The 5 Biggest Hair-Color Trends Of Winter 2019

The transition from fall to winter can mean trouble for your skin (dryness) and your social life (too cold to leave your bed), but it's actually a great time for your hair. A chilly, zero-humidity climate means less frizz and more natural shine, and the current wave of hair-color innovation — face-framing highlights, glossy lowlights, and seamless balayage — means now's the best time for a salon visit.

This season, there's a fresh shade for every aesthetic, from neutrals, like smoky gold and stone blonde, to statement trends, like citrus sombré or "rogue" highlights. Scroll through for the pro's guide to winter hair color, and let it be the push you need to brave any cold front and take your good hair out every Friday night from now through NYE.

Smoky Gold

A few weeks go, celebrity colorist Cassondra Kaeding tipped us off to the trending balayage shade she's calling "smoky gold." The low-maintenance, lightly gilded hue already has a budding L.A. fanbase — Natalie Portman and Katherine Schwarzenegger are fans.

"Most people gravitate to cool colors this time of year, but this take on dark blonde is within the comfort zone because it picks up on ash and espresso tones, just with a subtle gold lift at the face frame and ends," Kaeding explains. "The result is soft and blended — and a gloss finish gives it that gorgeous shine."

Stone Blonde

According to celebrity colorist Kate Reid, "cool stone" is the most of-the-moment shade of blonde. "It's all about natural depth with balayage blending," Reid explains. "The mix of pale shades and darker roots creates a velvety texture that's perfect for the cooler months."

Colorist Allison Varmette of L.A.'s trendy Nova Arts Salon tells us that the dimensional effect is supposed to look lived-in. "I like to shadow smudge the root a little so that when the hair grows it’s not a harsh line," she says.

Citrus

One of the most surprising shades to break out this winter is a fresh take on fall's pumpkin pink. "Citrus shades are incoming for 2020," Reid says. "Tangerine, mandarin, burnt peach, and golden red tones — there are so many ways to wear it, and the blended pastel look is so fresh and pretty."

Think of this as your grapefruit citrus shade: a super-pigmented pink that goes a bit lighter at the ends. If you go for a statement hue like this, Reid recommends adding a color-enhancing at-home hair treatment — like Kevin Murphy's Colouring Angel in Autumn — to help keep your rose tone vibrant.

Deep Bronze

Colorist and IGK co-founder Aaron Grenia says that this season, he's loving a deep chocolate brunette base accented with a soft copper brown. "It's the winter take on highlights," Grenia says. "A bronze-gold infusion adds subtle dimension around the front hairline to frame the face."

Here, the subtle tak makes a big impact. Add your bronze brown to just the ends to add movement while keeping the rest of your color au naturel.

Rogue Highlights

Earlier this month, we imported the "rogue" highlight trend from London, a look that UK-based colorist Bryony Cairns of Larry King Salon calls a nod to '90s feminism. "Rogue hair color is an extreme adaptation on the face frame," Cairns says. "Most commonly, the highlight is bleached blonde, but can totally be adapted to any other color, too."

Colorist Cherin Choi calls her twist on the rogue highlight a "high-contrast face frame." The tone can be pale brown instead of blonde and woven instead of blocky in one spot, for a more subtle finish that feels retro but modern at the same time.

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