Fall’s Hottest Hair-Color Trends

Coined by John Frieda’s creative director Zoë Irwin, this color trend sees brunette move to a more impactful raven hue. “This much deeper, darker, almost-gothic look has come back over the past few years,” she says. “The difference now is that we’re layering glosses and glazes to create it, so I will often place different shades of brunette throughout the hair. Some of them are slightly cooler, some are slightly warmer.” The result? Multi-dimensional brunette that looks ultra-natural. It’s a color shift we’ve already seen from Dua Lipa, altering her money-pieced hairline to a glossy brunette that is so rich in pigment, it looks black in most lights. However, if you are moving from a lighter hue to a shade this rich, at-home maintenance is a must to keep the glossiness that makes the shade look freshly done. Weekly hydrating treatments and in-salon top-up toners are your best friends for this color trend.

“Clients tend to prefer blocked colors, all-over tints or strong, solid colors on their hair for fall,” notes Joe Hill, international technical capability and design manager at Aveda. “I have found that they want an easy look for the winter, and we often see the colors go darker and warmer; more natural in some ways.” The natural bronde, as seen on Sofia Richie Grainge and Hailey Bieber since her switch to a bob cut, is an easy-to-maintain and imperceivable shift from ‘balayaged’ hair. Far from mousy, this fall shade still has subtle dimension, thanks to clever, subtle hand-painting, but doesn’t quite go as far as an all-over balayage look. The panels of light brunette are much larger, giving a more all-over, malty-brown hue.

Taking our cues from Eva Mendes, we’re phasing away from the popular copper hues of summer and into something more neutral. “My other big trend for fall is called spiced umber – it’s a deep brunette that goes into a copper,” Irwin notes. Copper shades are popular because they are flattering on different skin tones, so adding a brunette richness to your hair should tide your look over to the new season. Keep your tone fresh with regular appointments to top up the red pigment, which fades notoriously fast, and add a gloss to your routine to keep the shine.

For fall, the creamier the blonde, the better. The ashiness for blondes this season is a lot more delicate, almost imperceivable on hair, as we look to mid-book blondes that sit firmly in the vanilla category. “Blondes are going way, way more golden,” states Irwin. “It’s a natural ’90s blonde, very Kurt Cobain.” Ask your colorist to dial up the warmth according to your skin tone and color palette – look to Charlize Theron as an example of creamy blondes done well.