The time has come: hair salons are reopening after what feels like the longest time. With summer on the way and socialising slowly resuming, we’ve rounded up our top hair colour trend predictions for what our sorely missed hairdressers will be asked to create.
From Brunette to Blonde
We’re talking both complete hair colour transformations from dark to light, as well as topping up that brightness with bleach techniques you just can’t replicate at home, like blonde balayage and highlights. We’re going to be ready for more sunkissed, sunshine-y tones to lift and lighten all hair lengths and textures, ready for summer.
Keep your bleach-treated hair looking fresh with our Champagne Blonde Gloss hair treatment, ideal for the lengths of the hair, formulated to deeply condition while it deposits those gorgeous buttery semi-permanent tones.
Master Colourist at Josh Wood Colour Issie Churcher swears by our Miracle Mask for the upcoming warmer months ‘for its UVA/UVB filters and its multi benefits to keep pre-lightened blondes in optimum condition and protected from the summer sunshine’.
We mustn’t underestimate the desire for a more subtle blonde hair colour, though. ‘I think more clients will be sticking to a shadowed root for maintenance purposes, but brightening mid-lengths and ends’, she adds. It’s certainly true that a dirty blonde hair colour, or an ashy, darker blonde will require fewer hair salon trips than a beachy or light blonde hair result.
And don’t forget those ever-flattering highlighted blonde pieces to frame the face, which it takes a professional eye to create.
From Blonde to Brunette
Being unable to access our magic-working hair colourists has left plenty of us with the desire to go back to our darker blonde or brunette roots, or opt for more depth as a welcome change. ‘We’ve seen a trend for ‘milk tea hair’’, says Issie, ‘where naturally light brunettes that are usually blonde but have grown out over the lockdown are choosing to embrace the mousy natural hair look but enhance it with subtle creamy highlights that gives the hair colour dimension’.
What’s more, a bigger transformation from blonde to brunette hair colour often requires professional knowledge to achieve without leaving unwanted murky or green tones, so clients wanting this look will surely be waiting for their professional to accomplish their new darker hair colour.
As we know, brown hair has the capacity for amazing shine, as long as it is well-conditioned. Complement your hair colourist’s work with an at-home top up between appointments: choose Chestnut Brunette Gloss to give red brown hair more vibrancy, or choose Caramel Gloss for a golden, toffee-coloured hair tone.
Covering the greys
Plenty of people took the opportunity while salons were closed to experiment with letting their grey or white hairs shine through. It’s not for everyone, though. Expect to see lots of clients booking in for tints to revitalise their hair colour, whilst covering unwanted grey hairs, which, after the past year, might be growing in number.
You don’t have to wait for a professional appointment for that, though. Book in for a virtual consultation with one of our hair colourists, who will find your perfect shade of hair colour as part of The Miracle System, which offers salon-quality grey hair coverage results. Or if you notice a few stray greys between colouring, hide them quickly and easily with our Blending Brush or Airbrush Root Spray.
...or committing to the greys
Some say it’s the new black. And we love to see people embracing their silver strands, so we predict that hair colourists will be asked to flex their tinting brushes and help clients transition into a full head of silver, rather than waiting for their previous hair colour to grow out. Using highlighting techniques to break up the hair colour in the lengths will create beautiful, multi-dimensional grey hair that is the definition of aging gracefully.
Lights and Brights
We’ve seen huge popularity with pink and blue hair and the popularity of brightly coloured hair isn’t going anywhere. Stayed tuned for vivid hair colours like bright pink hair, created professionally by lightening the hair first. It’s going to get playful and creative with techniques like colourful highlights, undercuts and weaving.
We’re also predicting red hair in this category, particularly vibrant yet classy shades of auburn hair; ‘it’s become popular for its rich, expensive, luxurious effect’, suggest Issie. ‘It’s a great way to try a bold hair colour without it being too bright, but still head-turning.’
Fresh balayage with pastels
Want a hair colour with a lighter hue? Pastel hair is back in a big way this summer, and we predict they’ll be the talk of the town, particularly at JWC…
Either blended or in block sections, we can’t wait to see hair colourists creating soft pinks, lilacs, baby blues and peach coloured hair. ‘People will be looking for a change’, says Issie. ‘Returning to the hair salon after so long will be exciting, so why not try a strawberry or apricot blonde for an option that is fun but can be easily brought back to blonde’
The Shag
It’s not just about hair colour, either; no salon experience is complete without a new, fantastic haircut. And the one to ask your stylist for might well be the ‘shag’.
Cut with lots of layers and shaping, and shorter at the front, this cut offers a way to be more adventurous. Josh Wood Colour Principle Stylist Noemie Renvoize praises the haircut for its ability to create movement and impact: ‘You’ll see it a lot on mid length hair, but to me it’s super versatile and can be adapted for any length- great for growing out a pixie cut, or on long hair it gives that 70’s vibe and adds movement to hair that lacks volume. I love adapting the Shag on curly hair by adding a fringe and giving it a strong, edgy look’.
Whilst salons can make our hair aspirations a reality, time away from them has created a new trend of lower maintenance hair colour and cuts. ‘I think Instagram is slowly shifting from the perfect image it has been feeding us with for years, people are looking for more reality and less filtered images’, Noemie adds. ‘And hair is following this trend; my clients are looking for wearable, touchable hair and not insta-perfect waves. The cool-girl, effortless look that is easily achievable is definitely the new hair goal’.