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Calcimator

Balayage Placement Calculator

Determine optimal balayage section placement based on face shape, hair length, and desired intensity.

About this calculator

This calculator has exactly one output that responds to hair length, and six that do not. Placement Start from Root is Hair Length multiplied by a face-shape-specific fraction -- 0.3 for round faces to elongate them, 0.45 for heart faces to balance width, and 0.35-0.4 for the other three shapes (lines 12-27) -- so it scales directly with Hair Length. Face Framing Start is a separate, fixed inches-from-root value keyed only to Face Shape, ranging from 1 inch for round faces up to 2.5 inches for heart faces (lines 12-27), and never references Hair Length at all.

Total Sections comes from a base section count set by Desired Intensity -- 8 for subtle, 14 for medium, 20 for bold -- multiplied by a Hair Thickness factor running from 0.8x for fine hair to 1.3x for thick hair (lines 30-33), again with no dependence on Hair Length. Hair Saturation reads directly off Desired Intensity as one of three fixed percentages (line 36), Application Time is Total Sections times 3.5 minutes (line 39), and Processing Time is a base 25 minutes plus 5 minutes per intensity level (line 40) -- so Hair Length can be set anywhere from 4 to 36 inches without moving Total Sections, Hair Saturation, Application Time, Processing Time, or Total Service Time by even a minute.

Inputs

in

Results

Placement Start from Root

4.9 in

Face Framing Start1.5 in
Total Sections14
Hair Saturation45%
Application Time49 min
Processing Time35 min
Total Service Time84 min
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Select the client's face shape (oval, round, square, heart, or oblong).
  2. Enter the total hair length in inches, from root to tip.
  3. Choose the desired intensity: subtle/natural, medium, or bold/dramatic.
  4. Select the hair thickness: fine, medium, or thick.
  5. Review the recommended placement start and face framing start (inches from root), total sections, hair saturation percentage, and application, processing, and total service time.

How the result changes with Hair Length

Hair LengthPlacement Start from Root
72.4 in
113.9 in
217.4 in
3512.3 in

What each input means

Face Shape
Client face shape for optimal framing
Hair Length
Total hair length in inches from root to tip
Desired Intensity
How much lightened area is desired
Hair Thickness
Overall density and diameter of hair strands

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Face Shape = 1, Hair Length = 14, Desired Intensity = 2, Hair Thickness = 2 = 4 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Placement Start from Root
    Placement Start from Root
    4.9 = 4.9
  3. Calculate Face Framing Start
    Face Framing Start
    1.5 = 1.5
  4. Calculate Total Sections
    Total Sections
    14 = 14

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't changing Hair Length affect Total Sections or Total Service Time?

Total Sections is built from Desired Intensity and Hair Thickness alone (lines 30-33), and Total Service Time is just Application Time plus Processing Time, both of which derive from Total Sections and Desired Intensity (lines 39-40, 49). Hair Length is never referenced in any of those formulas -- it only drives Placement Start from Root, a separate output.

Why does Face Framing Start not move when I change Hair Length?

Face Framing Start is looked up purely from Face Shape as one of five fixed inch values, from 1 inch for round faces to 2.5 inches for heart faces (lines 12-27). Hair Length is not part of that lookup -- it is used exclusively in the calculation for Placement Start from Root, a different output measured the same way (inches from root).

Why does a round face shape recommend a higher placement start than a heart-shaped face?

Placement Start from Root multiplies Hair Length by a face-shape-specific fraction: 0.3 for round faces, which places lightening higher up to visually elongate the face, and 0.45 for heart-shaped faces, which starts lower to balance width at the jaw (lines 15-23). At the same Hair Length, the round-face fraction produces a smaller number of inches from the root, meaning the lightened section starts closer to the root.

Does Hair Thickness change how long the balayage service takes?

Yes, indirectly. Hair Thickness multiplies the base section count from Desired Intensity by 0.8x for fine hair, 1x for medium, or 1.3x for thick hair before rounding to Total Sections (lines 30-33), and Application Time is Total Sections times 3.5 minutes (line 39). Thicker hair therefore requires more sections and more application time, while Processing Time itself is unaffected since it depends only on Desired Intensity (line 40).

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