Relief colouring vs Airtouch: what is the difference

The difference between relief colouring and Airtouch is in how the blonde sits on the hair. Airtouch gives a soft gradient: the light strands are blended into your base and run from your own roots to fully light ends. Relief combines Airtouch with highlights woven with gaps, so the light strands read more clearly and there are sections of natural colour between them.

How the blonde looks in Airtouch and in relief

With Airtouch I use a stream of air to separate out the short layers and lighten the long ones. Because of this the light strands do not gather into stripes. They are spread evenly and melt into the base. From a distance it looks like one light gradient with no visible structure.

Relief is a combination. Part of the hair is done with Airtouch and part with a weave, that is, highlights with gaps between them. The weave gives separate strands you can see, while the Airtouch underneath takes care of the soft transition at the root. The result looks fuller and more textured: there are light lines and there is depth between them.

Relief can be done in different ways. It can be light and high-contrast, or it can keep a dark base and only add flashes of light. It can be open, with the strands visible straight away, or hidden, where the light lines only show when the hair moves.

How much hair is lightened and what that means for the lengths

I cannot give an exact percentage in advance. It depends on the result you want, on density and on your starting colour. The logic is this, though. Airtouch with a lot of blonde comes close to a full blonde with your own dark roots, so a large share of the hair is lightened. Relief often leaves more natural base between the strands, especially the hidden version.

For the condition of the lengths, it is not only about how much but how. Any lightening changes the structure of the hair, and that risk can be reduced but not removed. That is why every service I offer includes chelation, which clears metals and minerals from water out of the hair, plus reconstruction. Metals get in the way of even lightening and add extra yellow, and once they are removed the reconstruction actives penetrate the hair better.

If the lengths are already weakened, I may suggest less blonde or a partial service, for example just the commercial zones: the face frame, the top and the temples. This applies to both techniques.

Time in the chair and cost

Both techniques take a long time, because it is careful work done in stages, plus chelation, reconstruction and toning. Exactly how long depends on length, density and whether it is a first visit or a correction. So I only give a time estimate once I have seen the hair.

With me, Airtouch (technique or correction) is from 3,200 UAH and relief is from 2,500 UAH. Both prices cover all zones, and both include chelation, reconstruction and toning. A partial service is priced separately.

How each technique grows out

Airtouch grows out most softly, because there is no line between your colour and the blonde. I recommend a correction roughly every 4 months if up to half of the hair is blonde. You can also skip corrections entirely and simply grow it out, as the gradient stays tidy for a long time. If there is a lot of blonde, the line becomes sharper and corrections are needed more often. There is more on this in the article on Airtouch corrections.

Relief also grows out softly, because Airtouch is doing the work at the root. The weave gives visible strands through the lengths, but at the root they do not stop in a hard line the way classic highlights do. That is exactly why I choose these techniques: they can be corrected in a controlled way, you can move from them gradually into a full blonde, and you can grow your length without a harsh transition.

How to choose relief or Airtouch from reference photos

The easiest approach is to collect photos and notice what you actually like. A few pointers on what to look for:

• if the hair in the photo looks like a continuous light gradient with no separate lines, it is closer to Airtouch;
• if you can see separate light strands with darker gaps between them, and the hair looks fuller, that is relief;
• if you want to keep a dark base and simply brighten it up, look at hidden relief;
• if you hope to reach a full blonde eventually, both techniques work, but the route will be different.

Bear in mind that photos on social media are often taken under studio lighting or edited. So I always ask for photos of your hair in daylight, so I can tell you honestly what is realistic from your base. If you want to understand the technique itself in more depth, read what relief colouring is.

Deciding together with me

I work with blonde hair in Odesa and wear long blonde hair myself, so I test every technique and every product on my own hair first. At a consultation we look at your hair, your colour history and your references, and I explain which technique will give you the effect you want and how it will grow out on you specifically.

Airtouch with me is from 3,200 UAH and relief from 2,500 UAH, and both include chelation, reconstruction and toning. Message me on Telegram: https://t.me/le2chris. Include a few daylight photos of your hair from the front, side and back, plus the references you like. That way I can give you a proper answer.