Frequently Asked Questions

French balayage is a freehand, hand-painted technique — no foils. Color is placed exactly where light would naturally lift it, so highlights look soft and sun-kissed and grow out with no hard regrowth line. Foil highlights are placed in sections and lift brighter and more evenly, but leave a defined regrowth line. Balayage is lower-maintenance as it grows out; foils give more control when you want to go significantly lighter. Often the best result combines both.

Balayage starts at $350 and includes a personalized gloss. Our Signature Balayage — hand-painted balayage with a custom gloss, a deep restorative treatment, a luxury blowout, and a take-home pigment shampoo — is $500. Partial balayage is $275. Every color service begins with a complimentary consultation so your specialist can design the exact result before pricing it. See the full priced menu on the pricing page.

Plan for roughly two to three hours for a full balayage, depending on your hair’s length, density, and starting color — hand-painting, processing, a personalized gloss, and a finishing blowout all take time. Your exact timing is confirmed at your complimentary consultation.

Wash 2–3 times a week in cooler water, use a toning (purple/blue) shampoo once or twice a week, always use a heat protectant, and come in for a gloss around the halfway point to re-tone and add shine. A seasonal clarifying treatment removes hard-water build-up that dulls color. Done right, full balayage appointments spread comfortably to 3–4 months.

Often yes — but going significantly lighter is planned carefully to protect the hair, sometimes across more than one appointment. Lightening too much in one sitting is how hair breaks. Your complimentary consultation is where the colorist assesses your hair and maps an honest plan, cost, and timeline before anything begins.

Integrity comes first. Bond-builders (Olaplex-type) are worked into the service, Metal Detox removes minerals before lightening (important with NYC hard water), and restorative treatments keep blonde soft and shiny afterwards rather than dry. We won’t send you out with bright-but-damaged hair.

Red Market is by appointment so your colorist and chair are reserved just for you — booking is online any time. Color and balayage in particular are best booked ahead, since they begin with a complimentary consultation.

You don’t have to guess. Each of our colorists has a specialism — balayage, blonding, natural color, cutting. Book with anyone and note your goal, or call the salon and we’ll match you to the right person. You can also see the team and book with a specific colorist on the Creators page.

Book online in a few taps — pick your service and time, and you’re set. Use any “Book” button on this site, or call the salon if you’d rather talk it through first.

We’re in Greenwich Village at 13 East 13th Street, Floor 2, New York, NY 10003 — just off Union Square and University Place, a few minutes from the 4/5/6, L, N/Q/R/W, and F/M trains.

Red Market has been a downtown color house since the early 2000s — first in the Meatpacking District, now in the heart of Greenwich Village. It was brought to New York by master colorist Reynald Ricard, who trained in France and carried French color technique from Paris to downtown Manhattan.

Natural, hand-painted French balayage and color that grows out beautifully, paired with precision cuts — the French technique with an effortless downtown edge. It’s one half of a two-city Red Market, with New York led by Reynald Ricard and Miami by Jean Marc Durante.