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Hair

The Best Hair Color Ideas to Try in 2023

 

Get ready for your next salon appointment.

If you're looking for the best hair color ideas, you're in the right place. There's no better way to refresh your look than with a hair transformation, and there is certainly no shortage of cool hair color ideas trends to try right now. The biggest hair color trends of the past year have included high-fashion takes on otherwise low-maintenance color like expensive honey and candlelit brunette—and, of course, lots of red and copper. Experts say 2023 will continue to be about having fun.

That doesn’t mean you have to dye your hair bright pink (but if you want to, we’ve got plenty of advice for it). Rather, there are plenty of unexpected tales on classic hair color ideas that are trending as well. Why ask for basic highlights when you can order up honey ribbons or rosy champagne?

We talked to top stylists to get the intel on the best hair color trends to try right now, from vintage blonde to bright pink. Ahead, plenty of inspiration to screenshot for your next appointment.

What color should I dye my hair?

There are a few things to take into consideration. When it comes to deciding on a shade, celebrity hair colorist Aura Friedman recommends holding up a shirt or scarf in the colors you’re considering to your face. That way, you can see how it brings out your eyes and complexion.

If it’s pastel hair you’re after, then you’re in luck since it suits a range of skin tones. “For blondes who tend to have pink skin, I recommend putting pink in their hair,” says Friedman. “It will actually pull the pink from your face and give the impression of a more even skin tone.”

What hair colors are trending in 2023?

“People are ready to get out and show off and live their best lives, and I’m seeing that with color,” says Tracey Cunningham, a celebrity colorist and the author of True Color. “Some are going super blonde, and others are sticking to a beautiful balayage or ombré that makes them look and feel their best.”

Cunningham says a big trend in her salon has been clients’ going lighter and brighter, especially for summer 2023: “Highlights are back in. Every time I’m in the salon, I see hair getting blonder, blonder, blonder—whether their natural tone is a brunette, redhead, or darker blonde.” On the other hand, shades of red, copper hair color, and strawberry are still going strong, as are amped-up shades of whatever nature gave you.

Sun-Washed Blonde

Rita Hazan, celebrity hair colorist and founder of the namesake salon Rita Hazan, is behind Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour dye job, a summery shade Hazan is calling sun-washed blonde. “I lightened her natural color three shades,” says Hazan. “And then I customized where I wanted to place the highlights.” As for where the sun-washed name comes from, Hazan says her inspo was end-of-summer hair, “when you spend all summer on the beach and the sun and salt water give you the ultimate color.”

Candlelit Brunette

One of 2023’s biggest brunette hair trends is candlelit brunette. Jennifer Korab, celebrity hairstylist and owner of Renaissance Salon & Spa in Hillsborough, New Jersey, describes it as “a warm and radiant brown hair color that’s achieved by adding subtle highlights and lowlights to a brown base; the overall effect is meant to mimic the soft, flickering glow of candlelight."

Pastel Peach

If you're itching to try the pastel hair trend, take a page from Jennie Ruby Jane and try peachy copper. “Peach is so pretty on so many different skin tones,” says Mark DeBolt, celebrity colorist and co-owner of New York’s Mark Ryan Salon. “Because it’s such a warm color, it makes skin and eyes glow and makes your hair look so healthy.” DeBolt suggests asking your stylist for a peach glaze instead of going the DIY route, but try Lime Crime’s Unicorn Hair Tint in Sushi if you’re confident in your hair-dyeing skills.

Expensive Honey

Jennifer Lawrence turned heads at Cannes Film Festival, where she debuted an expensive honey dye job. “The shade is a warm blonde hair color trend that looks and feels expensive,” says Korab. “Expensive honey has a redder and browner undertone, creating a multidimensional and rich-looking hair color. It can suit a variety of skin tones and types and is a popular choice if you are seeking a neutral and flattering look.”

Copper Coin

For a modern take on Ariel's iconic red hair, hairstylist Camille Friend opted for a more subtle copper shade on star Halle Bailey. “When I start designing a character for a movie, I begin with a few questions,” she told Glamour. “What are the actor's skin tones and undertones? What is their eye color and facial shape? Based on that information, I chose a golden-orange shade of red that would look most flattering on Halle.”

Dusty Rose

“We are starting to see a lot of dusty rose gold in the salon,” Korab continues. “Dusty rose gold is a toned down trend of the copper we are seeing. This trend combines blonde and a warm gold to create that dusty rose gold. We saw this trend first in the early 2000s and is now making a comeback.”

Face-Framing Highlights

Money-piece highlights aren't going anywhere. “I'm still seeing lots of pop highlights in the front,” hairstylist Glenn Ellis points out. “When the two front pieces of the hair have more of a chunky highlight, it gives more of a sun-kissed blonde look.”

Midnight Onyx

Wednesday-inspired goth glam is taking over hair color too. “This rich black with extra shine, as if to look reflective, is trending after Wednesday,” Lorena M. Valdes, colorist at Chicago's Maxine Salon, says. “For Wednesday’s look, ask your colorist for an allover color from roots to ends. Malibu C treatments are great to remove any buildup that helps dull and greasy hair.”

Rich Burgundy

As is to be expected, we'll be seeing more burgundy hair color and red hair color this year. “Since we've turned the corner for 2023, we have seen the trend of burgundy and reds coming back,” says Korab. “This trend is adding more violet to your reds creating more of that burgundy or merlot color.”

Honey Gold

“In 2023, the ‘ash blonde’ is going to be less relevant and we are going to be seeing more gold and honey tones,” says hairstylist Nicholas Taylor. “I predict the Playboy bunny golden blonde is making its comeback as well as deep honey blondes. Chris Appleton just did a honey blonde on Kim Kardashian and I’m obsessed.”

Deep Auburn

And, of course, more red. “Next year is going to be a huge year for auburn hair,” Taylor adds. “Ciara is rocking gorgeous auburn hair right now that I’m obsessed with. Browns and auburns are taking the cake as 2023’s number one color trend.”

Expensive Brunette 

Over the past year we’ve seen many blonde celebs like Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber trade in their blonde for a pretty brown hair color, and we expect to see more following in their footsteps. “Expensive brunette is all about giving deeper hair energy, dimension, and detail,” says celebrity hairstylist Tom Smith, European creative director for Evo Hair. “It’s all too easy when going for a darker shade of hair color to apply one tone all over, a similar result to using a box dye at home. I’m of the opinion that it’s professional hair colorists’ responsibility to give our clients something they could never get at home, and so expensive brunette is all about adding detail and interest with multiple deeper shades to make the result more dimensional and expensive looking.”

Golden Copper 

Like we said, shades of red has been steadily trending this year. In fact, it’s only getting brighter. This shade is popular among people who want a bold change,” says Jenna Perry, celebrity colorist and owner of NYC’s Jenna Perry Hair. “It’s equal parts sexy and playful.” Just keep in mind that red is one of the hardest shades to maintain, so plan for regular touch-ups, and make sure to use only color-safe shampoos.

Winter White 

Expect to see brighter blondes popping off this year. “We are really loving the retake on this classic bottle blonde look on Anya Taylor-Joy,” says Mark DeBolt, colorist and co-owner of Mark Ryan Salon. “There is just something about that one-tone, even color that is a high-lift, or double-process, blonde. This color is great for the person that wants to stand out in the crowd—this blonde can transport you back to glamour of Old Hollywood beauties like Marylyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield.” Though anyone can get to this shade with enough bleach, DeBolt really only recommends it for those with lighter natural hair colors, since it’s such an intense process.

Winterizing 

DeBolt says his clients aren’t opting for huge changes this winter; instead they’re making subtle tweaks to their current shades. “Clients are opting for richer, more dimensional versions of their spring and summer looks,” he says. “For blondes, that may mean adding ribbons of deeper shades of blonde to create more shade-on-shade dimension. This may also include glossing their hair to a deeper, buttery tone or playing with a fashion accent like marigold, peach, or apricot.” For brunettes, he said, adding a gloss to make your color richer, and adding more amber, gold, and “root beer” tones are great options. “Overall the feeling is warmer, richer, and a more lived-in-looking hair color.”

Brown Balayage 

Subtle highlights are a great way to refresh dark hair colors without veering into drastic territory. “Brown balayage gives hair lots of dimension and pop,” says Jamila Powell, owner of Miami’s Maggie Rose Salon. “This color gives a nice, subtle sun-kissed look and works for everyone.” Ask your colorist for varying shades of brown placed throughout your hair for the most dimensional and natural look. 

Shades of Red

DeBolt says he’s loving deep, rich shades of red, particularly for the colder months ahead. “The richness of this red shades perfectly complements winter looks,” he says. “This looks beautiful on women with deeper skin tones. For someone with brown eyes, the red enhances the warm tones. For someone with blue or green tones, it sets the eye color as a contrast color and creates a beautiful contrast. Ask for a rich red or auburn shade that doesn’t skew too violet. Semipermanent hair colors are great for this look because they are conditioning and add brilliant shine.”

Subtle Face Frame 

For a softer take on last year’s chunky highlights, go for a subtle face frame. A brighter shade right around your face will bring all the attention to your eyes, without any harsh lines. “A super-effortless face frame with bright endlights and a base drop is a more evolved ombré that’s less contrived and sexier,” says colorist and Matrix ambassador Rachel Bodt. “It’s great way to add dimensions and not take away from the depth you may love.” To get the look, she suggests asking for a face frame with some color melting and to leave the ends out to keep the brightness. 

Glossy Espresso 

“This color is the perfect winter color for brunettes,” says DeBolt. “It is time to take away those old highlights and brassy ends with an allover rich brunette color. This can be accomplished by layering different glosses to create a brown that is deep and rich without red tones. Going more one-color is a dramatic statement that enhances skin tone and eye color.”

Black Diamond 

“This power color gets us back to a place of control and glamour,” says Liz Burns, the creative director and lead stylist at Goldie x Bob Salon in Denver. “This shade color represents power, authority, and charisma.” Since black hair looks so shiny and healthy, Burns says this color actually flatters a wide range of skin tones—on paler skin it has a Snow White effect, and on darker skin it can bring out richer tones. When talking to your stylist, ask for an inky-black hair dye and a gloss to make it look as shiny as possible.

Flower Child Blonde    

“This new year is ushering in effortless-looking blondes that can be worn all year long,” says celebrity colorist Jeremy Tardo. Case in point: this rooted retro-blonde. “Keep your roots natural and fade baby blonde shades into your hair,” he says. “And ask your colorist for a natural-blonde color melt that you can touch up twice a year.” Keep in mind that the look will be way more low-maintenance if you’re a natural blonde, as darker hair will require more frequent upkeep.

Cinnamon Red

DeBolt loves this softer take on red if you aren’t ready to go bold. His number-one tip? “Bring plenty of pictures to your colorist,” he says. “There are so many types of red, and you want to make sure to get the right tone for your skin. This shade looks beautiful on creamy skin and anyone who has peachy warmth. Cinnamon reds look particularly beautiful on anyone with green or hazel eye color.” 

Fine Lines 

Last year’s bold highlights are being replaced by finer, more natural-looking highlights. For a bright blonde, ask for a mix of finely woven highlights and lowlights. “As seen on Khloé Kardashian, it gives you an allover statement blonde,” says Karissa Schaudt, a colorist at Maxine Salon. “Ask for babylights to ensure the pieces aren’t chunky and are very blended. This is best on short to medium hair lengths and great on our want-to-be blondes all year round.”

Blonde Balayage 

If the New Year has you itching to go blonder, Powell suggests easing in with a blonde balayage for a seamless transition. “Ask your stylist for various shades of blonde placed throughput your hair,” she says. (We love these other balayage hair color ideas too.)

Caramel Ribbons 

“I love a good brunette that doesn’t read red but has elements of warmth throughout,” says LA colorist Matt Rez. “It gives a really balanced result.” If you’re a natural brunette, ask your stylist for midlights one or two levels lighter than your base and neutral-warm highlights. “The combo of the two will pick up so beautifully without unwanted warmth taking over and reading as a red,” he says. “Done right, warmth on brunettes is unbeatable.”

Silver Champagne 

Turns out you can have the best of both worlds, as exemplified by this cool blonde with warm accents. “This is gorgeous on ash blondes who want a fresh tonal option that doesn’t cross over into gold,” says Tardo. “Have your colorist use translucent pearl and silvery toners on your blonde.”

Mahogany Glow  

Tinges of red and peach to full-on pumpkin spice hair were trending hard for 2022, and these shades aren’t going anywhere. Mahogany glow is the latest iteration of the trend, and it’s perfectly suited for dark hair. “These red-brown accents reflect light beautifully on rich brunette locks,” says Tardo. “The tones are especially flattering if you have textured hair with a dark natural base color.” For a similar look, he says, ask your colorist for mahogany pigments to be mixed into your usual brunette color.

Hazelnut Brunette 

For an update on brown, Burns looks to nature—for this color, she found inspiration in hazelnuts. “This brunette is a tone-on-tone brown with glimpses of golden light browns to depths of a deeper ashy brown,” she says, calling it “low-maintenance with high impact.” For a similar look, she recommends bringing plenty of photos to your hairstylist so they can understand what tones you’re looking for.

Embracing Gray  

Over the past year we’ve seen a lot of women embracing a more natural look, and Burns says many of her clients have made the decision to let their grays grow in. “With salons being closed for months during lockdown, this gave people time to see the possibilities of embracing their natural highlights: gray hair,” she says. “This can be a huge change for people, and while the end result is very empowering, it can be a process to blend the new growth of salt-and-pepper with old-colored ends if you’re not willing to chop it off.” If you want to go this route, she says to be prepared to work closely with your stylist and to expect this to be a bit involved. She likes to make a mapped schedule for her clients, so they know exactly what to expect in terms of timeline. Once the grow-out is in a good place, she recommends a semipermanent gloss to keep the gray from looking yellow.

Sand Tropez 

Multitone blonde is shaping up to be a huge trend this year, like this pretty sand shade on Kylie Jenner. “Neither ash nor gold—it’s a beautiful blend of both,” says Schaudt. “Mixing highlights and midlights creates this multidimensional shade of warm sandy and cool beige tones that are perfect for someone who wants to keep a beach vibe year-round.”

Reverse Balayage 

“Reverse balayage is definitely a new trend,” says Lauren Grummel, a hairstylist in New York City. “So many people are looking for lower-maintenance color, and this is a perfect solution.” If you already have bright highlights but are looking for something with an easier grow-out, Grummel suggests asking for a root color that’s one shade lighter than your natural. “It will blend seamlessly with the highlights and your natural color, creating a lower contrast. But you’ll still have pops of the highlights,” she says.

Rosy Pop

Shades of red are clearly a standout trend for the coming year, but if you don’t want to go all the way, consider having your stylist weave some red pieces into your base shade. “Shades of auburn mixed throughout really give the hair some subtle pop,” says Powell. “I love anything two-toned because it gives amazing dimension throughout your hair.” She suggests this look for warmer-toned brunettes who are looking for a small change. 

Buttercream Blonde 

If you’re a natural blonde and want to go lighter but not quite platinum, go for a baby blonde with a hint of warmth. “With a natural light canvas to work off, you are already cutting through several layers of underlying warmth that takes a brunette hours to accomplish,” says celebrity hair colorist Bianca Hillier. “This grows out nice and easily without much maintenance. You can get away with highlights once or twice a year. Make sure your colorist gets a great look at your eye, skin, and lip hues to conclude what is too buttery or just enough.” (Be sure to check out more of our favorite blonde hair color ideas if you’re thinking of going lighter.)

Fantasy Blue    

For winter, Hillier says to expect blue to take over pink as the fun color du jour. However, there’s a reason it’s not as common as pink, since it’s a little harder to nail. Hillier says it looks great on pale skin but can bring out any redness you have, so be careful if that’s a concern of yours. It can also tinge green if your hair isn’t lightened enough, so be sure to ask your colorist to fill your hair to knock out any yellow tones before going in with your shade of blue. Hillier recommends an Olaplex treatment with all major hair changes, but especially one like this where bleach is involved. All the work is worth it though, as there’s no denying the finished look is cool as hell.

Deep Dimension 

“The perfect seasonal update for darker brown hair is to add shade-on-shade dimension with different shades of brunette,” says DeBolt. “This will give darker natural hair more depth and variation. Even subtle brown tones can make a big color difference on black hair.” To keep the contrast up, he recommends using the Christophe Robin Shade Variation Mask in Ash Brown to temper any brassiness and add shine. 

Barely There Highlights 

If you’d like highlighted hair, this is a great option for a little lift with barely any upkeep. Grummel says to ask for highlights only a couple of shades lighter than your natural shade to add some some dimension without any harsh grow-out. 

Amber Brown 

If you want a simple change for your winter hair color, DeBolt recommends asking your stylist for a blushy, warm gloss on brown hair. “If you have faded highlights from summer, a simple gloss would do the trick and will add shine and warmth for the months ahead,” he says. “If your hair is one single color, you will need to add some delicate, hand-painted highlights around your face and throughout the crown.”

Matte Brown 

“For anyone who is on the fence about going blonde, this is your first step in that direction,” says Hillier. “A matte brown works well with almost every skin tone.” She says to be sure your colorist tones your hair for longer than usual to create a dense, long-lasting brown—and to avoid brassy tones. 

Golden Pops 

Bold highlights can be done on all hair colors—not just blonde. The key is getting the tone right, and Hillier suggests keeping it in the gold family. “Soft golden pops are great for everyone, since gold is what reflects the most light creating the utmost shine,” she says. “Clarify with your colorist on exactly how blonde you want these pops so you don’t end up looking like a platinum Barbie doll.”

Pampas Blonde  

“I love this blonde tone because it gives a nod to a ’70s blonde, while the application is seamless and effortless-looking,” says Burns, who named this super-dimensional shade for the similarly toned pampas grass. “The first application is applied in babylight form. Then slightly bolder pieces are woven through with foils and hand painting, giving little pops of the brighter off-white.”