Back-to-School Hair Trends

Okay, so you may not actually be going back to school, but September is still the season of change: changing leaves, changing temps, changing hair. Yup, nothing screams “new you” like a cut and color.

I recently spent the afternoon at Los Angeles’s Spoke & Weal salon, getting primped and prettied by two industry veterans: Dell Miller on color, Lindsay Victoria on cut. We had a fascinating conversation about how to freshen up your summer mane (while getting my strands freshened up). Spoiler: Ombre is out, micro-lights are in (so, naturally, I had to rid myself of my dark roots and light ends).

“People are moving into micro-lights, petite highlights,” explains Dell.”Tones are more golden as opposed to ashy. People are scared of brassy but when you have controlled gold, it’s really luxurious compared to brassy.” He cites Gisele, JLo, Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon as the celebs who wear their controlled gold hues to perfection.

“For blondes, we’re seeing a lot of rooted platinums. Create a root so that there is no unnatural warmth – like an Instagram filter.” Speaking of Instagram and the social media filter craze, Dell says: “Filters have changed the way we color hair now. This has been manipulated, this has been filtered. Now we decide on different toners. Toners take place of filters. I call it ‘Insta-color.’”

When it comes to the cut, Lindsay says that the lob (long bob) is still a go-to, but notes that something more textured is on-trend for fall. “To create texture, use a dry texture spray or a sea salt spray,” says Lindsay. Opt out of the curling iron-curls and, instead, go with a flat iron. “Use a flat iron because you can smooth and curl with it. This season, it’s more of a bend. For fall, try looser texture.”

If you have bangs, keep ’em, just cut them shorter. “Go fresh for whatever you have,” she says. “If you have curtain bangs, go shorter. If you have side bangs, go shorter. If you wear your hair wavy, go straight.”

Transitioning from summer to fall means leaving those beachy waves in August. “Beach hair is great for summer but do a more sleek, polished style for fall.” Noted (read our review on the amazing tool that’ll take your strands to sleek and straight in less than 6 minutes).