Cinnamon dolce, toasted coconut, mushroom, honey lavender—no, this isn’t a recipe for the latest hipster latte. (Although, let’s be honest- doesn’t one of those sound SO good RN?) Those are the names of some of 2018&2019’s most popular hair-color viral trends. And as popular as they were, colorists are way past that and already cooking up fresh new trends for the remainder of 2020 that feel less foodie and more straight to the point. There’s been a shift toward a softer, more natural look for about 5 years now- with the “lived-in” low-maintenance hype. I personally love both and natural, and both low-maintenance and high maintenance looks for different reasons. IMO, it depends the person and their personal lifestyle, and really isn’t beauty and hair all subjective? The answer is yes, just like art.

All hair photos below were done by me, Carlie Roe

Okay, so let’s dive in. What I am about to say is either going to be a LOVE or a HATE from the peanut gallery, but that’s okay. Drumroll… WARMTH IS BACK! It didn’t really ever leave but can I just take a moment and say that I am SO ready for this shift! I am finding my clients moving away from all of the “ashy” and “icy” toned requests, and i’m seeing celebrity hairstylists promoting golden tones. I really am seeing a huge shift in popularity with both blondes and brunettes. Cool silver blondes are accepting a more buttery or Champagne blonde… There I go again with the food references, like, will it ever end? LOL. And brunettes (Oh thank freaking gosh) are back to embracing a warmer or neutral shade of lightness. Can I be trendy for one sec and just say, I AM HERE FOR THIS. Here’s why… It’s not that I don’t love cool tones. I do. When I was platinum I wanted to be icier toned than Elsa, herself. It’s beautiful, but it’s just NOT for everyone. And if i’m being super honest, it can be challenging. Now, I love a challenge, but boy does it get exhausting when you have to turn down excited guests’ ideas!

If you’re unsure what would look best on you, Visit my blog about skin tones and how to find out what yours is. Okay, back to golden hour hair. (That’s not really a thing, I just made that up.) ANYWAYS, As us hairdressers know … And anyone who has tried to go lighter & had a hairstylist explain the science behind bleach and the lifting process… that underneath our hair color we visibly see on top, is different pigments (or colors). So for example, take brunettes. Our eyes see brown, but start stripping away that top brown melanin (color) and you’ll first get an *underlying pigment of red. Then, orange, then yellow, then white (aka mush and your hair won’t be on top of your cute little head.) So when you lighten the hair, those are the stages you are lifting. Although there are cool [Artificial] versions of these colors…Red, Yellow & Orange are all warm tones. So, blondes and brunettes - what’s the thing we always say when our hair starts fading?! “I SEE YELLOW” & “I SEE RED”. Well, there’s a reason why you see it. It’s underneath your hair naturally.

Now, you have a couple options if you do not what to see those pigments we listed above, in your hair… You can

A. Cover it (Like, with a color)

B. Tone it (Correct it or cancel it out)

C. Lift past that color with lightener.

Here’s where that becomes high matinenece, because tone, gloss or color is what deposits cool tones… that obviously fades. Depending on how artificially light your hair is, usually determines how porous your hair strands are as well. The more porous your strands are… the more the tone/color fades.

Visual: Think of porosity as little tiny microscopic “holes” in your hair. The more “holes” in your strands, the easier that color is able to leave, like a door that is open. So many analogies, so little time. Okay, have you had enough of Carlie the science gal? Back to the fun stuff. Now that I dove in a little to explain a clear picture of the process of cool tones and porosity and lightening hair, I can better have your back-up to why warm hair is in style right now (and always will be). The most simple explanation: IT’S NATURAL! In the current era of very lived-in beach-y, low-maintennce hair colors, the warm toned trend does nothing but enhance that natural sun kissed vibe.

Now, take into consideration also that I am in Sunny San Diego, California… So, if you are reading this, in say… The east coast- maybe you are finding something totally opposite. Back to what I always remind people about hair color and art, and really anything: It’s subjective. Here’s another reason why you may want to trade in the Elsa vibes for ana… (If you have not seen the movie frozen, please stop what you are doing and join us here in 2020 because Frozen 2 is currently out- so that means you’re behind, LOL.)

Warm tones mimic the sun better, they also appear brighter to the eyes! Did you know that cool colors like blue, green and purple can appear darker to the eye? This is extremely true with hair color, paint, or really anything. So before you get dead-set on requesting that icy-cool or ash based tone, ask yourself and your stylist this… what maintenance are you willing to invest into these colors? What looks best with my skin tone? And also, ask yourself if you are wanting to see more brightness. You might just find yourself requesting a Honey, golden, Chai, Cinnamon, Beige, or whatever other names you may come up with HAIR COLOR. ;) I am here for it this year, and am welcoming that sunshine trend back with open arms! Join me in embracing the warmth this spring and summer!

Remember babes, when it all comes down to it… It isn’t your hair color or tone or makeup or outfit that makes you beautiful, it’s what’s on the inside: How you treat others and yourself, how you give, how you react, how you feel. Stay positive, be kind & love one another.

xo, thepositivehairstylist

All photos of myself on this blog were taken for @jaydenpresleigh & @jaydenpboutique

Photography by Raquel Mercades @painted.harmony

Why warm hair colors are back and here to stay