Katy Perry, Dakota Fanning and Kate Bosworth weren’t the only famous faces to trade in their ho-hum hair colours for the rainbow-bright variety. As the spring beauty on the runways showcased: candy-coloured hair is hot. From mint greens and creamsicle-like shades of orange, to bubblegum pinks and bright blues, designers like Thakoon, Narcisco Rodriguez, Marchesa and Acne led this emerging trend. So if you have a penchant for wild
hair colour, check out some of the hottest hair shades for spring.

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1. Hair colour trend: Vibrant, painted locks

This spring, Thakoon took inspiration from paint splotches, as hairstylist Odile Gilbert used brightly coloured clay powder specially imported from Paris to achieve iridescent blue, mint green, terracotta and soft lilac tones. At Topshop Unique, Charlotte Free (the street style regular who dyes her locks herself) had her famed pink strands coated in gold flakes.


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2. Hair colour trend: Ombre dye

Ombre is still hanging on, but in new colour combos. Acne embraced this spring beauty trend by spraying roots black, creating a faded-colour illusion. Marchesa, Jeremy Scott and Roksanda Ilincic embraced Charlotte Free’s cutting-edge strands on the runway, too. Her blonde roots peeked out under bubblegum-tints, and gradually became more vibrant when nearing the tips. If you’re thinking of taking the colour plunge, hair oils like Couture Colour Pequi Oil Treatment and moisturizing conditioners like Nexxus HUmectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner are made with Vitamins A and E and will minimize damage to strands from colour processing to keep your hair soft and manageable.

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3. Hair colour trend: Slicked back hair

Narciso Rodriquez introduced short, slick tresses on the runway, splashed with an assortment of pastel hair hues— like sophisticated robin blues, skeletal whites, and lilac (think Evan Rachel Wood’s sleek locks, injected with colour). This hair bright fixation has begun making its way onto beauty counters— as proven by the recent debut of Kevin Murphy’s Color.Bug. The chalk-like formula stick to hair like hairspray or shaping wax for intensely pigmented colour that washes out after one use. One caveat: Creator Kevin Murphy warns that bleach-blondes should apply leave-in conditioner before applying Colour.Bug to prevent the bright colour from staying any longer than you want it too.

Go electric and streaky with these spring beauty hair colour ideas on the next page …
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4. Hair trend: Electric streaks

Mulberry and Gucci showcased dramatic highlights (infused with charges of colour) on the spring 2012 runways. At Mulberry’s spring show, voluminous beehive-esque styles were accented with sherbet-tinted streaks of mint, tangerine, zesty pink and lemon. More dramatically, Gucci opted to accentuate sections with glossy gold pigments and stark blacks, creating a skunk-like stripe effect. For a DIY version, Alterna’s 1 Night Highlights kit lets you channel Gucci at home without the commitment. The brush applicator attached to the bottle makes it easy to apply precision highlights exactly where you want them, and then washes out the next morning.

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5. Hair trend: Two-toned highlights

Peter Som incorporated orange streaks onto bleach-blonde bangs. By contrast, the Faster collection by Mark Fast featured extraterrestrial-inspired locks with poker-straight ponytails, using synthetic hair extensions to add in coloured streaks— like fire-engine reds, vibrant purples and blues. To take the look from the catwalk to your home, look for colours that will add contrast on your hair. Blues, purple and dark greens will pop on dark hair, like Selena Gomez’s recent dive into the colour trend. Blondes have more options since almost any shade will show up in lighter strands. Try anything from bubblegum pinks mint greens, and baby blues to Pantone’s pick this year, Tangerine Tango.

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