More than 20 sold out Wella Professionals balayage training sessions have already taken place around South Africa this year. The result is at least 70 hairstylists have perfected what is possibly one of the world’s biggest ever hair trends... but with a twist: Balayage to Illuminage to Brazilian Illuminage.
Many hairdressers become known for their expertise in balayage and lightening, but it is Wella Global Color Ambassador Romeu Felipe who is considered the leader in the pack of the world’s lightening experts. In collaboration with Wella Professionals this hair icon has perfected the lightening and toning technique known as Brazilian Illuminage to bring us the season’s Trend Collection. Romeu takes balayage into the light with Illuminage, a luminous balayage with natural blended highs and lows. He takes this further to create Brazilian Illuminage, a creative contouring technique for an illuminated face-framing look.
Introducing Illuminage and Brazilian Illuminage:
Closer to home is South Africa’s undisputed balayage and lightening expert, our very own Balayage Queen Jadie Herbst. Modern Hair and Beauty had the recent pleasure of bringing together Wella Professionals and Jadie for a series of seminars in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg where she taught Romeu’s signature technique for lightening hair the “Brazilian way”.
“Balayage to Illuminage is an amazing technique created by the phenomenal Romeu Felipe. Clients everywhere demand balayage every day and now we can give them an even more exciting option with a unique twist thanks to Wella’s Illumina Color,” says Jadie.
Since its launch in 2012 Illumina Color has become a global beauty phenomenon setting a new benchmark for naturalness in hair colour. It has incredible light reflection that works especially well for balayage by adding multi-tonal reflections and natural movement.
For Jadie, the fact that this trend is customisable makes it a supertrend. “It’s an unbelievable blueprint for a balayage layout. Perfect for the stylist who feels a bit lost when it comes to sectioning. Once a stylist starts playing around, a world of ideas open up to ignite excitement. They can create their own version and adapt it to every client’s needs.”
On its function in the salon she says, “It’s practical, easy to understand and easy to apply. It’s completely fool-proof. Add to that how your business grows with the demand and you’ve got a winning combination.”
The technique is designed to create highlights exactly where they are needed. With the right amount of negative space, the colour pops to present that typical “Pinterest balayage” look clients love. Jadie’s tip to ensure success is to stick to basic sectioning, but to add a tweak here and there. “It’s the ability to make those small tweaks that make the technique so versatile and the result so beautiful,” she says.
Is balayage a fad or will it still be relevant in years to come? “It’s here to stay,” says our balayage queen, “But, as with most classical looks, it will grow and evolve.” She cites The Bob as an example, “A classic and great haircut that has evolved multiple times since its invention in the 60s, but the core of the cut has remained the same. Balayage has been a trend for five years and it continues to evolve even as the demand for it grows.”
Ask any stylist and they will tell you that the perfect finish requires the best products. “Blondorplex!! It’s absolutely magnificent!“ says Jadie about her favourite lightening product. “It’s a game changer. I can feel that my client’s hair is stronger and I can immediately see how healthy looking it is after the treatment. And off course, Illumina because it would not be an Illuminage or Brazilian Illuminage without it!”
We asked Jadie what she learned while teaching the Balayage to Illuminage trend collection to many of the South Africa’s best hair stylists. “It was so exciting. Every region had an amazing group of stylists. Their feedback allowed me to recognise things that worked really well and things that needed tweaking – much like the balayage technique! I have to shed light on the unity I experienced with stylists from salons throughout South Africa, some even using other brands in their salons. Everyone came together and we all learned together through many questions and many discussions. At the end of every session, I felt like I had learned as much as I had taught.”
Jadie’s potential was recognised early in her career by two Wella Wonderpeople who helped her forge her successful career. Now, with the proverbial brush in the other hand, how does she recognise potential? “This is going to sound crazy, but the fear of not being good enough is often a sign. That yearning to learn, to not disappoint, is so powerful that it drives them to constantly upskill, because nothing ever feels good enough. That, along with a humble attitude to be educated no matter their age, skill level or years behind the chair, is always a sign.”
“She believed she could, so she did” from R.S. Grey’s teen novel Scoring Wilder has stuck by Jadie for a long, long time and it perfectly describes her rise to becoming South Africa’s very own Balayage Queen!
Missed out? We have good news for you!
If you are feeling super jelly about missing out on our balayage seminars, we have good news for you! The seminar will be hosted online on Monday 23 August. To book please connect with Elizma Crous.
In this seminar you will learn:
Advanced techniques to help you achieve maximum brightness with lots of dimension in minimal time.
Advanced sectioning you can use on any client.
A placement strategy for seamless colour melt.
A no-brainer money piece creation without any harsh lines.
About Modern Hair & Beauty
Modern Hair & Beauty – previously Modern Hair – was established in 1950 as a distributor of professional hair products to the hairdressing industry in Southern Africa.
As the licensed distributor of Wella Company-owned products in Southern Africa, much-loved brands such as Wella Professionals, Nioxin, System Professional, Sebastian Professional, SEB MAN, and Kadus Professional can be found in salons' easily.
Other brands in our portfolio include popular Brazilian hair treatment Sweet Hair Professional, and our most recent addition, Reuzel – Holland's finest pomades and barbering products. We also produce our own affordable in-salon care range called Swish.
As a company, we continuously strive to offer the best possible support and care to all of our customers through dedicated and trained sales representatives, timeous delivery of orders, targeted marketing and promotional support, and regular in-depth and up-to-date seminars and education. Training centres are situated in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban.
But it's the fostering of great customer relationships, many of them decades-long, which runs deep, passing from one generation to the next. It's this legacy, as well as our extraordinary, passionate and dedicated team, that services over 2 000 salons within South Africa and our international partner salons in Mauritius and Angola too.
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