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Beauty
By Calin Van Paris
Photo: Getty Images
Change your hair color, change your life. It may sound like an oversimplification, but sometimes a switch of shade really is all that separates you from an entirely new outlook—even if only aesthetically. “I can see it on my clients’ faces, that moment when they get to shed some of the past and feel like there’s a lightness and bounce in their hair,” says celebrity hairstylist Mara Roszak. “It brings optimism and genuine joy to the new year and all that is to come.”
2023’s statement-making tones are a continuation of an existing palette, a want of rich and warm threaded through with softer (and chillier) options. The fire-and-ice approach to manes feels almost old world, a nod to the sort of hues immortalized in artwork throughout history, reimagined for a modern set. These colors work whether you tend toward Y2K–slash–sci-fi styling or more dreamy, “I just stepped out of a John William Waterhouse painting” notes—and offer extra oomph to every possible cut.
Here, five hair colors that will be everywhere in 2023.
Personalized Platinum
Photo: Getty Images
As recently evidenced by Kim Kardashian and her grunge-girl roots, platinum is back. “More is more, and this look is doing the most,” says celeb hairstylist Jenna Perry. The high-maintenance color is something of an answer to the pared-down natural beauty that held some appeal post-pandemic, and, though seemingly specific, is as versatile as they come. Hairstylist Emaly Baum says that in addition to playing well with every skin tone, washes of warm tones allow this chilly trend to find favor with those who have thus far found platinum lengths out of their above-neck realm. “I love that this time around the trend is so customized to the individual,” she adds. “It’s not just white blonde.”
Subtle Cinnamon
Photo: Getty Images
If you’re searching for a subtle way to transform your brunette into something a little, well, spicier, cinnamon may be the 2023 hue for you. “This is the most beautiful marriage between red and brunette,” says Perry. “It’s an obscure hair color that makes everyone stop in their tracks.” The color offers a means of incorporating the red hair trend—which has veered from ginger to copper to sunset over the past year—while maintaining the classic merits of a brunette mane. “So many brunettes have natural warm undertones, and I love that this color really leans into that,” says Baum.
Beige Blonde
Photo: Getty Images
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Whether you call it honey-wheat blonde or even baby Bella, sandy beige is slated to lead the lighter side of things in terms of trend. “The beige is perfect for the cooler months when the sky has more gray and cool tones,” says Roszak. Perry, who this month lifted Bella Hadid’s brunette to a sandier shade, agrees. “The color feels virgin and natural,” she says, adding that the aim for Hadid was a dark beige-blonde base with lighter highlights. This ilk of blonde is meant to feel effortless, the ideal balance to the playful excess of the nouveau ’20s beauty and fashion.
Rich Chocolate
Zoe Saldaña poses at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio at the Anaheim Convention Center in California in September 2022. Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb.
Rich is 2023’s primary descriptor, and this goes double for brunettes. Those opting to stay in their brown-mane lane would do well to consider crossing fully into the dark side. Roszak recommends subtle, dimensional highlights—more for shine then anything else—and an overall deepening of the hue. “I love healthy-looking hair, and these rich browns bring that out,” she adds.
Vampy Red
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Consider this the culmination of 2022’s red wave. “This is a fun play on the redhead trend we’ve been seeing,” says Baum. “It’s a deep red-violet tone that is supervampy and not at all natural.” The moody take rounds out the trend in all of its fullness, matching the beauty landscape’s overarching vibe of over-the-top, near-camp glamour. And as with all of the shades on this list, violet red pays homage to the future and the past—it’s all about how you choose to carry off the color.
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