You’ll Be Seeing These Hair Colours Everywhere This Year
Think creamy blondes, rich custom brunettes and peachy apricot reds—plus the ultra-glossy finishes making every shade look healthier than ever.
While this year’s trending makeup moments are all about bold moves, hair is moving towards a less-is-more aesthetic. The vibe? Low-effort, high-gloss, genetically blessed energy. We’re talking natural, healthy and easy-to-maintain cuts and colours—think you, but better. From creamy, lived-in blondes to custom brunette hues to glosses that let your natural base shine, there’s no shortage of ideas to inspire your next salon refresh.
Need help parsing through the beauty forecast? Celebrity hairstylist and Olaplex Pro Collective member Cindy Duplantis breaks down the must-try hair colour trends for the year ahead.
Creamy Vanilla Blonde
We’ll always love an edgy, icy Balenciaga blonde, but it’s time to embrace a low-maintenance version—everything is a little softer, a little more lived-in. Case in point: creamy vanilla, the latest in a long line of food-themed hues, has taken the red carpet by storm, with Addison Rae and Margot Robbie co-signing the look on recent appearances. Buttery and smooth, the hue is golden without veering on brassy. “I love this colour because it dances between warm and cool,” says Duplantis, adding that it’s versatile enough for all skin tones. “It has a touch of an almond undertone, but it’s not over the top so it looks very natural.”
Expensive Brunette
When it comes to revamping brunette locks for the year ahead, options are endless. Whether it’s mocha, mushroom or chestnut, the goal is a shade that feels multidimensional, rich and impeccably polished, without obvious highlights. Think Hailey Bieber’s signature glossy brunette: deep, expensive-looking and never streaky, just light-catching and seamless. Paired with a big, bouncy blowout, it feels equally at home at the country club or courtside. To get the old-money look right, it’s important to work with tones that work well with your complexion, says Duplantis, as well as invest in products and treatments that amp up the shine.
Apricot Dreams
Every year has its red: there was cowboy copper, then cherry cola. Now, apricot has entered the chat—and it’s already winning celebrity converts, with Love Island alum Olivia Attwood recently debuting her own peachy take on the shade. Striking the perfect balance between strawberry blonde and copper, it puts a soft, golden spin on rich fiery reds. “Copper can feel extreme for some people,” says Duplantis. “This is a lot softer.” Another bonus? It’s also a lot less upkeep than a vivid red, which fades incredibly quickly.
For ride-or-die blondes, a temporary gloss treatment can bring in coppery peach-pink tones without the commitment of a big makeover. For brunettes, Duplantis loves giving the hair dimension with a micro-balayage that lends a playful, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it apricot reflection to darker locks.
Baby Highlights
Nineties nostalgia may be going strong, but it’s time to consider breaking up with the chunky highlights and stark money pieces that would make Geri Halliwell proud. (That 1997 Brit Awards performance? Iconic. The hair? Even more so.) This year is all about the layered cut, which doesn’t exactly lend itself to a Spice Girl moment. “Chunky streaks tend to look spotty on layers,” says Duplantis. Instead, we’re leaning into hair that looks luxuriously natural and healthy, courtesy of low-contrast highlights, micro-balayages done in teeny-tiny sections and colour-melting, a blending technique that makes transition between tones so diffuse that it’s virtually undetectable. The result? Soft, luxe-looking dimension à la Gisele Bündchen, Jodie Comer and Naomi Campbell, whose hair always reads luminous rather than highlighted. Think of it as quiet luxury for your strands—it doesn’t have to shout to get noticed. (But trust us, you’ll still be turning heads.)
Your-Hair-But-Better Glosses
The secret behind all the colour inspo you’ve bookmarked for your next salon appointment? A little extra shine—the kind you see on Dakota Johnson and Laura Harrier, whose perpetually glassy lengths prove gloss is the real main character. “If you want a multi-dimensional look without having to add different tones in your hair, you need an ultra-glossy finish that reflects light,” says Duplantis, who recommends semi-permanent in-salon gloss treatments for anyone who is looking for a gentle way to refresh their colour between appointments. “It deposits colour, but it doesn’t lift your natural hair,” she explains. “It’s closing the cuticles, which gives your hair that extra shine.” And you don’t need to commit to a whole new look to get in on the fun—a clear gloss gives you all the oomph without changing your natural hair colour.
A stellar at-home routine also goes a long way in making sure your hair is as glossy as can be. “Sealing the cuticles is the number-one thing you can do,” says Duplantis. “As soon as they start to open up, your hair starts looking dull.” She recommends a good leave-in conditioner applied right out of the shower—her pick is Olaplex No. 5—and a few drops of hair oil. “Put the oil on wet hair, or add it directly to your shampoo.”
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Andréanne Dion is the senior style, beauty and travel editor at Chatelaine and a contributor at FASHION Magazine and Hello! Canada.
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