Expert Advice: Winter 2021 hair colour trends

With the arrival of November, hair colour moves into winter hues with twists on traditional chocolates, spicy reds, warm blonde and bold pastels.

Hair experts Thomas Hills, Director at TH1 Hair, and Dylan Brittain, Artistic Director at Rainbow Room International and Schwarzkopf UK Ambassador, share their colour trends for Winter ‘21.

Thomas Hills: “Pumpkin Spice Red is always a winner for the autumn/winter months; its fiery connotations are a perfect match to the season of log fires and autumn leaves, however the beauty of this shade is that it can transform any style, adding some serious ‘wow' along the way. 

“[Pumpkin Spice] is what I call ‘real red'; it's a deeper shade than a copper red, but lighter than auburn, however clients with a warmer skin tone will suit reds in more cinnamon, copper and ruby tones, while clients with cooler skin tones will suit berry, burgundy and crimson tones more. 

“As a rule I say the darker the skin the deeper the shade, and the lighter the skin the softer, more sheer the shade. This global burnt copper hue from my Craft collection is, for me, the perfect new season hue: rich, deep and luxurious, it screams autumn/winter, and can be tailor made to suit the needs of each client, allowing you to make it as muted or intense as their new season heart's desire.”

Dylan Brittain: “Rich, chocolate brunettes that look incredibly glossy are always a trend for the winter months. However, for winter 2021 we will see these have a twist, whereby subtle golden highlights and balayage will be added to a delicious chocolate base to give the hair dimension, depth and movement, as well as added reflective shine.”

Dylan Brittain: “For autumn, shades of golden, honey and apricot blondes were popular, warmer blonde hues that give a glow to your skin tone. For winter we see the return of cool and frosty hair colours like ash tone blondes, icy silver blondes and pearl blondes that look almost iridescent in colour and are at their best when free from brassiness.”

Thomas Hills: “Pink is set to be one of the unlikely hair colour heroes of the A/W21 season…Pink looks great in all of its myriad incarnations, from blush and bubblegum to neon and fuchsia, it can be as subtle or as bold as clients dare. This is a colour that's prone to fading fast, so advise your clients to shampoo less frequently, or to add a toning conditioner to their at-home regime to keep their colour hot in-between salon appointments.

“It's much easier to achieve on lighter hair types with fair, cool complexions, although darker hair types can of course be pre-lightened pre-pink, or extensions added for those who want a quick fix without the upkeep.”

Dylan Brittain: “For winter 2021 we will notice lighter, more subtle shades of pink that are almost icy in tone becoming popular. These shades take inspiration from previous rose gold shades, giving the hair shine, and are perfect for blondes to experiment with for the season, giving them a fun new look that will blend out back to blonde beautifully.”

Thomas Hills: “Blue is of course not a hair colour for the faint hearted of clients, but it can be used as light or as dark as they dare, for some serious ‘winter blues' appeal. 

I love a very pale aqua blue, as pictured in my Graffiti colour collection, but remember that blue applied onto a yellow base will achieve a green, so ensure you're working on as clean a base as possible, and the lighter the hue the cleaner it will need to be.

“True blues will of course experience fade into a more green hue, so advise clients to use a purple shampoo to keep the green at bay, too."

Dylan Brittain: “Say goodbye to bold shades of fuchsia pink and yellow that were popular in the summer season and say hello to darker tones of eggplant purple and navy blue. These look great on brunettes as well as blondes and can be worn all over the hair or through flashes to give the hair a quirky finish for the season.”