Social media spawned endless trends this decade, both macro and micro, with some making it mainstream. From those that completely changed the markets, like bold brows and facial contouring, to those try-once trends, like dip-dye or rainbow hair colours, these movements will form our image of the last 10 years, and, some, into the next.
Balayage, ombre and dip-dyes
The French colouring technique of balayage (meaning ‘to sweep’ or ‘to paint’) was developed in the 1970s, but in the 2010s it was more popular than ever. The freehand, painterly highlighting technique allows colourists to bespoke your look for a natural finish (a la Gisele, Jessica Alba and Chrissy Teigen). Sub-trends developed out of the technique, including ombre hair (or sombre, for a softer finish), whereby the balayage technique is used to subtly graduate colour from dark to light. The more dramatic take on grown-out colour was the dip-dye. This two-tone colouring technique typically saw block colours that were lighter at the ends and darker at the top, but all kinds of colour combos took off, making it a huge trend in its own right.
