Fall Hair Colors
As soon as the temperature drops below 70 degrees, we retire the spiked seltzer for a cozier glass of red wine. Our hair follows suit with a ruby, tempranillo-hued red that feels like the moodier counterpart to summer’s shimmery coppers. “This shade works best on somewhat darker bases,” says colorist Rex Jimieson. The dark base gives the red dye that deep, wild cherry hue, whereas blondes may walk away with a vibrant red that’s more maraschino, less malbec.
Enough has been written about the beachy blonde. Finally, justice for the beachy brunette: a light, sandy, brown-haired chick who can surf and sun with the best of them. “This blend of colors captures the essence of that end-of-summer feeling by retaining a blonde-kissed appearance despite the seasonal change,” says colorist Richy Kandasamy, who recommends asking your colorist for buttery blonde highlights blended throughout your hair (not just the money pieces in the front).
Those of us who bust out the Halloween decorations on September 1 will be drawn to this bewitching black. The color is easy to get right, but it needs to have that moonlit glimmer too. “This trend is all about maximum shine,” says colorist Jan-Marie Lozada, who expects to get a lot of ebony hair requests this fall. After your salon visit, keep up the magic with an at-home gloss, like Drybar Liquid Glass Instant Glossing Rinse or Amika Flash Instant Shine Mask.
Colorist Chantal Audain spent the summer making blondes brighter, so she expects to transition them into a deeper, honey blonde for fall. “You can play with how
Just because we tend to cover up in the fall (it is, technically, a matter of survival), doesn’t mean everything needs to be darker and toned down. Colorist Lena Ott sees vivid neon hair trending into fall: “It rebels against our typical desire for color to feel lived-in.” Any highlighter hue will be a welcome pop in cooler weather, but Ott particularly likes a punchy fuchsia, which, she says, is beginning to be requested more at her salon.
Milk chocolate is nice, but dark chocolate is sexy. It’s milk chocolate’s cooler, more mysterious older sister. She listens to Lana Del Rey on vinyl, speaks perfect French, and completes every Sunday crossword. “This brunette is deeper than your natural shade,” says colorist Karly Cerrone, “but the neutral tone here is key. It needs to walk a fine line between cool and warm.”
Platinum hair is like a platinum card: It turns heads in any room and comes with generous travel points (okay, it doesn’t, but it should). “Platinum is a striking blonde that’s bold, edgy, and always in style,” says colorist Chase Kusero, who recommends asking for an ashy toner to keep the hue cool and icy.
We love a hair color that looks like a heavenly dessert. This buttery blonde is like a whipped golden merengue—the kind you pile high on a decadent coconut cream pie. “It mimics the natural highlights you might get from being in the sun,” says Kandasamy, who recommends lifting your natural color to a white-blonde before applying a cream-hued toner.
“This soft, nutty brown is a perfect complement for those earthy fall tones,” says colorist Patricia Nikole, and it happens to look sophisticated and flattering on every skin tone and hair texture. Ask for a warm, light brown. “You and your colorist can also decide if you want to paint a few highlights for more lightness and dimension,” adds colorist Mariah Joseph.
Nikole also likes this romantic copper hue for fall, which she compares to the orangey-pink of a baked peach. But there are levels to how baked your baked peach can get. You can go almost strawberry blonde, like Evan Rachel Wood has here; a deeper, baked-at-350-degrees ginger, like Jessica Chastain; or stick that peach under the broiler for a caramelized peach, like Kate Mara.
There’s a fine line between natural redhead and “that color can only be man-made in a mixing bowl.” Fiery red stands right on that line (and gives you a perfectly manicured rock-and-roll middle finger). “Book a base break or a single process,” says Joseph. “A base break will make it easier to transition to a different color in the future.” But remember: Red fades quickly, so you’ll need to visit the salon every six weeks to maintain the intensity.
Fall Haircuts
There’s a trio of bobs trending this fall. Behind door number one is a classic French bob, a perennially chic short crop that lands somewhere along or above the jawline. Maybe there are some subtle angles at the front, maybe it’s just one length, but always with a little je ne sais quoi. Hairstylist Franck Izquierdo says this works best on fine and medium hair textures, as it will be a struggle to get those Parisian blunt edges for those with curlier textures.
Just 1,000 miles (ahem, 1,600 kilometers) south of Paris, you’ll find a slightly longer Sicilian bob that falls just past the jawline. If the French bob is all about keeping every hair in place, the Italian bob “emphasizes shape, texture, and volume,” says hairstylist Valery Joseph. It’s also cheeky and low-maintenance. “You can let it dry naturally, add some dimension with a wavy blowout, or add a slight flip with a hot tool,” he adds.
If you see Europe as more of a summertime destination, hairstylist Jill Buck recommends letting your warm-weather bob grow into a lob for fall, noting that it looks especially great on thicker hair with some natural volume. The shoulder-grazing length may look a little limp on thin hair, but that’s nothing a good volumizer can’t fix. Start with a volumizing shampoo like Sachajuan Thickening Shampoo, followed by a styler, like Living Proof Full Dry Volume and Texture Spray, to add a bit of lift and beachy grit.
Hairstylist Ashley Streicher expects to see a baby-bangs boom this season, after the look showed up on fall runways for Proenza Schouler and Marni. “You don’t even need a traditionally thick bang section for these,” Streicher says, “you can just take a small section across your forehead,” like Zoe Kravitz has here. Ask for bangs about one or two inches above the brow line, and finish with a styling paste, like R+Co Dry Shampoo Paste, Ouai Matte Pomade, or Bumble and Bumble Sumoclay.
The wind will be picking up, so a low-maintenance style that looks great no matter how your hair lands will be key. Curtain bangs are a low-maintenance fringe that’s “long enough to push aside,” says hairstylist Raven Hurtado. “The hair in the middle should be cut shorter—maybe slightly below the eyebrow—then gradually get longer on the sides.” When in doubt? Hurtado recommends just pulling up a picture of curtain-bang queen Sabrina Carpenter.
Some switch to cable-knit sweaters and peacoats when the weather turns, and some prefer moto boots and a leather jacket. For the latter, Izquierdo recommends a punky shag cut, which he says looks great on everyone, but especially those with some natural texture for that tousled “just tumbled off a rock-and-roll tour bus” look. Ask for choppy layers with lots of texture and movement, says Izquierdo, and then all you have to do is add Ray Bans and a graphic tee.
A cowgirl cut is a shag with spurs—which is to say, it’s grown-out in a “I’ve been corralling cattle and don’t have time for a fussy cut” way (though it is a little chicer and smells better than if you had spent a week on the range). It’s perfect for those transitioning out of a shag cut into a longer style. Hairstylist Paul Labrecque recommends asking for feathery layers cut with a razor for that undone look.
Friends may come and go but “The Rachel”—the iconic haircut named for Jennifer Aniston’s Friends character—was always here to stay. “It’s making a comeback [this fall],” says Valery Joseph. It’s a universally flattering cut with “long layers and lots of bounce.” Just be sure to ask for those face-framing pieces at the front, the telltale trait of The Rachel.
Long (and we mean long), flowy hair is about as close to Disney princess as a human can get. Picture long layers softly dancing along a cascading waterfall of hair (or just look at any picture of Jennifer Lopez). Hairstylist Bronwen Robinson sees this fairytale cut making a big comeback this fall, but keeping hair healthy and shiny is key (if you shake your hair out and bluebirds don’t sing, you’re only halfway there). Add a nourishing hair mask to your routine to keep things princess-y, like Davines The Spotlight Circle for extra shine or Kérastase Chronologiste Hair Mask for softness.
Fall Hairstyles
The higher the knot, the closer to heaven (that’s how that goes, right?). “[Topknots] make everyone look like a runway model—tall and glamorous,” says Labrecque. And there’s no wrong way to do it. Twist or braid it before fastening it in place, like Issa Rae, or pile it up top and tease it out, like Emily Blunt. If you have short hair, you can fake it with a clip-in ponytail. (Labrecque recommends the Halo Couture Pony.)
Imagine you stepped right out of The Birth of Venus and wandered around the Uffizi Galleries before—oh my!—stumbling onto the red carpet at Cannes. This would be the hairstyle, and it happens to be ideal for cooler, windier weather (Venus was born seaside, after all). Hurtado recommends using a 1.25 inch curling iron, like Trademark Beauty Mood Curling Iron, or a multi-barrel tool, like Drybar’s BeachBender Triple Barrel Waver, to loosely curl the hair, and then combing it out with your fingers to get tousled, natural waves.
Fall is ballet season, and even if you can’t do a fouetté or a grand jete, you can still join the dance with a sleek, tight ballerina bun. “It’s a polished look that shows off your facial features,” says hairstylist Brendnetta Ashley, who recommends blow-drying the hair back into the direction you want it to lay, making it easier to control as you slick it down. Before you twist the hair into a neat bun and pin it in place, hit it with a strong-hold spray, like Kenra Shaping Spray, or comb it down with a gel, like Pattern Beauty Strong Hold Gel.
Both Ashley and Streicher expect the coquette-core trend to continue into the fall, which means lots of pearls, lace, and, of course, bows. There’s no one way to tie a bow, be it a ribbon perched on top of your head, a silky bow tied around a low bun, or a smattering of tiny barrettes.
Think of a headband like a tiara—it announces to everyone in the room that you are royalty. (It doesn’t, however, announce that you maybe skipped a washday, but hiding dirty roots is a major perk, says Hurtado.) To style this cheeky accessory, you can section out layers around your face, like Maisie Williams; wear it just sitting perfectly atop your style, like Michelle Williams; or use it to slick your hair out of your face, like Alix Earle.
Fall’s femme fatales are all steely glances and a single three-strand braid—the better to whip and tie, and well, whatever a femme fatale gets up to. This look also happens to keep hair straight, in control, and requires very little heat-styling (if any at all), says Abramite. The drama is in the length, so long, thick hair is required—but it doesn’t have to be natural. If you have shorter hair, try a pony extension
Hairstylist Michael Farruggio predicts that big, va-va-voom volume will be—er—big this fall, perhaps to offset the sleek and slicked-back updos. Getting this look is all about having the right tools: You’ll need a good volumizing mousse for your blowout, like Shu Uemura Awa Volume Volumizing Mousse or Nexxus Mousse+ Volumizing Foam; and, most importantly, you’ll need a large-barrel round brush, like Oribe Italian Resin Large Round Brush, or a blow-dryer brush, like the Dyson Airwrap Multistyler.
