7 Top Summer Hair Colors & How To Ask For Them

7 Top Summer Hair Colors & How To Ask For Them

Photo: Arnold Jerocki/GC Images
RF29: What’s new in hair color right now? We’re soย glad you asked. There’s a whole spectrum of shade options, which is both exciting and overwhelming when you’re planning your next appointment. To help, we asked some ofย our favorite coloristsย to break down the exact tones and styles they’re excited about for summer โ€” like a surprisingly low-maintenanceย platinum-adjacent blonde, or a tone of gold that reads as almost pearlescent.
Whether you’re heading in for a bi-annual refresh on yourย summer highlightsย or looking for something completely fresh to go along with a newย short haircut, we’ve got your inspiration ahead.

“Raw” Blonde

When asked about her favorite color trend of summer, colorist Alex Brownsell immediately mentioned her recent client, model Iris Law. “I loveย Iris Lawโ€™s bleached hair,” says Brownsell. “This blonde is ultra-pale, but not quite as cool-toned as pure platinum. Iโ€™d call [it] a ‘raw blonde’ as the bleach is left untoned, keeping the color super bright and fun for summer.ย “
Here’s how to ask for it:ย According to Brownsell, you want to ask your colorist to lift the hair with bleach, but skip the toner. “No toner โ€” instead,ย Silver Conditionerย was used to remove some of the yellow tones,” Brownsell explains of Law’s color. “The whole process takes about an hour to apply and then the bleach is left on for 45-60 minutes, depending on the depth of the natural hair. After this is all washed and shampooed, theย silver conditionerย stays on for five minutes, which helps neutralize any warmth but not overtone the hair.”
For maintenance, you’ll want to refresh your roots every six weeks, either at home with aย bleach kitย or (ideally) at the salon. Between touch-ups, you can alternateย Bleach London Silver Conditionerย with aย bonding shampoo and conditionerย to keep your color looking fresh and your strands healthy.

Midsummer Brunette

Richy Kandasamy, a colorist for R+Co, says that a shiny, dimensional brunette is designed for a natural summer growout. “The midsummer brunette is an amalgamation of rich deep brunette hues with light mid-summer reflects for dimension,” he explains. It’s a “natural” and “minimalist” color trend, as compared to your dramatic bleach blondes.
Here’s how to ask for it:ย You should bring photo references to your appointment. But beyond that, the word you want to use when describing this kind of color is “seamless.” As for what to expect with the appointment: “It will take an hour and a half to two hours,” Kandasamy explains. “The technique is a classic seamless highlight.”

Strawberry Red

When thinking of red color, the undertones are especially important, as that’s what differentiates strawberry (a gilded red-orange) from copper (a darker, true red). Moroccanoil’s Color Ambassador Matt Rez explains the exact tone to aim for right now as “aย copper red base colorย with super-fine strawberry blonde babylights.” He explains, “Having the orange undertone to red hair color gives it the most natural result. I stay away from purple or blue tones when it comes to redheads.”
Here’s how to ask for it:ย Ask for highlights and midlights to be woven simultaneously, Rez explains (midlighting is a technique that blends the root color to the ends).ย “This is the only way to get the perfect natural results in most hair colors,” Rez says.
All colors fade with washes over time โ€” but red in particularly is notorious for its quick fade. “To keep your color vibrant and shiny between salon visits, I suggest usingย Moroccanoilโ€™s High Shine Gloss โ€“ Color Depositing Mask in Clear,” Rez says. “[It] gives the benefits of an at-home deep conditioning treatment with a professional-strength gloss service.”

“Oysterette” Gold

Kandasamy calls blonde with reflective gold undertones an “oysterette” shade, and he’s loving it for summer. “Itโ€™s a clean, rich blonde,” he explains, “not warm or cool, but balanced.” This example on model Kae, a client at Bleach London, shows an oysterette blonde with a warmer base that gives it the illusion of a “golden hour” glow.
Here’s how to ask for it:ย This is a single-process blonde that will require bleach and toning. However, the key is to bring reference photos of someone that looks to have a hair color and texture similar to yours. That way, your colorist will be better able to achieve the tone of blonde that has the reflective quality by going a touch warmer or cooler, depending on your base tone. For maintenance, Kandasamy recommends a purple shampoo andย color-protective hair mask.

Caramel Glow

Maryann Hennings, a film and TV hairdresser who most recently worked as the lead stylist onย Daisy Jones & The Six, tells us that well-placed highlights can makeย fine or thin hairย appear fuller. If your base tone is brown, you’ll want to ask for a “dimensional” brunette. “Highlights give hair texture, which is great,” says Hennings. Coloristย Justin Andersonย agrees: “I love a color you can live in, and it still looks expensive weeks after the salon,” he says. “I’ve noticed a big trend with variations of chocolate and caramel hues to add a bit of depth in a very natural yet noticeable way.”
Here’s how to ask for it:ย Youโ€™re looking for a colorist who specializes in fine, hand-painted highlights โ€” and your job is to come prepared with plenty of visuals. “The number one thing you should do is bring inย lotsย of example photos to your colorist,” says Anderson. “This will better explain your vision so your colorists can bring it to life.” One of our favorite examples, shown above,ย comes from Carla Lorenz, a NYC-based colorist at Jenna Perry Hair Studio.

Natural Chocolate

A bit of an anti-color color trend, “natural chocolate” conveys a minimalist vibe and can help get previously color-treated hair back to a baseline tone. Here, NYC-based colorist Angela Soto shows her client, photographer Stephanie Mei-Ling, after receiving “natural chocolate” color and aย keratin treatment. Soto’s technique is adding hand-painted highlights for sun-kissed dimension that reads as natural.
Here’s how to ask for it:ย How you approach this trend will depend on what state your hair is in currently. If your hair is already a shade of brown naturally, this might be as simple as aย hair gloss. Colorist Rita Hazan says that the tone should be one shade lighter or darker than your natural base shade โ€” she prefers darker for the added shine. On the other hand, if your hair is in need of a color correction, it might require a single process, a cut, and a bit of highlighting.

Earthy Blonde

We don’t often see a bleached tone described as “earthy.” However, this blonde shade on Moses Sumney feels grounded because there’s a bit of warmth that keeps the platinum tone from turning icy. It’s similar to the aforementioned oysterette gold, but more beige-yellow in tone.
Here’s how to ask for it:ย Ask for a shade of beige blonde that’s not over-lifted or too pale and incorporates a balance of golden and purple tones while keeping some of the natural warmth in your hair, recommendsย Cherise Wilson, a colorist atย Marie Robinson Salon. The key word is “neutral,” so that you don’t lean too warm or too cool.
Bright Hair Color Is Cool In 2022: Itโ€™s All About โ€œFrench Glossingโ€ & โ€œFrostingโ€

Bright Hair Color Is Cool In 2022: Itโ€™s All About โ€œFrench Glossingโ€ & โ€œFrostingโ€

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JACKIE KURSEL.

Refinery29: The thing about hair colorย is that the “trends” tend to be cyclical and a little boring if you consider that the hair growing out of your head can be bucketed into one of the base categories: black, brown, blonde, red, gray, or white. Still, there are degrees of variation and, of course, colors that fall out of the natural spectrum and come fromย bleachย andย hair dye.
What’s fun is that in 2022 the “trends” (as they were) are less about the colors themselves and more about the new techniques, exacting placement, and the way that they speak to the general feeling of the time. Ahead, we break down the top hair-color trends upcoming for 2022. Scroll through and consider your hair and what you want to do with it in the new year.

Bright Color

If you’re considering going brighter with your color, now’s the time to do it big and goย copper,ย golden peach-tinted, or a periwinkle purple (like Pantone’sย 2022 color of the year, Very Peri). According to celebrity hairstylist and Leonor Greyl ambassadorย Trace Henningsen, the color itself is yours to decide, but brightness is the vibe. “Mood boosting colors will leave you with a vivacious appetite for joy and positivity, instantly giving you strong appeal and incitingย feelings of optimism,” she says.
It doesn’t need to be a salon appointment either; you could try an at-home color kits fromย IGKย orย Madison Reed. Or a less-dramatic option: a color-enhancing conditioner fromย dpHue,ย Leonor Greyl, or the one fromย KeraColorย thatย went viral on TikTok.

Hair Frosting

Hair frosting
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GRAHAM NATION
Hair frostingย is like the grown-up version of babylights, where the bleached strands are carefully sprinkled throughout the hair, almost strand by strand (visualize snow falling atop a tree). “Frosting typically uses small, cool-blonde tones to contrast the darker base color,” colorist Stuart Marsh tells R29. “It’s easy to maintain, as it’s designed to blend into your natural hair color.” Stuart says that hair frosting creates a really soft, multidimensional look. “The results can create full layers of color with a detailed finish that never appears ‘overdone.'”
This visual โ€” Madison Bailey styled by hair pro Graham Nation โ€” is a good example of hair frosting, blonde over brunette. Other celeb examples of the vibe includeย Halle Berry,ย Suki Waterhouse, andย Dakota Johnson โ€” all hand-colored by Tracey Cunningham.

French Glossing

French glossing
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MAYBELLE MORGAN
Less of a color trend and more of a shine-enhancement, “French glossing” is another salon service on the rise.ย L’Oreal Paris-affiliated salonsย offer the treatment, which is similar to a traditionalย in-salon hair gloss, offering both depth and shine.
Refinery29 contributor Maybelle Morganย experienced the new treatmentย and described the process: “Permanent hair color is applied to the roots, while an ammonia-free gloss is distributed through the mid-lengths to ends using a gradient technique, which brings out different tones in your hair and lends lengths a modern, ombrรฉ effect,” she explains. According to L’Orรฉal, the result is “Seamless, light-reflective color that screams Parisian chic, like adjusting the brightness on a computer screen.”

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Hair Contouring

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An evolution of theย “money-piece” highlights, hair contouring is all about highlighting the baby hairs that frames the face in a soft and delicate way. “The hair contour is softer than a money piece, it’s not a color block, so it’s there’s lower contrast,” explains hairstylist and colorist Tom Smith. “The benefit is that is lightens the strands around the face and into the hairline, and it lifts the face. ”

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The style has already started to take off on TikTok, with the hashtag for #haircontouring amount millions of video tutorials โ€” and it’s easy to see why. Not only does this look frame your face nicely, but it is also fairly low-maintenance as you’re sectioning off only the front pieces of hair. “To achieve this look simply ask your hairstylist for a lift around your face that’s a shade or two lighter than your natural color,” offers Smith, adding: “You’ll be right on trend.”

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Fashionista: Why Melted-Caramel Highlights Feel So Right For Fall

Fashionista: Why Melted-Caramel Highlights Feel So Right For Fall

PHOTO: JEREMY MOELLER/GETTY IMAGES

Fashionista: If you have naturally dark hair and are feeling an itch to try something brighter, you may think that blonde is the only option. While a buttery balayage can give that sun-kissed effect in the summer, come mid-September, it’s a warmer, more subtle melted-caramel color that everyone’s asking for.

According to colorist Chad Kenyon, a caramel tone โ€” think pale brown with flecks of gold or cinnamon โ€” is the prettiest middle ground betweenย blonde balayageย andย chocolate brown. “Caramel tones look amazing on girls with darker hair that want to go lighter without going blonde,” explains Kenyon. “The end result is so fun for fall because it’s multi-dimensional, and often reads as glossier than a bleach blonde.”

Ahead, find your visual guide to melted-caramel highlights, plus up pro tips on how to ask for it at your next appointment.

If you have a deep base color and want to add a lighter tone without committing to single-process, take a cue from Kenyon and try a subtle caramel-maple face-frame highlight.

If you’re trying to wean yourself off blonde highlights, ask your colorist for a light brown or dirty brunette. Coloristย Lauren Burkeย recommends a golden caramel. “You can go super pale with tones of brown, and still get that brightness and dimension that reads more natural on dark hair,” she says.

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Colorist Tom Smith, out of London’s Billi Currie Salon, calls a light brown with red undertones “gingerbread caramel,” which is what you’re seeing with the piece-y babylights here.
For the most low-maintenance introduction to caramel color, keep the palest golden-brown tones focused around the face or at the ends of the hair, like this blended tone on London-based actress Jade Ewen. “You’re looking for a combination of warm brunette shades with pops of light pieces,” explains coloristย Chelsea Bulte.
Here’s another example of that warm gingerbread caramel color on curls on NYC-based model Eden Amare. If you look closely, you can see the subtle tones of rust on the ends.
The cool part about caramel highlights is that a soft brown next to a dark brunette base makes your natural color appear shinier. Burke recommends a balayage blending technique for the most seamless shade transition. For visual, use this stunning closeup of model Lorenza Izzo, colored by Aviva Perea.
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