Palm Painting - the New Hair Coloring Technique

In the world of hair color trends, balayage is so last year. Now, it's apparently all about palm painting, which is a new technique that borrows a lot of the ideas of balayage and takes them to a new level by allowing colorists to get a little more hands on — literally.

While balayage is a technique that allows colourists to paint hair using brushes, palm painting is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — painting hair using solely the palm of your hand as a tool.

Marcos Verissimo, colour director at Neville Hair and Beauty, is the creator of this new technique, and he's posted a video to the salon's Instagram explaining exactly what palm painting is and how to do it.

He applies the colour directly to his client's hair with the palms of his hands, saying the technique "makes things simple, easy to work with, and [provides] beautiful results." The results certainly are beautiful, and Georgie Mathers of TONI&GUY explained to Elle why this technique is sure to take off. "Palm Painting is a progressive play on the balayage technique, allowing colourists to be 100% free hand, melting colouring into the hair with a smoother surface of the palm, allowing the blend to be soft in result," he said.

If the promise of more natural-looking highlights wasn't enough to sell you, there are a few other benefits to the technique, as well. Mathers told Elle that asking for palm painting at your next appointment will keep you on trend (and possibly ahead of the curve). 

Because the dye is applied in a freehand manner, the effect is much more gradual and soft, a stark comparison to the dip-dye looks we were seeing a few years ago. It can also be cheaper, because the organic look of the colour means you'll have to visit the salon less frequently for upkeep.

Possibly the most important benefit, however, is that Mathers believes palm painting to be much healthier for the hair than traditional foil techniques, which tend to weaken the hair follicles. With all these benefits, it's definitely worth trying out the next time you want to update your look.

Keep watching for this new hair colouring technique trend...