You can think of highlights and balayage as the difference between Park Avenue and Malibu. Highlights are placed more precisely through the hair, using foils, and generally the hair is highlighted from root to tip. Balayage is painted onto the hair in sections, freehand, usually from the mid-lengths to the ends (or just not all the way to the roots), and then separated by plastic or sometimes cotton wool while it develops. Highlights allow the colour to develop more and are often more intense, whereas balayage blends more into the natural hair.