Ash brown balayage: who it suits and how to keep it cool

What is ash brown balayage?

Light to medium brown is what Turkish salons call kumral, and “ash” (küllü) means the warm red and gold reflections in that brown have been neutralized and pulled toward a cool, slightly gray and beige undertone. So ash brown is neither gray nor blonde: it is a soft, matte brown that does not turn orange, even in sunlight.

As a balayage, the shade is not applied all over. Your roots stay close to your natural brown, and ash brown light is swept onto selected strands from mid-length to the ends. The result looks deeper and more natural than single-process color and grows out without a harsh line. Done with the Air Touch technique, the blend is softer still.

Who does ash brown suit? Know your skin undertone

With ash shades, what matters is not how light or dark your skin is but its undertone. Two complexions of the same depth, one reflecting pink and blue, the other gold and peach, will wear the same hair color very differently.

On cool and neutral undertones, ash brown makes skin look clear and calms redness. On warm undertones, a fully ash color can wash the face out; a beige or neutral brown, or ash highlights kept toward the ends and away from the face, usually looks more balanced. Every color service at Emrahair starts with a consultation, where your undertone is assessed with you. To get an idea at home, try these:

• If the veins on your inner wrist look blue or purple, your undertone is most likely cool
• If they look greenish, you may be warm; somewhere in between usually means neutral
• If silver jewelry brightens your face, cool is likely; if gold does, warm is likely
• If you burn easily in the sun you may lean cool; if you tan easily you may lean warm

How ash brown works on dark Turkish hair

Dark brown and near-black hair naturally carries a warm underlying pigment. As the hair lifts, that pigment shows: first red, then orange, and yellow at lighter levels. Ash brown is created by toning out that warmth. On the color wheel, blue sits opposite orange and purple sits opposite yellow, which is why those two are the basis of every ash tone.

The key is lifting the hair to the right level before toning. Putting an ash toner over a strand that has not lifted enough and is still orange often gives a muddy, greenish or quickly reddening result. On uncolored dark hair the process is usually more predictable; on hair that has had dark dye before, lightening may be split over several sessions. If you are moving away from previous color, see our hair color and color change options as well.

Why do ash tones turn brassy?

The most common complaint with ash brown balayage is that a few weeks in, the color warms up and drifts toward red or yellow. The reason is simple: the toner pigments that create the cool tone sit close to the surface of the hair and wash out a little with every shampoo. The lightened hair underneath is warm, so as the toner fades, that warmth comes back through.

In other words, brassiness is not a mistake; it is how ash tones behave. The right care slows it down, and it is easy to refresh. The main things that speed it up:

• Washing very often, and with hot water
• Sun, sea water and pool water
• Hard water and strong, sulfate-based shampoos
• Blow-dryers, curling irons and flat irons used without heat protectant

At home: blue shampoo or purple shampoo?

The basics of color care are a sulfate-free shampoo made for colored hair, lukewarm water and a heat protectant before any hot tools. Skipping the wash for the first two days after coloring also helps the color last. For ash tones, you add a toning shampoo on top of that.

Blue shampoo neutralizes orange and copper warmth, which is what ash brown and dark brown balayage mostly need. Purple shampoo neutralizes yellow, so it suits any ends that have been lifted to beige or ash blonde. For most hair, once a week with a short leave-in time is enough. Using a toning shampoo too often, or leaving it on too long, can make hair look dull or darker than it is.

In the salon: a gloss or hair glaze refresh

Home care slows fading, but toner eventually washes out completely. At that point there is no need to redo the balayage; the ash tone can be refreshed in the salon with a toner or gloss. Emrahair offers a Gloss Service (Parlatma Servisi) at 2,500 ₺ and a Hair Glaze (Saç Cilası) at 2,500 – 4,000 ₺. Both revive the color on colored hair and add shine, and you will find them with the other treatments on our keratin and hair care page.

Because the roots stay close to your natural color, the balayage itself is usually refreshed every 3 to 6 months; a gloss in between, once the tone starts to fade, brings the color back toward its first-day coolness. Current prices for ash brown balayage are 10,000 – 20,000 ₺ for Air Touch balayage and 10,000 – 20,000 ₺ for balayage. For the techniques and how the appointment works, see our balayage and Air Touch page.

Frequently asked questions