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"Strawberry Blonde" Is One Of Fall 2023's Most Delicious Hair Color Trends

 

The start of fall is the perfect time to start over with new habits and, oftentimes, new looks. So what better way to do that than to update your tresses with one of 2023's trending hair colors? Because, let’s be honest, there are few feelings that compete with the euphoria you experience when leaving the salon with a fresh, new color.

Meet the experts: Lorena M. Valdes is colorist at Maxine Salon in Chicago. Min Kim is a L’Oréal Professionnel global ambassador and color expert at Butterfly Studio in New York. Shvonne Perkins is the lead colorist at Madison Reed. Diana Mildice is a colorist at Maxine Salon in Chicago. Laurabeth Cabott is a hairstylist and founder and CEO of Artistry by LB.

Before you book that salon appointment though, you’re going to need a color plan, and while nature is a great first place to look for hair color inspiration, there are plenty of other, more qualified, sources out there that can help point us in the right direction for the colors that are trending this year. For instance, we consulted a few expert colorists to find out what colors their clients have been asking for and how to achieve said looks.

"The mushroom trend is back, with champagne and honey blonde tones; and natural reds are really popular," says Min Kim, colorist and L’Oréal Professionnel global ambassador. "These are the copper, honey, and burnt cinnamon tones we've already seen on the likes of Kendall Jenner."

Ready to hit the salon? Scroll on to find the perfect inspo to take along…

1. Amber Cocoa

Think of this color as an auburn brown with a touch of copper. "This is an all over color that brings out the warmth in brunettes," says Lorena M. Valdes, colorist at Maxine Salon in Chicago. According to Valdes, this color is recommended for brunettes who want to give the copper trend a slightly darker twist.

"This look is best paired with a wolf or butterfly haircut," Valdes adds. "For black and brown hair, you'll need a touch-up every two months while light brown or blondes will need a touch-up every six weeks.

2. "Curl"-Lights

This one is a form of balayage, which means the highlights will not go all the way to the roots and will mostly focus on the mid-lengths to ends. “It is a great way to play with color, texture and tone,” explains Michelle Schindler, stylist and founder of Seven & Satin Salon. “I like to do teased highlights throughout the whole head and really saturate each foil with lightener. I always go heavier with my foiling in the front of the head because the surface layer of the hair is more exposed to the sun, and taper off the foils and intensity of the color towards the back of the head and the under layer that is less exposed to the sun."

3. Copper Curls

Speaking of curls, Kim says there has been a big, and well deserved resurgence of natural curls over the last couple of years. “A major curl color trend will be bright and bold copper," she says. "The effortlessly sexy nature of natural curls match perfectly with these warm and striking red colors.”

4. Butterscotch Blond

"This rich, balanced color allows for a beautiful golden depth, instead of an icy pop," says Shvonne Perkins, lead colorist at Madison Reed. It's a great way to try out going blond without fully committing to a platinum color that requires a lot of lifting and quite a bit of maintenance. If your hair is already blond, Perkins recommends asking for a hair gloss to balance out the color.

5. Midnight Onyx

Did you watch Netflix's Wednesday and suddenly want to dye your hair jet black or are you normal? If you fall into the former category, "midnight onyx" is the perfect color for you.

"This is a rich black with added shine treatments to make the hair look reflective," says Diana Mildice, colorist at Maxine Salon in Chicago. Essentially, this color pairs well with a bone-straight, glass hair look. "Ask your colorist for an all-over color from roots to ends," Mildice adds.

6. Cathedral Color

Despite what its names suggests, this color has no religious ties, as it's mainly just a metaphor to describe how colors blend into each other to give the hair more depth.

"Much like a cathedral with the finest, delicate points at the top, then becoming a more solid structure towards the bottom," Mildice says. "Cathedral color gradually melts a veil of lightness from the top into the bottom depth. This can be brighter blonde melting into deeper golds and gingers, or even brunettes with hazel and amber glow at the hair ceiling gradually deepening to the depth of a rich brown."

It's a more creative way of describing hair that has a bit of an ombré effect.

7. Coppery Ginger

The copper hair color was all over runways and editorials last year, and the good news is that it's not going anywhere. "We are seeing a much higher demand of copper than ever before in the salons," Mildice says. "Kendall Jenner, Zendaya, and many more have convinced us all hop on the copper trend in recent years."

8. Cherry-Cola

While Perkins insists that sweet strawberry blonde and copper shades are not going away any time soon, she expects to see an insurgence of vibrant violet and red hues in dark red brunettes, “creating a cherry-cola look with mahogany tones that sit between red and violet.”

One way to try this trend, Perkins explains, is to add a pop of red over brunette hair with a temporary mask like the Madison Reed Color Therapy Mask in Rubino. "You’ll see the depth of the brunette stay the same, but the red sheen shines through in the light,” she says.

9. Muted Blonde

Thanks to Barbie dropping this year and the Barbiecore trend taking over the internet, Laurabeth Cabott, hairstylist and founder and CEO of Artistry by LB, has noticed that a subtle, muted, golden blonde is becoming a very popular color in salons. It’s not as much a dramatic look with pops of blonde or face-framing money pieces, but “now it's very subtle, like, [a] very hand-painted, airy, light sun-kissed kind of look,” she says.

If you’re interested in achieving this look (or any new hair look), Cabott suggests bringing your hairstylist or colorist three pictures of inspiration: one showing the hair from the front, one showing the dimension in the back, and a third picture of the overall look. Then, take note of what you love about the photos and what you’re not a fan of, and share that with your hairstylist.

10. Expensive Brunette

“I feel TikTok has been very strong with the natural look,” Cabot says. She’s seen a trend of women, particularly brunettes, wanting to keep their natural color, but have it a bit enhanced. She calls this the “expensive brunette” look, which can be achieved with a subtle highlight or lowlight.

She calls it “expensive” because people might look at someone's hair and wonder if it’s natural or if they got it colored, Cabott explains. “It's just so subtle, but so beautiful,” she says.

Ask your hairstylist about the look with a few inspirational hair photos, and chat about highlights and lowlights if you want the expensive brunette look. You can also ask about having your hair hand-painted instead of foiled for the “natural, sun-kissed look,” she says.

11. Strawberry Blonde

Red hair has been trendy for a while, Cabott says, so a muted red color or a color with red undertones might popular this fall. Enter: strawberry blonde. This color is on-trend because it’s still somewhat natural-looking, which is in right now.

To ask your hairstylist for this color, express that you still love being blonde, but you want to switch it up and add some red undertones, without going full “fire engine red,” she says. Then, your hair will most likely be toned with red tones for the strawberry color.

12. Midnight Black

“When fall comes, everybody wants to go dark,” Cabott says. That’s when “Kardashian black” or “midnight black” hair, which has dark black and blue tones, becomes popular, she adds. If someone’s already dark-headed, they might be ready to fully go dark, which is why this hair color could be popular in the fall.

If you want to talk to your hairstylist about getting this look, ask for “flat Kardashian black,” Cabott says.