It’s official, warm tones and golden hues are here to stay! We explore the must-have golden glow, warm blonde shades to inspire your clients with this autumn…
Golden Hour Glow
Rich and dimensional warm-toned shades are here to stay, especially moving into autumn, as clients are eager to keep grasp of that ‘golden hour glow’. “Inspired by the gradience of tones seen at Golden Hour sunset, this technique is designed to blend a feeling of wellness with chic, on-trend colour results,” explains Jordanna Cobella, Wella Professionals Colour & Trends Ambassador.
“Originating as a photography trend, Golden Hour refers to the brief window of time around sunrise and sunset, the sun is lower and casts a softer light, providing fusions of colour and veils of light and shade, during this time everything will glow.” And it’s something clients can’t get enough of!
Honey Blonde
Warm and luscious Honey Blonde is a classic that never fails to impress. “The shade mixes the golden tones of honey with soft, creamy highlights, giving the hair a natural, sun-kissed glow,” Nicholas Fletcher-Holmes, Goldwell Creative and Education Ambassador tells us.
“It’s a perfect choice for those who want a subtle change that still makes an impact. Honey Blonde brings a touch of warmth and brightness, making the hair look effortlessly elegant and radiant.”
Cassie Clenshaw, Freelance Blonde Specialist based at The Hair Club London, sees clients gravitating towards “warm, dimensional, low-maintenance colour” as the seasons change.
“I focus on pops of lightness around the face and towards the ends, keeping the roots softly shadowed to melt the colour together. Warm honey and beige tones with golden undertones complement softer, warmer seasonal skin palettes while still allowing the hair to feel light.”
Sunflower Blonde
With Sunflower Blonde being one of the biggest blonde trends this summer, it’s the perfect blonde to entice your cooler tone clients to the warm side this autumn. “Sunflower Blonde is an intense golden blonde with minimal dimension, no dark shadows, and as warm as a blonde can be before it turns into a soft copper,” says Tom Smith, evo international creative colour director.
“This shade is best achieved with a global colour and added dimension – it literally glows.”
Warren Edwards, Owner and Creative Director of Warren & The Hare, predicts Sunflower Blonde will be a key trend for blondes as we head into Autumn.
“Sunflower Blonde is made up of warmer tones such as buttery honeys and golds, giving the hair a really healthy, luminous and expensive finish. Working with warmer tones can also add warmth and glow back into paler winter skin, so clients don’t feel washed out", he explains.
"One of the easiest ways to transition blonde into autumn is through tone. Swapping cooler, cleaner finishes for butter, honey, beige and gold can completely change the overall feel of the colour without significantly altering the level."
For clients intrigued by copper but reluctant to commit to red, Warren agrees that golden blonde can also provide an accessible stepping stone: “It’s a great way to bridge the gap between blonde and copper without committing to red. Regrowth is also much more forgiving as it grows out and, because you don’t need to push the hair as light, it can require a less aggressive level of bleaching, making it a great option for summer-damaged hair.”
Strawberry Blonde
Last autumn, it was all about copper and fiery tones, and as copper is still hot on clients’ hair lists, Strawberry Blonde offers that subtle copper glow and makes the perfect shade for those who are struggling to commit to going full force fire. “I’d describe Strawberry Blonde as the point where Sunflower Blonde tips into soft copper,” Tom adds. “As golden as a copper can be before it turns true blonde. You can also incorporate subtle peach tones for those who want something a little less natural looking.”
Following months of UV exposure, heat styling, chlorine and seawater, autumn blonde should be as much about condition as colour, says Cassie.
"Warmer, richer tones can immediately give blonde a glossier, healthier-looking finish, while reducing the amount of lift required can help colourists work more sympathetically with compromised hair."
Brookie Blonde
Looking as good as it sounds, Brookie Blonde is best described as having a more bronzed effect. “A rooted, blended look with some natural definition, Brookie Blonde is all about giving that lived-in expensive blonde,” Claire Heald, Elgon Educator, tells us. “Move away from ashy tones and use clients’ golden glow, giving them a healthy shine with golden toning gloss to finish.”
What’s more, this trend doesn’t have to just be for your blonde clients but can be adapted to darken down a brighter blonde or to warm up brunettes.
“Autumn is all about creating more depth, warmth and dimension,” says Gaby Kennedy, Blonde Specialist and Ace Painter at Charlotte Paints Hair. “Lowlights and precision toning can create this seasonal change without a huge commitment.”
The key is placement. Rather than flooding the hair with deeper colour, Gaby recommends introducing depth selectively to enhance the existing blonde: “Adding a few slightly deeper, warmer pieces through the hair creates contrast and dimension, helping the blonde feel richer without taking away the brightness.”
For blondes that have become particularly light through the lengths and ends, Gaby explains how this can act as a colour reset. "Strategic lowlights give brighter pieces something to sit against, creating the illusion of greater dimension while keeping the overall result recognisably blonde."
Butterscotch Blonde
Butterscotch Blonde embraces warmth and comfort with sweet, fudge-like tones. “It’s perfect for blondes who are happy to embrace their hair’s natural warmth and for brunettes wanting to go lighter without heavy commitment,” says Rio Agor-Watts, Group Education Manager UKI Revlon Professional Brands. “To achieve the perfect butterscotch tone, I use the Revlon Professional Magnet 8 Clay Lightener.
"It provides up to eight levels of lift and leaves a buttery, creamy result, giving me the perfect canvas to work on. Working with clay means no bleeds, no drip, and fewer foils, making it a quicker and more leisurely colour to achieve.
"I prefer to work freehand, allowing the hair to lift in open air/unincubated to enable the hair’s natural warmth to shimmer through and give cinnamon gold butterscotch reflects.”
Grace Paget, Mini Painter at Charlotte Paints Hair, is seeing high-maintenance blonde clients opting for warmer, more natural-looking finishes.
“Adding warmer tones brings out the warmth in clients’ skin as the weather gets colder and can really make the eyes pop, as though clients are still in the sun," says Grace. "Rather than simply taking the colour darker, consider where brightness has the greatest impact.
"Keeping lightness around the face and through selected ends, while introducing a softer root and greater depth through the interior, can maintain the blonde effect while making regrowth much more forgiving."
Speaking of warm blonde, here's how to transition your clients to warm blonde this autumn...
Lead image credit: Cos Sakkas
