This winter was undoubtedly ruled by brunettes. But as we ease into spring, it looks like  brighter shades are making a comeback—the latest being nectar blonde. 

Hot off the trail of expensive blonde, nectar blonde is a dreamy, creamy shade that strikes the perfect balance between brightness and believability. It has all the boldness of platinum but is updated with softer, warmer tones, making it way easier to pull off—and maintain. 

“Nectar blonde looks luxurious, golden and warm,” Tom Smith, celebrity hairstylist and Evo creative director, tells Glamour. “The key here is to lighten the hair’s base color to a dark golden blonde, adding warm vanilla cream highlights through the layers and to the face frame area.”

To get the shade, Smith suggests asking for your beige or golden-blonde base, with hand-painted highlights that are a little chunkier than you might typically go for. “This color works best for those with medium to fair natural hair, as very dark bases tend to have more orange undertones to fight against,” he says. “Don’t use a purple shampoo with this color. Instead, enhance warmth and richness using products with beige and golden tones, such as Evo Fabuloso Beige.”

While the color pops plenty on its own, Smith likes to pair it with what he calls fluffy hair to really show off the dimension. Plus, the shade really nails that whole ’90s supermodel vibe—think Claudia Schiffer—making it the perfect compliment to a big, bouncy blowout. 

Jessica Alba is already wading into Spring 2022’s biggest hair color trend: expensive blonde.

On February 4, the Honest Beauty mogul debuted her dimensional golden bob in a video showing off her dramatic transformation from her prior deep chocolate look. “Another day, another hair style,” she captioned the Instagram Reel with a blonde emoji, tagging stylist Robert Ramos. 

For those who don’t know, the term “expensive blonde” comes at the heel of the expensive brunette trend that swept forth in Fall 2021. “Expensive brunette is all about giving deeper hair energy, dimension, and detail,” celebrity hairstylist Tom Smith, European creative director for Evo Hair, explained back in November. “Expensive brunette is all about adding detail and interest with multiple deeper shades to make the result more dimensional and expensive looking.”

Similarly, Smith recently shared that the trick to making blonde hair look luxurious all comes down to adding subtle dimension. “It’s a really soft contrast so there are fewer shadows in the hair, but it’s not one set color,” he said. “There’s still dimension, there’s still highs and lows. Generally, it’s a warmer shade, but I think this is really going to do well in spring.” 

Based on that description, Alba’s new look is the perfect example: 

Though it’s been a while since Alba has sported blonde hair, she’s not the only celebrity going back to an old favorite. Gigi Hadid, who just recently boarded the expensive brunette train, is already back to blonde after less than a month.

After testing the trending look in early January, Hadid recently returned to a brighter, platinum tone. On January 25, stylist Elizabeth Sulcer posted a picture to Instagram of the model posing in a baby pink suit with long, golden waves. “GIGI ? GLAM ?,” Sulcer wrote, tagging NYC-based hairstylist Panos Papandrianos.

Anyone else feeling the itch to go blonde? Check out Glamour’s list of blonde hair ideas to take to your next salon appointment. 

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Florence Pugh has dyed her pixie cut mullet platinum blonde and she honestly looks like a punk rock Tinker Bell.

On December 16, the Hawkeye star shared her latest hair transformation on Instagram, where she posted multiple pics of her icy blonde hair sticking up in an impossibly cool fashion. “Merry Christmas kisses.. ?,” she captioned the post from a Christmas tree stand. 

Pugh, who has been known as a blonde for most of her career, first debuted her short hair not long after transitioning to a deep chocolate brunette. “I did a thing..#chopchopchop ,” she captioned the Instagram post on October 30. 

The cut, which received over 2 million likes on Instagram, was a hit amongst fans and celebrities alike. “I am crying. Stunning,” Ariana Grande commented on the post, while fellow Marvel star Hailee Steinfeld wrote, “Absolutely.” 

Joey King replied, “I love it,” and Gemma Chan simply responded, “Yessssss ???.”

Though Florence Pugh has had this cut for less than a month, this may not be the first time she’s changed up the color of her pixie. On November 23, the actor shared a photo on Instagram that had fans convinced Pugh had colored her hair a vibrant shade of red, though it may have been a trick of the light. (The next day, the actor posted an Instagram Story in which her hair was back to brunette.)

 “WAIT THE HAIR WAIT WAIT IT’S RED IT LOOKS SO GOOD HELP,” one fan of the shade commented. 

Of course, the Midsommar star has never been one to shy away from a little hair dye. This is the same person who rocked pink tips for the Black Widow premiere, after all. 

Just remember, if you’re looking to change up your look, going from darker shades to bright blonde requires patience and a fair amount of upkeep. When Billie Eilish took the plunge in March, the process took six weeks. For Selena Gomez, the transformation required “200 foils, several bowls of bleach, and 8 hours of hair magic.” 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the results aren’t worth it. If you’re feeling inspired, check out Glamour’s list of the 35 best shades of blonde to use as inspiration. 

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If you’re anything like us, you’ll be long overdue a trip to the salon to get your highlights freshened up. Dark roots? Don’t know her. 

It’s true: We spent every day in lockdown dreaming of trying out the latest hair trends. Ribbon blonde? Sign us up. The textured bob? Chop it all off. Even the modern mullet? Yep, there was no trend we wouldn’t have tried (Thanks, Miley). 

But now that we’re out the other side and my hair salon is officially open, we’re looking for a slightly more subtle switch-up—something soft and flattering for autumn that doesn’t require too much maintenance or upkeep.

Enter “money piece” highlights, a happy medium between two-tone hair and super-soft balayage highlights that instantly brighten and frame your face. “Money-piece highlights are a fuss-free way to change up your look without having to touch the whole head—it’s all about face-framing and contouring the hair,” says Natalia Romaniuc, colorist at Windle London.

Money-piece highlights were popularized in the ’90s and have made a notable comeback lately. “The main inspiration for this throwback trend is probably ’90s-era Geri Halliwell,” says Romaniuc. “It’s just been a little bit more refined and softened to suit the 2021 market.”

“It’s a super-flattering look because it brightens your face, accentuating your facial features and your own base hair color,” explains Romaniuc. “Best of all, this technique works on any color of hair and really can suit everyone, whether you are a warm blonde or a deep, cool chocolate brown—the money pieces can pop when you choose a color three to four shades brighter to achieve the full impact, and this usually requires bleaching those specific areas of the hair beforehand.”

Money-piece highlights are a hotly emerging trend as we ease out of lockdown and look toward the holidays, with clients looking to embrace a new and exciting look in a fuss-free way, says Romaniuc.

“We are able now to work with the clients’ more natural color and offer them services such as money-piece highlights to immediately update their look with very little effort—and of course, less time in the chair meaning more affordable and maintainable,” explains Romaniuc. “My clients at Windle are incorporating this trend into their usual balayage colors, where we just intensify the placement of highlights and freehand around the face.”

So how do we maintain the look? “The level of lightening involved with money highlights mean you should use gentle, natural shampoos so as to not strip the hair or affect the color,” advises Romaniuc. “After all, you wouldn’t buy a Gucci dress, then wash it with dish soap, would you?!”

Ready to look a million dollars? We thought so. 

This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K. 

If you thought the overgrown roots of lockdowns past would put us off going full throttle blonde, you’d be sadly mistaken.

While some of us have opted for bold, bright colors—including blue, pink, and green with peekaboo styles and money-piece highlights—others have opted for a more natural, but no less uplifting, dye job.

“There’s going to be a bigger move toward blondes again,” says pro hair stylist Luke Hersheson. “I think people want to brighten things up. They want to feel lighter and lifted—and a bright color can have a really uplifting, mood-boosting effect.”

The shade he predicts is really going to fly is the perfect mashup of nostalgia made modern. “I think fantasy throwback Cinderella shades will be in,” he says. This means a luxe creamy color that’s a little softer than the platinum and ice blondes we’ve been seeing.

It’s an entry-level shade for first-time bleachers (hair fatigue has prompted Emily Ratajkowski and Kaia Gerber to move to brighter shades recently), and it’s a flattering and more wearable option for girls with darker features—creamy blonde is a favorite among natural brunettes like Lily James (incidentally, Disney’s most recent Cinderella), Emma Roberts, Beyoncé, and Serena Williams. That said, if you’re looking for something with less commitment, Hersheson says just brightening up your strands by a couple of shades can make a big difference. As for veteran blondes, it’s a pretty way to freshen things up and bring your hair color back to its former glory.

Either way, care will form a big part of things. The trademark of dreamy Disney-princess blonde is the expensive-looking, glossy condition, which means that supplementing your salon visit with at-home hair masks is important. Hey, it’ll be something to throw on while you’re streaming Disney+ from your sofa in your pj’s.

This story originally appeared on Glamour UK. 

You’re in the market for a new-season switch-up. You want a fresh feel for your strands. You’re not sure you want to commit to anything too peroxide. But then you spotted the beaut summer hair shade dominating the ‘gram.

Sunny girl blonde is everywhere. The ultimate clap back against ‘meh’ winter hair, when we had to go it alone, the question this summer is are you going blonde or are you going blonder.

“Blondes have had it tough with salons being closed and so now that they’ve been reunited with their colorists they want to go brighter, bolder and blonder,” reveals Harriet Muldoon, top colorist at London’s Larry King Salon. “I’ve been amazed at the number of clients asking for blonde services. Even my brunette clients have been asking for lighter tones – anything to make them stand out in the crowd. This summer it’s all about making a statement. It’s going to be a real blonde moment,” she adds.

She’s not wrong. The hashtag #blondetransformation has hit 8.4 million views on TikTok and the search term “how will i look with blonde hair” is up 80% on Google.

So what is it about sunny girl blonde that sets the shade apart? “What is sunny? We use this term to describe a bright blonde with a golden undertone,” explain the experts at Los Pastel salon based over in Australia, the land of sunshine. “It’s bright and golden, like the sun,” they explain.

Essentially, it’s tailor-made for gorgeous warm weather.

However, there is the awkward question of damage. “As always, consumers have concerns when it comes to going blonde – due to fear of irreversible damage,” says Muldoon, who recommends Redken’s Shades EQ Bonder Inside salon treatment. The actives in the formula help to protect the naturally occurring bonds in the hair during the chemical coloring and bleach. It reinforces the hydrogen bonds inside the hair fibre leaving the hair feeing healthy and soft.

Then you can top up the good work with at home bond builders – the Glamour team took Olaplex’s Moisture Mask for a spin and were blown away.

Which means, with a little consideration and some high-performance care products, beautiful blonde summer hair is more accessible than ever.

This story originally appeared on Glamour UK. 

We’ve seen a ’90s and ’00s hair revival. We’ve relived the scrunchies, butterfly clips, and head bands from when we were in elementary school, but the next hair trend that’s blowing up on the ’gram? It pushes things back further still, to when we were dinky with huge Bambi eyelashes and soft, silky angel hair.

In fact, the gentle color of preschool strands is the inspo for “baby blonde,” which seeks to recreate the brighter blonde hair some toddlers have when they’re little.

Look to hair dye names, and “baby blonde” usually shows up as a pale platinum blonde, but expert colorists like Brazil’s Romeu Felipe have advanced hair color techniques to give the shade beautiful dimension and a much more natural, innate feel. He’s a leader in creating multidimensional blondes, and his “soft baby blonde” takes its cue from the delicate hair of children which “perfectly reveals light and shadow effects,” according to Wella.

The painting technique blends sun-bleached, baby cherub shades with deeper undertones and roots for an effect that looks youthful but natural, rather than an all-over platinum.

Licks of lighter gold are applied to the front sections and baby hairs, then woven seamlessly through the crown and lengths.

But the condition is just as important too. Shiny, soft strands are what sets this shade off, so glossy treatments and nourishing masks are a key component of caring for this color.

The shade is a hit with celebs, including Sofia Richie, who’s currently rocking a delicious rendition of the color created by hair colorist and balayage queen Tauni Dawson.

Margot Robbie has been known to favor the more realistic, gentle nod to platinum.

To ensure it looks super seamless, work with your colorist on spotlighting the perfect golden tone for your skin. The skill is in creating a gorgeous contrast that lights up your natural tones.

And, for a glam spin on the shade, push the color even brighter around face-framing sections.

This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K.

After two months with vintage blonde hair, Selena Gomez is back to brunette. 

On July 1, Gomez announced the major news that her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, has gone global. In the Instagram post, which features the entrepreneur standing in front of balloons in a prairie dress, you can see that her once blonde locks are now a shade of rich chocolate. 

“So excited that @rarebeauty is now global! I’ve put my heart and soul into my brand and couldn’t be more grateful I get to share it all over the world,” she wrote. “Was on set today shooting our next campaign -so sad I couldn’t be in each country to celebrate. Can’t wait to visit and see y’all soon! ??”

Based on the caption, it’s possible this photo was taken prior to her blonde transformation, which Gomez debuted on April 23. These types of deals take months to go forward, so the pop star could easily have prepared the announcement knowing she’d be busy when it was time to break the news. However, it’s just as likely that Gomez simply grew tired of the upkeep required to maintain bright, golden hair. After all, just getting her hair to that point took eight hours.

“We’ve been doing Selena’s color for over a decade now. She typically keeps it pretty natural, but this time she went for a big change,” Nine Zero One Salon co-owners Nikki Lee and Riawna Capri wrote in a statement back in April. “This blonde is unique to her as we had to make sure there was an equal balance of cool and warm for her skin tone. It’s an edgier look and perfect for summer.”

They added, “The entire process took 200 foils, several bowls of bleach, and 8 hours of hair magic.”

Selena Gomez was one of a bunch of celebrities who committed to the high-maintenance dye job. Billie Eilish took her brunette and green locks to platinum blonde over the course of six weeks, Lucy Hale debuted her lemon-honey ’do after months of lightening her deep brown bob, and even Mandy Moore couldn’t resist reliving her pop-star days with a blonde transformation in May. 

But all good things must come to an end, and Gomez looks absolutely stunning either way. 

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Warm weather is here, and do you know what that means? It’s time to lighten those locks.

If you’re ready to flirt with a blonder hue, we have the perfect color for you: Sunrise blonde. Yes, it kind of sounds like a drink you’d order at a bar or a paint color for an airy bedroom, but hear us out: Sunrise blonde is a versatile and fresh color that’s bound to turn heads this summer. 

“We are doing a lot of multi-faceted blondes right now [at the salon],” celebrity colorist Jeremy Tardo tells Glamour. “These looks offer brightness as well as a soft dimensional appearance to your hair color.” Sunrise blonde is bright and golden with tons of dimension but still has a natural vibe thanks to a darker root and warm tone. 

Tardo explains that this shade of blonde is flattering on different skin tones, just keep in mind that the shade will be harder to get if your hair is naturally on the darker side. He adds, “Variations of this color can work great for many different skin colors and textures, but the darker your natural hair color is, the more processing your hair will go through when lightening.” 

If you’re ready to rock a new look this season, first chat with your hairstylist to make sure you can maintain your hair’s health after lightening it. “Consult with your colorist to decide how light is ideal for your hair,” Tardo says. “Lightening hair isn’t always gentle, so I always recommend a bond builder like Olaplex to help keep your hair in great condition when highlighting.”

If you decide that you’re ready to go lighter, make sure your hairstylist keeps the shade realistic by lightening your hair with highlights.   “Have your colorist do sunny balayage or babylights,” Tardo says. “Keep enough of your natural color in the hair so that the appearance maintains a dimensional look.”

Scroll on for our favorite takes on the trend, and get ready to book an appointment ASAP.