Updating the Ombré Trend

Now that the New Year has finally hit us, that can only mean one thing: Red Carpet Season.

With all the award shows, fashion trends have never been more talked about. This year, ombré has taken over once again with celebrities like Olivia Wilde rocking the trend. Even though ombré has been around for a while, that doesn’t mean this trend is going to start to fade. In fact, Looks Hair Design stylist, Samantha Jeffery says this versatile trend could be staying with us for a while. But with so many people wearing similar ombré styles, it can be hard to stand out within a crowd, and no one wants to have the same hair style as all their girlfriends.

What people don’t realize is the best part of an ombré style is its versatility. Most people seem to believe that having an ombré hair style means just a simple gradient based off of your original hair color. According to Jeffery, “Ombré can be avant garde and extreme to really natural. Whether you have short or long hair, Ombré can be worn by anyone.”

Ombré has been seen from the edgiest celebrities like Rihanna to the simplistic styled Rachel Bilson, but deciding the type of ombré is all based on your personal style. For the bolder spirited try going for non-traditional hair colors, such as cool blues or pastel pinks and adding a drastic gradient with tons of layers. While shyer ombré wearers should opt for a slight gradient, less layers and should chose colors close to natural hair colors.

For those of you adventurous fashionistas willing to try something outside the box, the ombré has just received an update from the fashion world in two different gradient styles: the grown out roots and the spotlight technique. While the grown out roots style has been around for some time, it has finally received a new make-over, with celebrities, such as American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson and Homeland’s Claire Dane styling this look at the recent SAG awards. In this recent ombré trend the change in color is placed right by the roots and the transition in color is very minimal.

The spotlight hairstyle hasn’t been seen very often on the red carpet, but it has potential to become big. This hairstyle isn’t a true gradient but similar to the ombré; it plays with different shades of colors. Described as though a spotlight is shining on a part of the hair, Jeffery says this process consists of a style where “the top and bottom shaft of the hair are a darker tone than the mid shaft.” This lighter mid shaft allows for the spotlight effect to take place, which can add the needed luster your hair may be lacking, while giving it a different twist. The perks of the spotlight style is that it’s able to work with all haircuts, which is unlike a traditional ombré that works better with layers, says Jeffery.

Wearing a new hairstyle can be intimidating but if chosen right, any hairstyle can add some flair to your style. So no matter what color you decide to wear this year, just remember that there are always different ways than the traditional way.

Photo by Ashley Zucker