So far this year we’ve been obsessed with iced vanilla balayage, peachy copper and hair frosting. But the warmer weather is ushering in a plethora of shiny new shades — and they’re bound to convince you to switch things up.
Let London’s hottest colourists guide you through…
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Golden Hour Balayage
Influenced by the soft, golden light that bathes scenes just before sunset, golden hour hair adds a halo-like glow to lengths, explains Liz Wilson, stylist at Live True London. “Thanks to a combination of freehand balayage, highlights and lowlights, it lends hair a warm, golden and buttery dimension, which emphasises hair health and shine.”
This trend can work on all hair types and colours, says Liz. “For darker brunettes, focus on adding in subtle, warm-toned highlights. For blondes, keep it golden with shades of strawberry blonde.” Take inspiration from this beautiful, warm hue created by balayage and highlights specialist @irene.does.hair, based at Live True London.
Creamy Curls
“This season is all about a return to warmer tones, leaning away from the ashier versions inspired by Y2K, which have dominated the hair landscape recently,” says Jasmine Cleo, colour technician and curl specialist at Taylor Taylor London. And so she dreamed up creamy curls. “This is a buttery blonde tone, which sees balayage layered over more traditional foil highlights. It’s a great way to blend the blonde shades into your natural colour. It starts at the root and gradually builds up towards the ends for a natural, sun-kissed look.”
The shade is especially luxurious on curly hair, says Jasmine. “It’s great if you’re looking for a way to go lighter for summer without strands looking harsh or unnatural,” says Jasmine. “This is a low-maintenance, contemporary way to achieve a lighter, warmer look for summer.”
Burnt Copper
Copper hair is going nowhere, says Jasmine. “It’s still the hottest hair colour for summer but this time it has been adapted from a deep auburn shade to a brighter orange-red. This means it complements your skin’s undertones better, whether cool or warm.”
If you’re feeling brave and want a bold transformation, Jasmine suggests opting for an all-over burnt copper colour, which she says works particularly well if you’re looking for a change from your usual blonde. So what does it entail? “Burnt copper usually involves lifting the hair, adding dimensional colour and then a gloss to achieve a bright, bold hue,” says Jasmine. “Golden-copper lowlights and highlights are also a playful way to adapt this trend. If you have naturally medium to dark brown hair and want a subtle red hue, ask your colourist for a gloss tint, which will enhance your natural brunette to a warmer colour with red undertones.”
Iciest White
Warmer tones are set to take summer by storm but if you’d rather cool things down — like, all the way down — it has to be iciest white. The shade occupies a space between grey and silver, which looks metallic in daylight. This bold colour was dreamed up by @jhairstylist using Wella and the tapered cut created by award-winning afro and textured hair specialist Michelle Thompson.
Reverse Balayage
“Reverse balayage has been around for a while,” says Liz, “but it’s increasing in popularity alongside requests for ‘expensive blonde’ hair.” Take a cue from this golden hue created by Michelle. Liz continues: “Reverse balayage is a technique rather than a finished product and it involves adding depth back into the roots and throughout the hair. It can help bright blondes (or those with lots of highlights) to reintroduce some more natural tones to their hair,” such as brunette, which results in a more balanced finish.
Anything-But-Boring Beige
This shade emulates the chicest tones in fashion: think luxe camel coats and cosy cashmere sweaters. A strategic mix of highlights concentrated on the ends and natural brunette tones further in, it looks multidimensional on curly or coily hair, like this beautiful style by Michelle on Instagram.
Metallic Rose
Forget rose gold. Metallic rose boasts many different nuances and it’s all down to an amalgamation of shades. “To achieve this, our stylists are combining blonde undertones with a coloured toner to achieve a metallic effect,” says Liz. Here, creative director Paco Latorre opted for a golden-blonde undertone with a pastel pink toner. “This summer we see it becoming a big trend alongside rose bronze, as well as rose silver and even rose gunmetal,” says Liz.
Brunette Balayage
Balayage doesn’t always mean blonde. Brunettes also get a look in. Lorena Castro, Live True’s balayage expert, proves that the delicate highlighting technique can work with much darker tones like caramel and chestnut to enhance deep brown hair. As a result it reflects the light at every angle. Starting a quarter of the way down from the root rather than at the very top will give hair a natural, sun-kissed effect.
Butter Blonde
Both Jasmine and Bernardo Vasconcelos, hairstylist and founder and director of BCO London Salon, are making a case for butter blonde. The shade embraces slightly more yellow tones but they’re rich and warm rather than brassy. According to Bernardo, the shade is taking over Miami and it’s slowly but surely making its way to London.
Squeezy Honey
If you’re not ready for full-on copper, this more muted shade might be your best bet. Sitting happily between red, brunette and blonde, it oozes summer haze — and as Michelle proves, it looks incredible on natural texture.
Copper Red
Copper isn’t going anywhere fast but copper red is the new and improved version ahead of summer. “Copper/orange/peach/vivid reds are all my most requested colour,” wrote Francesca Inverarity, colourist at The Hair Bros, on Instagram. “It is 100% the colour of the moment.” This bespoke copper red was created using @evopro clay lightener throughout to pre-lighten the hair. Francesca added a root smudge for depth and applied an intense gold colour on the ends, then finished with a wash of evo Staino hair colour in Flame to fashion this multilayered hue.
Lived-In Pastels
Wella digital ambassador James Earnshaw proves that pastels are still in vogue for summer 2022. This time around the colour is a little more lived-in, as though it’s been stonewashed or deliberately faded by the sun. This soft mix of pink, peach, lilac and baby blue is dreamy.
Hairline Brights
Invented by Francesca, hairline brights combines two popular techniques of highlighting: “We used a technique where I lift all the baby hairs in the hairline and gently babylight or micro-light around the face, adding some heavy weaves for a contrast of blonde textures.” Francesca says that this gives dimension and depth to a summery bright blonde without it looking too bleached or bright. “Maintenance on these blondes is very low and easy to look after,” added Francesca, so there are no obvious stripes or heavy regrowth.
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