a bottle. It’s the best-value appointment on the menu.
Be realistic about maintenance before you commit
The best color for you is the one you can actually keep up. If a retouch every eight weeks doesn’t fit your diary or your budget, say so and Cait will design something that grows out gracefully instead.
Common questions
Blonding & Color FAQs
What’s the difference between highlights and balayage?
Highlights are woven in foils and blended right up to the root, which gives even, all-over brightness and needs retouching roughly every 8–10 weeks. Balayage is painted freehand and deliberately stops short of the root, so it grows out softly and only needs a retouch every 3–6 months. Balayage is the lower-maintenance option; highlights give more uniform lift.
How often will I need a retouch?
Balayage every three to six months, highlights every eight to ten weeks, and a single process root retouch usually every four to six weeks depending how fast your regrowth shows. A gloss between appointments keeps tone fresh and stretches the gap.
Can I go blonde in one appointment?
Sometimes — it depends where you’re starting from. Virgin mid-brown hair often lifts well in a session. Dark, previously colored or box-dyed hair usually needs a staged plan, because forcing that much lift at once is how hair ends up damaged. Cait will tell you honestly which camp you’re in at consultation.
What is a gloss or toner and do I need one?
A gloss sits over your existing color to shift the hue and add shine — it’s what takes brassy yellow to a clean beige, or refreshes tired ends on darker hair. It doesn’t lighten anything. Most blonding services finish with one, and a standalone gloss between appointments is the cheapest way to make color look new again.
How do you stop blonde from going brassy?
Tone is managed at the appointment with a toner or gloss, then maintained at home with a purple or blue-toned shampoo used sparingly — over-using it can leave hair looking dull and grey. Cait will tell you how often yours actually needs it, which is usually less than people think.
Do you use K18 on blonding services?
Yes. K18 bond-building treatment is worked through Cait’s full and partial highlight, balayage and face-frame services as standard, because lift is where hair integrity is most at risk. It’s part of the service, not an upsell.
Can you cover grey and still add brightness?
Yes — this is very common. Usually it’s a single process at the root for coverage, then highlights or balayage through the mid-lengths for dimension so the result doesn’t look flat. Cait will sequence it in the right order in one visit where possible.
Ready for your best blonde?
Book online to see live availability, or start with a consultation if you’re planning a bigger change. Questions first? Call or text 908-824-6418.