Balayage formula

Balayage formula: level 7 to 9

The minutes that run a painted level 7, the thick bowl and the low second bowl they force, the wipe that says a 9 has arrived, and six faults with their fixes.

Published 2026-10-27. Written by the Easy Hair Edit team and checked against the rules the rest of the site follows.

Before and after: medium blonde hair at level 7, then hand-painted balayage reaching level 9 on the ends — Left: medium blonde hair at level 7, before. Right: painted pieces at a pale yellow level 9, very light blonde, over a root that is still a natural 7, after hand-painted powder lightener on 30 vol, 40 to 50 minutes in open air. Illustration, not a photograph.

The formula

In the chair: Under two and a half hours with the toner; a partial about one Medium Lasts Regrowth painted again in 3 to 8 months; the toner refreshed at 4 to 8 weeks

Product: Hand-painted powder lightener, bond builder in the bowl or built in; then a demi 9.2 (9V) or 9.21 (9P) through the lengths, clear on porous ends, a 7N tap at the root only if the start of a piece needs blurring
Developer: 30 vol (9%) off the scalp; 20 vol on fine hair; 5 to 10 vol or nothing on anything lightened before; 10 vol or the toning developer under the demi
Ratio: 1:1 to 1:1.5, thick enough not to run; a clay or freehand lightener at the ratio on its own tub
Amount: 30 g powder, about an ounce, to 30 to 45 g of 30 vol; small bowls, mixed again as each runs out
Processing: 40 to 50 minutes in open air, no dryer; wipe the first piece painted from 30 minutes and every 5 to 10 after; rinse in the order painted
Result: Painted pieces at a pale yellow level 9, very light blonde, over a root that is still a natural 7; toned cool the same day

Steps

Read the level dry and ask what has been on the hair. A natural medium blonde with nothing on it is the head this page is for; ends painted before go to the second bowl, and the lightener leaflet says not to use it over henna or metallic dye.
Patch test 48 hours ahead, a dab behind the ear or in the crease of the elbow, every time the product changes. Four quadrants off the natural part, nape first, hairline and baby hairs clipped away for last.
Mix 30 g of powder into 30 to 45 g of 30 vol with the bond builder in a non-metal bowl until it stands on the back of a glove without running. A second small bowl of 5 to 10 vol for any piece that has seen lightener before.
Diagonal-back or V sections, brick-laid. Paint from the mids down, opaque through the last few inches, then feather upward with less paste and a lighter hand, nothing pressed through to the hair under the section. A clean dry brush takes off a hard edge.
The pieces around the face last, in the finest slices with the least paste. Leave it open, no dryer, 40 to 50 minutes. From 30, wipe the first piece painted; pale yellow with no orange left is the 9. Rinse in the order the sections went on.
Shampoo, condition, towel-dry. Demi 9.2 (9V) or 9.21 (9P) on 10 vol, roots first, clear mixed into the share for the ends, 5 to 10 minutes, wiped at 5. Bond step for 10 minutes, then dry it before anyone judges it.

From the chair

Fine hair lifts fast under the same paste, so some colorists mix its bowl on 20 vol and start wiping sooner.
The paste reads whiter than the hair under it, and wet hair reads a level darker. Wipe the piece, dry it between two fingers, then call the level.
Some colorists paint a medium blonde with 40 vol on a freehand lightener and some refuse to; the everyday bowl is 30, and anything lightened before gets less.

The clock and the bowl

Powder lightener with a bond builder, mixed 1:1 to 1:1.5 with 30 vol (9%) so it holds its edge, painted from the mids down on diagonal-back sections and left in open air for 40 to 50 minutes with no heat, lifts the painted pieces of a natural level 7 to a pale yellow level 9. Anything lightened before gets 5 to 10 vol or nothing. At the bowl a demi 9.2 (9V) or 9.21 (9P) on 10 vol, 5 to 10 minutes, clear on porous ends, turns the pale yellow cool.

Forty-five minutes, one coat of paste, nothing laid over it.

That number runs the day when a natural level 7, medium blonde sitting on yellow-orange is painted to a 9 in open air. Forty to 50 minutes, no foil, no dryer. It has to stay wet and stay put that long, so it goes on thick. Fine hair can finish before the timer does. Old blonde gets its own low bowl.

One coat, fifty minutes, so the mix has to hold

Thirty grams of powder, about an ounce, into 30 to 45 g of 30 vol, nine percent, kept off the scalp by the technique itself, bond builder in, whisked until it stands on a glove. Equal parts to 1:1.5, thicker than a foil mix: a runny paste travels through the section and bleeds. Clay goes by its own tub, and both bowls come out in grams here.

How many levels does balayage lift on medium blonde hair?

Two, sometimes three, from an ordinary powder left open, so a 7 reaches a 9 in one painting. A foil over each piece holds warmth and lifts faster and lighter, and clay lighteners for open air claim more. A 10 means foils or a second painting.

Mids first, the face last

Diagonal-back or V sections off her natural part, nape first, each painted piece landing on an untouched one. The brush starts a third of the way down and lays the last inches solid, icing with no hair showing through, then climbs with less paste and a softer hand. Hairline, baby hairs and money piece last, thinnest slices and least paste.

Should the money piece go on first or last?

Last, on most heads. Hairline hair is the finest and lifts fastest, so it takes the least paste and the thinnest slices. A few paint it first so it comes out brightest. Heavy and early is how a face frame goes striped.

The wipe at 30, and the rinse in painting order

One timer starts when the last piece is on, and the piece you go back to is the first one painted: at the half hour, then every five or ten. Wipe the paste back and read the dried strand. Pale yellow with nothing orange in it is a 9. A strand that stretches and stays gets rinsed that minute. The back went on first, so it comes off first.

Is 30 volume too strong for fine blonde hair?

Off the scalp, no, though fine hair lifts fast under it, so its bowl is often mixed on 20 vol and looked at sooner. What it is wrong for is any piece lightened before, which takes 5 to 10 vol.

A second bowl for the old blonde Ends painted at an earlier visit are already light enough. Weave them out or give them the 5 to 10 vol bowl, so the 30 beside cannot over-lift them.

Why does my balayage look patchy or striped?

Thin paste, paste pushed through, or a straight line at the top.

What went wrong	How it reads	The fix
Paste pushed through	Bleed marks underneath	A natural demi over them today
A straight line at the top	A hard edge	A 7N tap, feather it next time
Thin paste	Hollow, spotty pieces	Reload to opaque, relift next visit
Rinsed before pale yellow	Gold or orange at a 9	Tone where it landed
Fresh 30 vol over old blonde	Ends that snap	Bond step, a trim, low volume there
Money piece heavy and early	A striped face frame	Thinnest slices, painted last

What if I rinse the lightener too early?

It comes out more orange than it looked, since lightener reads whiter on the hair than in the rinse. A 7 pulled at yellow-orange is still a 7, and violet has nothing to say to orange, so it is toned where it landed.

Pale yellow wants violet, on the low developer

Shampoo, condition, towel-dry, then pick the toner off the rinse. Violet cancels pale yellow: a demi 9.2 (9V) or 9.21 (9P) on 10 vol, or a lower toning developer, roots first, clear in the share for the ends, 5 to 10 minutes, wiped at 5. Blue at a 9 drifts the ends green. The violet bowl a fresh 9 takes is on its own page. The root is a natural 7, with no band to hide. Some send an even lift home untoned.

Three to eight months, then only what grew in

The toner leaves first, at 4 to 8 weeks, and violet shampoo weekly holds the cool. Lightener comes back in three to eight months, on the regrowth and the pieces left dark, the old blonde weaved out or dropped to 10 vol. Better to refresh a toner twice than paint over a 9 once.

What medium blondes ask before the paint

How often do you need to redo balayage on blonde hair?

Every 3 to 8 months for the lightener, and only on the hair that grew in and the pieces left dark; the old blonde is weaved out or given 10 vol. The toner goes sooner, in 4 to 8 weeks, and a toner refresh at the bowl brings the pieces back without any lightener. A few babylights around the face every two months suit for the client who wants the front kept bright.

Why does my balayage turn brassy so quickly?

Because the toner is what made it cool, and a demi toner leaves in 4 to 8 weeks. The violet goes first, and the pale yellow that lives under a level 9 shows again from the ends up, which reads as brass. The lift itself has not moved. A weekly purple shampoo, started a few washes in, slows it a little at a time, and the fix is the same toner again at the bowl, watched, with no lightener involved.

Do I need a root smudge with balayage on blonde hair?

On a natural level 7 the root was never lightened, so there is no band to hide and most heads go home without one. A 7N tapped at the top of the painted pieces, an inch down, is an option when the feathering left a visible start, and it is tapped rather than dragged. Some skip it on purpose, because the next lightener has to go through that deposit and can band there.