Summer 2023 has officially made a grand entrance with the scorching heat. I don’t know if it’s just me, but something about this season always makes me want to experiment with my hair. That explains why I spent five hours at the salon, going lighter on my usual blonde. As someone who’s either been a daring redhead or a fiery blonde for most of her life, nothing brings me more happiness to me than a fresh colour job does. Summers are all about letting yourself loose, hitting the pause button on the mundane and pushing your boundaries a little—yes, I’m just talking about some hair colour, not an impulsive summer trip to Bali.
Now that I’ve made you ponder about some zesty summer hair colour, did you think I’d leave you without some inspiration? This year will be seeing a multitude of hair colour trends that have a little something for everyone. A quick conversation with my hair colourist as I whiled away my Saturday at the salon led me to find out that summer 2023 is brimming with light coppers, cherry colas and the infamous Gemini hair. So bookmark your favourites in time for your next trip to the salon.
SUMMER 2023 HAIR COLOUR TRENDS
Cherry Cola
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Let’s be real, rocking a full head of bright red hair isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Let’s also not forget the amount of upkeep that entails! Cherry cola hair lets you dip your toes into the red hair waters without going all out. Think of this as either black or dark brown hair with undertones of the red family—burgundy, maroon or even a tinge of purple. If you think this colour’s a little familiar, you have Christina Aguilera’s iconic highlights to thank. Seamlessly fitting into the internet’s favourite dark feminine aesthetic, cherry cola hair is here to stay.
Pastels Galore
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This one’s for those who aren’t afraid of a pop of colour. Summer automatically translates to hues of pink, green and blue. But this time around, we’re giving it a pastel twist. Baby pinks, mint green and sky blue along with lilacs are about to be everywhere this summer. However, these colours only do justice when your hair is bleached to a level 9 and toned enough for the brassiness to disappear. All thanks to the existence of semi-permanent hair dye, you can now embrace pastels in all of their glory.
Gemini All The Way
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Gemini hair slowly found its way to our mood boards at the start of 2023, and it’s stayed long enough to be in time for summer. Gemini hair allows you to rock two colours at the same time, talk about making a dramatic entrance everywhere you go. The best part about this trend is that it can be manipulated to your liking— black and blonde hair, pastel hair or even neon hair. The world is your playground.
Jetset To Black
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Jenna Ortega suddenly made all things goth cool again with her portrayal of the iconic Wednesday Addams. Gone are the days when everybody thought that black hair is boring. Even though summers are ideally all about happy colours, who’s to say black isn’t a happy colour? Luckily, most Indian virgin hair tends to be jet-black, so there’s minimal effort required to hop on the black hair bandwagon.
Buttercream Blonde
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My personal favourite Barbiecore aesthetic has ensured that blonde hair continues to remain iconic. While universally people tend to go lighter for the summer, buttercream blonde is a tricky shade that isn’t for the faint-hearted. Not only does it require your hair to be bleached to the highest level (level 9), but it also calls for no brassiness at all. Receiving its name from lip-smacking buttercream frosting, this blonde is going to ensure you look like Barbie herself.
A Bite Of Apricot
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We still haven’t forgotten Kendall Jenner’s copper locks that sent the internet into a frenzy. Apricot hair could very possibly be the graceful cousin of copper hair. Much lighter than its copper counterpart, apricot hair displays a blend of orange and peach tones. Let me warn you that this colour comes with its fair share of maintenance ranging from frequent root touch-ups and preventing it from fading out. In that case, colour-depositing conditioners are your besties. And if that doesn’t work out, mix a little semi-permanent hair dye into your regular conditioner and you’re all set.
