Thank the fucking hair gods that the days of unicorn hair are over, and we’re moving on to more natural hair colors that don’t look like a mythical creature threw up on your head. Pack away the Manic Panic you bought for Coachella last year, and start showing your colorist these pictures so you can look sophisticated AF and on trend this spring. Because let’s be honest: no one’s going to take a betch with metallic hair seriously in 2018. Presenting THE best hair colors for spring 2018.
1. Pearly Blondes
Pearly, shiny blondes are the new fried, unhealthy looking platinums. It’s 2018 and if you go blonde, you also need to go shiny, not dull and damaged looking. Gone are the days of sacrificing our luscious locks just to see how blonde we can go. And who better to look to for the pearlescent trend than Kim Kardashian, whose colorist Chris Appleton spent almost 24 hours taking the betch to an icy pearlescent shade of blonde?
2. Rich Browns
This spring, the rich brown hair trend is going to mean more to you than the rich brunet Wall Street fuckboy who ghosted you last month. Deep, chocolatey rich brunette hues full of dimension are replacing the tired, dual-toned ombres of recent years. Take notes from celeb colorist George Papanikolas’ chocolatey color transformation on Lydia Hearst.
3. Natural Root-Shadowing Blondes
Thanks to the shadow roots trend, anyone can see if blondes have more fun—and at a cheaper price. Shadow roots are when you embrace your natural root color from the beginning of the dye job. Fully embracing your natural color as part of the growing out process not only saves you serious money between appointments, it also saves your strands from being over-processed. Texas-based colorist Eric Vaughn shows us the epitome of blonde root-shadowing goals.
4. Redheads
As we patiently wait for the redhead emojis to make their appearance on the next iPhone update, you can get ahead of the trend and embrace the ginger trend this spring. Opt for warmer, multi-dimensional red hues to spice up any lewk. See below for a redhead look created using Davines color.
5. Cinnamon Hair
Cinnamon hair is a blend of the deep rich brown trend, the redhead trend, and a blend of blonde tones. The look is typically achieved using the hand-painted balayage technique and creates tons of a dimension. Talk to your colorist about the exact cinnamon shade that works for your skin tone.
6. Subtle Highlights
Remember those tiger stripe highlights you used to rock in middle school, inspired by none other than Kelly Clarkson circa 2002? Yeah, subtle face-framing highlights are the opposite of that. Using the same hand-painted technique as you do with balayage, subtle highlights look just like those face-framing highlights you used to get from the sun after a day at the beach when you were a kid.
‘Tis the season (about fucking time) for drinking outside on a hourly weekly basis, always looking exotic, and visiting your second home: the hair salon, obvi. Everyone knows summer means sun’s out, buns blondes out. Since winter is looong gone possibly due to that little thing called climate change, you no longer have to literally wear black from head to toe. Even though you probs will anyway. Ditch your emo dark hair color for something lighter, playful, and more basic unique. Instead of going totally drastic and dying your whole head a single color (ain’t nobody got time for that upkeep) or trying to keep up with the hipsters and looking like Rainbow Brite, ask your savior hairdresser for the idolized summer look: ombré, otherwise known as the calm before the balayage storm. Regardless of your natural hair color, here is some Insta-worthy ombré hair inspo to take with you for your next hair appointment.
If you have natural dark roots, ask for:
Caramel
If you’re naturally a brunette and don’t want anything too crazy, go for a subtle caramel ombré. The light contrast will add dimension and fluidity to your hair, regardless of the style and cut you have. If you love it (which you will), ask to go lighter in color and start closer at the (literal) crown of your head, you queen.
Blonde
For something a bit more ~extreme~, jump right into a golden hue and gradually get lighter until you reach the shade of blonde you want. For extra enhancement, ask for scattered or face-framing highlights to complement your face shape. The light hair color will bring out your natural glow, so honestly, you may just say “fuck highlighter” for the rest of summer. Maybe.
Deep Auburn
If you want to add some mystery and a significant pop of color, opt for an auburn shade. This style will make you stand out against all the other basic bitches like me who are afraid to stray from blonde shades. The added color provides tons of dimension and probably an alter ego, too.
If you have natural blonde roots, ask for:
Blonder
You know what they say: Once you go blonde, you never go back. Like, so fucking true. If you have somewhat of a blonde hue, such as dirty blonde, gradually grow lighter. Since you’ll be under the sun 24/7, your hair will grow lighter on its own. You’ll probably look as innocent as sweet LC here, but I can only hope the blonde doesn’t get to your head (literally) and make you dumber. Will that joke ever get old? LMK.
(Almost) Platinum
I promise I’m not trying to bring The Hills gang back together (even though I would give anything for a reunion, just saying), but Whitney Port has always had killer hair. Go bold or go home with an ombré style that goes right into borderline platinum blonde. The sharp contrast will basically make you look like a tan Australian model who beaches nonstop. It’s probably not the whole truth but, close enough.
If you have natural red roots, ask for:
Blonde
Especially for the summer, ask for a blonde shade that will give you a warm, vibrant glow. The blonde will turn some strands orange, making you look like Alicia Keys’ song was about you. You, girl, are on *insert fire emoji*.
Coral
Have some fun with your rare gem of a hair color and ask to bring in a lighter shade of red, such as coral. The pink hue will add texture with a multi-dimensional effect. It’s 50 shades of hot to flaunt for the next few months. I’m just killing it with these puns—ugh, I love myself.
