The spring 2023 hair colour trends to know 

Another season, another opportunity for reinvention. If you're dyeing for a colour change (see what we did there), we've rounded up the spring 2023 hair colour trends worth having on your radar, according to some of our fave colourists. 

No surprises, the ‘90s and Y2K are leading the inspo behind some of this season’s biggest hair colour moments with '90s chunky highlights getting a more delicate update and Rihanna's ‘Loud’ era red strands returning to make a second statement. Elsewhere, Barbiecore is having an impact on our hair colour by way of pretty, pastel palm springs pink. Plus we've got dreamy updates to blonde, brunette and highlights just in case you want to keep things a little more classic.

RiRi red

Want an audacious hair colour? “This spring I think we are going to see ‘Rihanna Red’ making a big comeback,” predicts Harriet Muldoon, Redken advocate & senior colourist at Larry King, “think Y2K 2000’s – bright and bold,” she adds. RiRi gave us straight-up lipstick red, but the colour is a sliding scale, whether you want a deeper redcurrant red like Shay Mitchell (which is beautiful and easier to achieve for brunettes), or a hi-vis vermilion. 

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Lunar blonde

Of course no spring 2023 hair colour trends line-up would be complete without blonde, since hair trends tend to shift brighter as we stare-down summer. “Statement blondes are coming back round,” says Harriet. “People are swaying away from dimension and softness and wanting impactful, statement blondes that stand out in the crowds. We’ve seen Kourtney Kardashian do it and now Zara Larsson has gone for a brighter blonde as well,” she adds.

This season's hottest rendition? That would be lunar blonde. “Ethereal and light reflecting are the two buzzwords for this pure blonde look,” says Jordanna Cobella, Wella Professionals Digital Craft Expert. “Reminiscent of moonlight, this creamy, clean blonde tone isn't as icy as a traditional platinum blonde as it contains a small amount of gold woven through the hair," she adds. As for what to ask your colourist, “to ensure this delicate tone doesn't become too ashy, I recommend asking your hair stylist to add small amounts of a slightly golden toner to keep things looking bright.” Jordanna says. And to keep your blonde looking its best in between salon visits, she recommends regularly applying bonding masks such as Wella Professionals Wellaplex No3.

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'90s semi-chunky highlights

We've already resurrected The Rachel, baby braids, spiky buns and butterfly clips. Next up is the turn of ‘90s chunky highlights, only this time they’re a little more delicate. The key to nodding to the hair colour in a modern way is to introduce high contrast colour, but weaving it through hair in finer “chunks”. They work best styled poker straight so you can see them, but they disappear more seamlessly into hair if you're wearing it waved or curly. 

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Coco lights

When it comes to spring brunettes, it's all about dimension, which is exactly where coco lights come in. “Think of faux tortoiseshell and highly polished walnut wood when you think of this rich brunette trend,” says Jordanna. “Featuring a mixture of golden, creamy tones contrasting against a warm chocolate, Coco Lights is the luxe hair trend for 2023,” she adds. As for getting technical, “to make my clients facial features pop, I like to add lighter tones of cognac or caramel around the perimeter of their face, drawing attention to their eye colour and cheek and jaw bones. Your hairstylist can use a mixture of [tones] to create highs and lows throughout the hair without compromising the hair's health,” Jordanna says. 

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Bamboo blonde

If you want a gentler blonde, bamboo goes slightly lighter on the bleach. “Taking inspiration from calming natural materials such as bamboo and their intricate texture, this light golden blonde feature two dimensional tones of warmer beige and light oat milk, seamlessly interwoven. Much like the ‘tweed blonde’ trend that dominated in aw22, bamboo blonde is incredibly popular because the tones are so fluid, there are no evident lines. To create a seamless blend, ask your hairstylist to add a root shadow smudge to your blonde service.” says Jordanna. And, “keep the tones looking fresh between salon appointments with Wella Professionals Color Fresh Mask in Caramel Glaze,” she adds, since the semi-permanent colour depositing mask takes 10 minutes to develop and contains ultra-nourishing avocado oil.

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Palm springs pink 

One shade you're about to see everywhere, is pink. All-over pink blush is a huge spring makeup trend, and with hyper-feminine balletcore, coquettecore and of course, barbiecore all in full swing, the shade is having a major moment. So it makes sense it'll extend to our hair, too. “As the 'Barbiecore' movement continues to reign supreme (influenced by Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie film), we're going to see more clients embrace pink tones,” says Jordanna. “However, instead of brilliant hot pinks, clients will experiment and embrace more romantic nurturing neutral tones such as pastel pinks and marshmallows. Palm springs pink is a great way for clients to express their confidence and sensuality. What I particularly love about the palm springs pink is that clients can experiment with this shade without the worry about long-term commitment,” she adds. Which sounds exactly like our kind of party. 

Spotlight highlights

As for curly-girl hair colour, one technique we love, thanks to its bespoke approach, is spotlight highlights. It's kind of like balayage, but it takes into account curl patterns, so that the placement really helps to spotlight all that gorgeous movement. This is a perennial, but as we move into spring and summer, we expect to see highlights being amped up. “Essentially, it’s a way of hand-painting natural-looking highlights for a pretty pop of colour that truly shines through on curly and coily hair,” says Charlotte Mensah, hair artist and founder of Manketti by Charlotte Mensah. “The technique is ideal to use on curly hair as it creates movement and dimension to the hair, and with strategic placement it can contour your curls beautifully,” Michelle Thompson, award winning afro and textured hair specialist and Color Wow's Curl Wow Ambassador agrees.

For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk