35 Winter Blonde Balayage Hairstyles for Dark Blonde Hair

Whether you have natural or bottle-sourced dark-blonde hair, now is the perfect time to brighten up your look for winter. That thick carpet of snow on the ground needs a little competition for Most Dazzling, right? We think so. Below, check out the 35 best blonde balayage looks that’ll give you the most scrumptious winter blonde.

1. Ash-Blonde Hair with Platinum-Blonde Balayage

The stunning balayage work done to this woman’s hair has us in awe. Her base color—natural or not, we don’t give a hoot—is a perfect shade of ash blonde, while the balayage color applied is a highly complementary ice-blonde shade. No one ever saw such an ideal candidate for winter-blonde coloring.

2. Caramel, Gold, and Peaches-and-Cream Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

The many mingling shades of blonde and light brown in this woman’s color blend beautifully, creating a halo of intricate hues. Her natural waves toward the ends are darling and can be easily achieved with a bit of volumizing spray and scrunching.

3. Nude-Blonde Wavy Hair with Face-Framing White-Blonde Balayage

We would have thought that this type of dark blonde couldn’t be improved upon, but then this woman’s stylist went and added a secondary color that lights up her entire mane. The milky pale blonde skimming the strands next to her face and sprinkled throughout the back looks almost natural, like it was earned after many afternoons spent sunning on a pool deck somewhere exotic. To which we must declare: Balayage, you’ve wowed us again.

4. Honey and Creamy Blonde Balayage for Long Thick Dark-Blonde Hair

These thick, straight blonde locks are anything but typical. They weave pale blonde with sandy blonde and allow a bit of the woman’s deep, dark-blonde base color to show through. We’re nominating her colorist to the Balayage Hall of Fame (in our world, that’s a very real thing).

5. Well-Blended Creamy Toffee-Blonde Balayage for Long Hair

Here’s another mane incorporating multiple light-blonde and dark-blonde hues effortlessly. It’s “toffee meets cream meets peach meets sand” . . . just try and top that, Crayola.

6. Stick-Straight Long Dark-Blonde Hair with Creamy Platinum-Blonde Balayage

If you’ve been scouring Pinterest and Instagram in search of a perfect dark-blonde to platinum-blonde color melt, your search just ended. We’ve never seen a more seamless high-contrast balayage application. The stick-straight quality of this woman’s hair does a great job of putting all the focus on the coloring, as opposed to obscuring it with waves or curls.

7. Yellow-Gold Balayage for Long Bronde Hair

If you’re looking for a softer shade of blonde that’s infused with yellow, this woman’s hue offers up a great option. Her nude-blonde base extends to softly incorporate a color that’s reminiscent of straw spun into gold. Introduce some pretty waves with the help of a curling iron, and you’ll be a living, breathing fairy tale.

8. Rooty Beige-Blonde Balayage for Thick Wavy Dark-Blonde Hair

This woman’s texture, shape, and color are out-of-control gorgeous. Her style is one we’re gonna call “slept-in lioness”: big, messy hair done in a shade of balayage that’s light beige toward the ends and dark blonde at the roots. Don this mane and you’ll be saying “rawr” at yourself in the mirror every morning.

9. Long Wavy Dark-Blonde Hair with Pale-Blonde Balayage

These long, dark-blonde waves have undergone a more subtle balayage application. There’s barely any pale blonde added to the ends, but what has been introduced looks incredibly natural.

10. Stick-Straight Long Bob with Well-Blended Blonde Balayage

This woman’s perfectly straightened hair wins her major style points when cut into a long bob. Throw in an epic color melt, which showcases sandy blonde melting into a creamy vanilla, and she may as well crown herself Ruler of Every 2016 Hair Trend.

11. Straight Long Bronde Hair with Caramel and Beige-Blonde Balayage

The transition from base color to accent color with this balayage look is also on the subtle side, but there’s more contrast between the two than in the previous photo. The honey and caramel hues make us swoon.

12. Long Wavy Bronde Hair with Light-Blonde Balayage

These gorgeous hippie waves boast some very light layering toward the ends. Overall, the length of her mane only helps to highlight the creamy light-champagne color of the balayage, which complements the precious nude-blonde shade at the roots.

13. Ash-Blonde Balayage on a Stick-Straight Lob

This ash-blonde color melt balayage is so natural looking that it almost had us fooled into thinking it wasn’t salon created. The blunt ends and super-straight texture give off a fresh vibe, and the crazy-gorgeous color simply drives that home.

14. Creamy-Blonde Balayage for Long Wavy Toffee-Blonde Hair

We’re swooning. The light toffee/champagne/vanilla shades used for the balayage combine to create something so unique (not a surprise, with all those shades blending like that!). The base color anchors everything, and the layered waves add a hefty dose of romance.

15. Ashy/Pale-Blonde Balayage for Wavy Dark-Blonde Hair

This color is a subdued ash blonde, but what’s not subdued are the waves—they’re soft and big, echoing the best hairstyles of Old Hollywood. The whole look is like an epic remake of a vintage film—timeless but updated.

16. Rooty Wavy White-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

If you’re a lover of those rooty blonde hairstyles that seem to be popping up everywhere, we’d understand if you just lost your sh*t over this hair color. The platinum/ash blonde strands seem like the prettiest wisps of snow falling from heaven. And those dark blonde roots? So daring.

17. Perfectly Blended Sandy-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

We love a straightened head of hair, and this one’s no exception. Examining this shade feels like staring at sand up close—white mixing with tan mixing with light brown. We think Mother Nature would approve.

18. Creamy, Sandy Blonde Balayage for Blonde Hair

This deftly applied pale-blonde balayage gives off the impression that it’s not actually balayage at all. In fact, the hair painting is so subtle that it simply looks like a super-shiny multi-hued head of blonde hair. We’ll take it.

19. Bright Platinum-Blonde Balayage for Beige-Blonde Wavy Long Hair

Even though it looks like five different studio lights are flashing onto this woman’s mane at once, we can tell that her color is varied throughout. There’s hefty doses of platinum blonde at the end, with beige and caramel tones holding it down at the top.

20. Shiny Toffee-Blonde Hair with Pale-Blonde Balayage

We’re gonna go out on a limb here and say that high-shine blondes are a pretty popular choice among balayage enthusiasts. This woman’s colorist has brought in shades of toffee, caramel, ivory, and stone to create a sparking palette. We’re loving those loose waves, too.

21. Pale Ash-Blonde Balayage for Wavy Layered Hair

This look is a unique one, because even though the hair at the roots is of an ashy persuasion, warmer tones come into play toward the middle and ends of each strand. This provides a dynamic effect no matter where you look.

22. Dark-Blonde Wavy Hair with Low-Slung Caramel- and Vanilla-Blonde Balayage

We’re bowled over by this balayage. Dark blonde at the root extends far down the hair—so far down, in fact, that the balayage doesn’t pick up until the middle section. At that point, it’s a slow, smooth glide into caramel and vanilla territory. The waves alone are worth at least a thousand thumb taps.

23. Honey-Blonde and Pearl-Blonde Balayage for Long Wavy Hair

Epic sheen, epic color, epic waves—what’s not to love? The pearly and sandy tones throughout this woman’s mane aren’t overpowering; instead they’re warm and playful, leaving a soft impression, especially when paired with rolling waves.

24. Beige-Blonde and White-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

If there’s one thing we want for Christmas, it’s this hair. (And a one-way ticket to Bali, but that’s it.) The dark blonde, pearl blonde, and ash blonde mix and mingle to achieve a kaleidoscope of light, lovely hues.

25. Dark-Blonde Wavy Hair with Subtle Painted White-Blonde Balayage Highlights

The natural (looking) waves in this woman’s hair are oh-so-charming. So is the shade of dark blonde that’s dominating her color. Those delicately painted streaks of white blonde look like ribbons, creating a youthful effect.

26. Long Bronde Hair with Creamy-Blonde Balayage

We’re digging these well-formed waves (which were achieved with a curling iron, of course!) and the face-framing white-blonde balayage against this woman’s dark-blonde hair.

27. Hazelnut-Bronde Wavy Long Hair with Bright-Blonde Balayage

Those bedhead waves look sophisticated against a hefty helping of white- and pale-blonde balayage. The dark, almost hazelnut hue of the base color is a great option for winter—it’ll give you warmth without taking your color too dark.

28. Rooty White-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

This rooty blonde balayage goes heavier on the platinum blonde than on the exposed darker roots, but it still carries off the rooty look with aplomb.

29. Wavy Mid-Length Cafe Au Lait–Colored Hair with Creamy-Blonde Balayage

This balayage couldn’t be more expertly applied. The creamy blonde mixes with the dark base, and what results is the most delicious version of blonde-on-blonde balayage imaginable.

30. Sandy-Blonde Hair with White-Blonde Balayage

These sandy strands with big waves are lovely. Focusing the balayage toward the front of the hair, next to the face, as we’ve seen already, can create a more natural, youthful look.

31. Messy Dark-Blonde Hair with Vanilla-Blonde Balayage and Chunky, Wavy Layers

This is rock-star hair at its finest: messy, wild, and uniquely colored. The caramel and dark blonde at the roots quickly give way to platinum-blonde non-waves, which remind us of the type of unkempt hair kids have basically all the time.

32. Thick Ash-Blonde Hair with White-Blonde Balayage and Short Straight Layers

Here’s another ashy mane that incorporates white-blonde balayage to great effect. Not only does this woman have incredible color, but she also has thick hair that moves gracefully. To achieve the same look, wrap a section of hair around your curling iron and release it quickly. If you leave it in for too long, you won’t get the straight-but-slightly-wavy effect.

33. Super Subtle Beige-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair with Waves and Layers

This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it balayage is perfect for those who aren’t entirely sure if a stronger balayage application is for them. The creamy beige blonde is applied delicately, so some may hardly notice it. But you’ll still add a hint of warmth to your dark-blonde hair.

34. Dark Sandalwood-Blonde Hair with Pale-Blonde Balayage

This stunning mane uses balayage in a sparse way—only against select strands and only toward the middle and ends of the hair. The waves and layers in this mid-length cut help to draw out the subtle color application.

35. Honey-Blonde Balayage for Dark-Blonde Hair

You don’t have to be a model to get these gorgeous tresses. Just ask your colorist for her best attempt at dark blonde with honey-blonde balayage. Throw in some face-framing highlights and messy waves, and you’re golden.