Nowadays, when many girls want to add color to their hair, they pick a pastel hue. And we get why. The palette is more daring than hair color trends like vacation hair or tortoise shell hair that aim to enhance your natural color — ’cause let’s face it, taking your locks from au natural to cotton candy is gonna turn heads — yet it’s soft enough to not feel too rebellious. It’s that often-elusive sweet spot for taking your look to the next level.
Last year, lilac was the hue to have, with celebs like Nicole Richie and Kelly Osbourne leading the charge for all-over light purple locks. Rainbow hair also trended in 2014, and with dazzling multi-hued strands, celebs like Rita Ora and Lily Allen made the case that one color just wasn’t enough. This spring, pink seems to the the pastel of choice — Hilary Duff, Julianne Hough and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting all went pink last month — so for now, it’s safe to say bubblegum is the new bombshell. But what can we expect next?
We tapped Ahna Durakovic, SF-based hairstylist and the creative mind behind the temporary pastel conditioner brand Tinge to find out what new pastel hair color is on the verge of being BIG. It turns out, the next trend might be more wearable than ever. “I think it’s gonna be even more subdued. I really feel like adding a smokiness to the colors is going to be it. Like adding gray into a pink to create a smokey pink,” she said, adding,. “Kind of more metallic-y.”
It turns out, we’re already starting to see hints of this trend around Hollywood on a lot of the stars who’ve already taken the pastel plunge. Just a week ago, Hilary Duff did just that — mixing gray and pink — after her ocean-colored hair faded into a gorgeous dusty blue-green. Kelly Osbourne’s lilac pomp has always had a silvery shine to it, same as the roots of Rita Ora’s dusty pink locks from earlier this year. And when Nicole Richie deepened her purple locks to a dark teal, smokey blue streaks gave it dimension.
If a smokey pastel mane sounds like the way you want to take your hair to the next level, there are a few ways to get the look — our resident beauty expert Misty Spinney has the lowdown. Girls who already have bright pastel locks can take the lazy girl approach to a smokier shade by washing their hair with clarifying shampoo to help fade the color (think: Hilary Duff’s mermaid green to seaweed tinge in just a few washes).
If you want to start from scratch — always with freshly bleached locks — and DIY the look, you can use whatever pastel pigment you want + silver or gray pigment and add the mixture into your shampoo or conditioner to create a hint-of-gray color. Or if you’re looking for a less experimental approach, use Tinge’s Silver Temporary Hair Conditioner ($18) on dry, clean hair to more precisely place your grays, or simply ask your stylist/colorist “for a very cool pastel color. Cool means that there is an ashy undertone to the color,” Misty shares. Granny hair just got way chicer.
Would you try out the next big pastel hair trend? Tell us what new hair hues you’d love to see celebs (+you!) rocking in the comments below.
(Photos via Tinge, @hilaryduff, @nicolerichie, Featured Photo via Jason Merritt/Getty)
