Remember a couple of years ago, when the hair color rule of thumb was the ashier, the better? Now, icy tones are out, and warmer shades are on the rise. In the grand scheme of things, the rise of warmer tones in hair makes perfect sense—and it's much more low-maintenance than trying to keep hair cool.
"All hair, no matter what shade, has warm tones naturally underneath the shade that we see on the surface," says Shvonne Perkins, master colorist at Madison Reed. "Warmth usually reveals itself anyway during the color process. Embracing some warmer gold tones means you don't have to fight so hard with the toners and purple shampoos we swear by when trying to be ash."
This season's best warm shades are flattering on pretty much everyone. Perkins and Alex Brown, a Chicago-based celebrity hairstylist and salon owner, agree that we can expect to see tons of strawberry blonde, copper, and multidimensional strands.
If you're wondering how best to try each color on yourself, Perkins recommends opting for gold or copper shades if you have a warmer undertone and a violet-toned color like mahogany if your skin tone leans cooler. "As long as you're adding some dimension with highlights and lowlights and you aren't going too dark or too light, the hair color can be adjusted to complement your skin tone," Brown says. Keep reading for our favorite warm hair colors that add tons of brightness to your features.
Opt for a neutral, beige-toned blonde. Champagne tones are just buttery enough to add tons of light to your face, warming your features. A more neutral blonde requires less upkeep than a cool-toned variation.
There's no doubt about it: Strawberry blonde is everywhere right now. This variation of blonde is fun and playful while still giving you an overall brightening effect. It's also endlessly customizable. You can go for a lighter take on the color and opt for hair that resembles a crisp glass of rosé, or take it jammier and give the color more depth.
Copper is the hair color trend that just won't quit, and we're not mad about it. The copper explosion has shown us that everyone can pull off red tones in their hair—it's not just a shade reserved for natural redheads.
This rich, reddish-brunette color looks dreamy on almost everyone, but it really enhances skin with olive tones. "Mahogany is a great choice because it sits between red and violet on the color wheel, so the complexity adds warmth to the olive-toned skin, but the little bit of violet plays off the skin tone really nicely," says Perkins.
The hair color that took the world by storm when Jennifer Aniston was on Friends is back and better than ever. Warm, golden blonde is endlessly riffable—opt for face-framing highlights, chunky balayage, or allover ribbons of color to get hair the color of artisanal honey.
"For brunettes that are dark mids to ends, think of amaretto liqueur tones mixed with the brown base for richness," says Perkins. Go for warm, caramel-colored balayage through your hair.
When in doubt, opt for multidimensional highlights concentrated toward your face to bring tons of brightness in. You can go for chunkier money pieces to mimic a sun-kissed lightening or weave in babylights for a super-subtle pop of color.
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from Who What Wear