HAIR
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Winter may be the season for retreating indoors and embracing a slower pace of life, but spare a thought for the colourists of the world, who are busier than ever in the lead up to party season, creating the hair shades that will define the months ahead.
From teak brunette, a warm brown inspired by the wood’s golden-amber tones, to peach blonde, a lighter, more ethereal take on celebrity-approved strawberry blonde, there’s a shiny new hair colour for everyone.
Here’s all the inspiration you need – and how to ask for it.
Golden Mean Blonde
This in-between blonde takes its cue from the golden mean – a philosophical concept that describes the middle ground between two extremes. It combines creamy beige “slender lights” – essentially super thin strands of bright blonde – with darker, more natural pieces for an overall blonde that’s delicate and harmonious, says Christel Barron-Hough, colour specialist and founder of STIL Salon. “It’s designed to enhance the hair’s natural colour, rather than taking away too much from the original starting point,” she says. “It works well on dark blonde to light blonde hair and on any hair texture. Layering the depth and various lighter blonde tones makes it look carefree and natural.” This shade by Katie Pitini is a perfect example.
Spiced Cherry Cola
Celebrity hairstylist Lorraine Dublin predicts that spiced cherry cola – a rich, glossy blend of deep cherry red, burgundy and warm cola brown – will reign supreme this winter. “This shade adds a beautiful pop of colour without feeling too bold,” she says, “and it looks stunning on curls and coils, where it enhances definition and creates a gorgeous dimension as the hair moves.” Ask your colourist for a deep cherry-cola brunette with subtle burgundy undertones, Dublin suggests, tailored to your natural base colour – much like this hue by Sarah Carroll.
Velvet Espresso Melt
“This is a deep espresso brown with subtle ribbons of mocha and soft cinnamon throughout,” says Dublin. As this shade on Adriana Suelen shows, the result is rich but low-maintenance. “It works beautifully on textured hair, especially, because the tonal variations catch the light and enhance the shape and movement of curls, coils and kinks.” Ask for an espresso base with lighter brunette accents to create what Dublin calls a “colour melt” – a technique that blends two or three shades for a nuanced finish.
Spun Sugar Blonde
Spun sugar blonde is the ultra-bright, white-blonde cousin of summer’s Scandi blonde, says Barron-Hough. “It’s a strong statement look for winter when we tend to wear darker colours, and it looks great on all hair lengths.” She recommends asking your colourist for a pure white tone, like this shade by colourist Nevada, that leans neither ashy nor golden. “Instead it should have a clean, iridescent quality, and it’s best achieved with highlights using a double-processing technique” – lightening the hair, then toning or glossing it.
Teak Brunette
Clients are increasingly requesting woody brunettes, like this shade by colourist Angela Amos, says Siobhan Haug, colour specialist and founder of Haug London Haus. “Think soft, botanical undertones inspired by nature,” she says. “Teak, in particular, is a warm, medium-to-dark brown with golden or tawny undertones, named after the timber from the teak tree. Fresh-cut teak is a honeyed golden brown, and it deepens over time to a richer, slightly more grey brown if left untreated outdoors.” To achieve the look, Haug recommends balayage paired with a gloss. “If you’re covering grey, a permanent tint combined with babylights builds the same multi-tonal base,” she says. “Ask for honeyed strands that sit within two levels of your brunette base, which gives the richest, most natural-looking dimension without any harsh contrast.”
Honey Glow Blonde
“This is a warm fusion of honey blonde, caramel and golden brown, and it brings light and warmth to curls, coils and kinks without being too bright,” says Dublin. The key is strategically placed highlights around the face and through the lengths, as seen here on model Whitney Hayat. “These will enhance curl definition, creating a sun-kissed finish that feels fresh,” says Dublin. “Ask your colourist for a dimensional honey-blonde balayage with carefully placed golden highlights that work with your natural curl pattern.”
Aura Dye
Late ’90s and Y2K nostalgia has fuelled the rise of what Barron-Hough calls “aura dye”, an homage to extreme roots. “Spotted on the streets of Tokyo, Shanghai and now London, the aura dye job is all about serious contrast from roots to ends,” she says. “It’s almost like a soft, stretched halo or an aura ring-like effect around the top of the head.” For maximum impact, ask your colourist to create a “really dark root with lighter ends” – or reverse the effect, as colourist Kira has done here.
Nectar Veil
Blonde isn’t going anywhere this winter, says Haug. “Instead, it’s changing to incorporate a rich, nectar-like array of apricot and auburn tones,” as seen here on Beatriz Piloni. “Warmth without yellow is the most requested tonal direction in our Fitzrovia salon, and our colourists are finding ways to capture a golden glow and delicate coppers while keeping everything balanced and soft.” She points to Nicole Kidman’s hair as inspiration, describing a “sheer, light-catching shimmer of warmth that looks healthy, expensive and entirely natural – the way hair does when it has simply been kissed by the sun.” The palette ranges from pale apricot and peach-gold to soft copper and the lightest veil of auburn. “Each tone is diffused so the colour reads as a glow rather than a block shade,” says Haug. A toner refresh every six to eight weeks will keep the colour fresh.
Smoked Paprika
Think Emma Stone and Keke Palmer. “This is a grounded shade of paprika that moves very softly towards red undertones, without the intensity or commitment of a vibrant shade,” adds Haug. “It’s a coppery, spiced red with a smoky, earthy depth, closer to a warm russet than a bright flame, which makes it far more wearable than a true red.” Its gentle fade makes it a popular salon request, she explains, with regrowth less obvious as the colour softens. “Even as it does fade, it settles into a warm, burnished copper rather than turning brassy as can happen with brighter shades.” Ask your colourist for a muted, warm red-copper with a brown base.
Tone-On-Tone
Statement highlights are staying in summer. This season, colourists are turning to moisturising hair glosses, layering blonde, taupe and brunette tones for a balance of warmth and coolness, says Harriet Muldoon, a colourist at Larry King South Kensington. “A lighter hair gloss will lift a natural base colour, but it’s still soft in tone,” she says. Regrowth is much less noticeable, too.
Peach Blonde
Peach blonde leans into warmth, says Muldoon. “It’s going to be big this season because it makes blonde hair feel a little more autumnal without going darker.” If you’re starting from scratch, she suggests refreshing your existing blonde with a combination of highlights and a lift at the base, as seen here on Paris Chanel.
Cowboy Beige
Cowboy beige is Muldoon’s key blonde shade for the season: a rich, burnished gold reminiscent of a Western sunset. It calls for a dark blonde to medium brown base, threaded with highlights for brightness and lift. Ask your colourist about balayage – a hand-painted highlighting technique that looks a little more natural compared to highlights. This shade by Sarah Marie is a beautiful example.
Mushroom Blonde
Mushroom blonde takes its cue from Taylor Swift, says Muldoon. “We’re seeing a lot more earthy, mineral tones this season, and this mushroom shade is perfect for blondes that want a little more depth, or brunettes looking to lighten without becoming fully blonde.” Ribbons of beige and taupe should be threaded through the hair as baby-lights. “These are very fine strands of lightened hair, and because they’re so delicate, they almost lend a shadow effect,” she explains. This colour by Miho Mai is perfect. To maintain the shade, Muldoon recommends a shampoo such as Redken Blondage.
Romantic Gothic Brown
“This look is edgy and full of drama thanks to the amount of depth,” says Barron-Hough. “So much, in fact, that it almost appears black in some lights.” With that in mind, romantic gothic brown tends to suit a cooler complexion – and it’s easy to achieve, too. “This trend is all about richness, so it needs to be a simple, all-over colour with lots of shine,” she says. “Ask your colourist for a deep brown, which can be achieved with a gloss or a permanent colour.” This shade by Naoki Sakon is spot on.