From the Dallas Blowdry to Bell-Bottom Bobs: your guide to autumn/winter's hottest hair trends
Summer can be punishing on your hair — from the heat to the pool water. And if you’re still feeling the effects now the cold season is coming, it’s the perfect time to give locks a new lease of life with a fresh cut or colour. Or even just by mixing it up with a new style you can create at home.
But before you book in at the salon, or reach for your hair tools, take a moment to take stock of our rundown of the season’s hottest new looks. We’ve asked trend forecasters, as well as hairdressers and colourists from some of London’s most iconic salons which styles are about to go viral.
Tom Smith, artist at Olaplex and international creative colour director at Evo, is nicknamed the ‘hairvoyant’ for his ability to predict the next must-have aesthetics, and says the coming season is all about “powerful and statement making cuts, with contrasts of texture and tone.” He adds that super-short styles aren’t set to have a moment for autumn/winter and instead, the new length du jour is an inbetween cut with tousled layers and cheekbone skimming lengths he calls ‘the La Dolce Vita Crop’.
Colour-wise, warm tones continue to dominate this year: think reds, one-tone dark shades and a sunflower yellow take on blonde. And when it comes to styling, look to Kim Kardashian and Sabrina Carpenter to inspire you with their signature looks of the season.
The key cuts
The La Dolce Vita Crop
A style that’s great at any age — as seen on everyone from Florence Pugh to Kristin Scott Thomas — Tom Smith heralds this choppy mid-length cut with face-grazing layers as the look of the season. He describes it as “a softly androgenous and power signalling style. Swept off the face or worn tousled, it’s ideal for a practical and business-like look.”
To show off cheekbones (and statement earrings) he suggests “tuck the lengths tightly behind the ears.” While it can also be styled to suit higher foreheads with some “lightweight, face-framing in the fringe area,” or those with smaller foreheads and statement brows can sweep hair back and add volume. Definitely one to have fun with!
To help the style keep its shape without falling flat, use a volumising heat protector as you blowdry such as Static Jam’s Root Revamp and Lift (£19 for 200ml, staticjam.com).
Bell-Bottom Bobs
Growing out a bob can come with unwanted side-effects, but the tell-tale flicks that prevail with added length are now a style statement. Smith calls the look, with an outward flick at the bottom, a Bell-bottom bob, He says the upward lift gives the style “shape and volume”.
“Gently pre-dry the roots of your hair in a downward motion, then use a small round brush with the help of a styling mousse or heat protector spray to flick out the ends,” he explains. It’s been seen on everyone from Kelly Rowland to Hailee Steinfeld.
To keep your ends in optimum condition for the sleek blowdry method, prepare hair with Sam McKnight’s Happy Endings Nourishing Balm (£36 for 80ml, sammcknight.com).
You could also style it as per woman of the moment: The Outrun actor, Saoirse Ronan, in soft waves for a ruffled, undone look.
What should you ask your hairdresser for if she’s your muse? “The hair should be cut around jaw length and styled with a soft wave then shaken out. It can be worn loose or with one side tucked behind the ear. The ends should still pop out a bit but in an understated and more subtle way than the look’s big sister,” says Smith.
The key colour trends
Shade: Sunflower Blonde
This yellow-toned blonde has been gaining momentum for a few seasons now. As Smith says, “this intensely golden shade will continue reigning as the most popular blonde shade.” Its ability to sustain fans dye after dye is largely down to the fact it is almost universally flattering. “For those who like to stand out, this shade suits various complexions and eye colours,” he adds. Though warns it might not be best suited to “fair rosy skin.”
While Dean Harris, Colourist at Larry King South Kensington explains that there are fringe benefits to warm shades such as this one come winter: “This year we are seeing a lot of yellow undertones to blondes, as well as golden caramels, burnt coppers, and deep reds. Colours that have warmth will make the hair appear vivid and healthy during a season when the skies are grey and there is little sun.”
Shade: Black Plum
This 1990s favourite is ripe for resurgence — and a serious statement maker for anyone keen on a total hair overhaul. Anita Rice, co-founder of Buller & Rice salons says to picture, “plum reds and deep aubergine tones for a new take on this trend.”
It’s a great choice for those who find maintaining their colour a headache. As Rice notes: “As we all know reds always fade when we want them to stay bright , and always stay bright when we want them to fade. But black plum is so deep in tone it will hold its intensity well.” To keep it tip-top and shiny between salon trips however, try you a tinted conditioner such as Davines’ Alchemic Red (£29, uk.davines.com).
The dye job: Skinny Lights (with soft, dark roots)
Have you heard? The boho look is back and its original poster girl Sienna Miller still reigns. To get on board with her 2024 version of the trend, ask for skinny, softly woven-in highlights in the underlayers of hair and a Scandi hairline up front. Larry King salons’ A-list-loved colourist Harriet Muldoon was responsible for Miller’s style and explains that the “skinny lights leave a softer weave between the base”, while a balayage was used to refresh the colour.
“Instead of chunky highlights, the colour is fine and layered with a smudge at the root to create a softer blend compared to the face framing layers and ends. It gives the 2000s look a modern twist,” says Muldoon.
Coloured hair needs special care and we rate K18’s Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask (£30 for 15ml, k18hair.co.uk) to help restore chemically damaged and frazzled hair back to softness. You can use it instead of conditioner every few washes.
The new season styles
Wet-Look Waves
Want an easy to create event look? Smith says it has to be wavy wet-look locks if you have long hair. Think “typical high-gloss wet-look styling but specifically on very long and wavy hair,” he says. “This is different to the strict and stuck-in-place wet-looks we saw on the runways this season. Strength, sexiness and femininity combine to create a statement look that remains wearable.”To create the look Smith explains: “create the texture you desire by using a fine barrel curling iron or dry with your natural pattern if you have it. Then, on clean dry hair, apply liberal amounts of a shine serum (like, a lot). Next layer on a wax spray for additional hold around the face and to keep texture in the mids and ends.” That’s Christmas party season sorted! We recommend Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray (£28 for 162ml, cultbeauty.co.uk) for that glass hair finish.
The Dallas Blowdry
Our obsession with country style has only grown apace since summer. There was Shania Twain’s turn at Glastonbury and Sabrina Carpenter is flying the flag as the Dolly Parton of our day after the launch of her album, Short n' Sweet. Hence her bouncy, ‘bigger the hair, the closer to heaven’ aesthetic is inspiring plenty of copy-cats.
Rice describes the look as focused on “buoyant locks, and rollered bangs”. To create it at home she advises: “after washing hair as normal, use a wide-tooth comb to distribute a volumising product. Then dry 30 per cent of the moisture out with your head held upside down to create maximum volume. Next, using a large, round brush section by section, dry the hair to create a barrel curl. And after each section is done, spin the dry hair into a roller-like shape and use a grip to hold it in place.
“Once you’ve completed each section, leave it to settle in the round shapes. This is a good time to do your make-up! Then using a hairspray with medium hold, once you have removed all the clips, either using your fingers or a bristle brush, brush out your ‘do into a big old bouncy blowdry! For ultra volume, you can do a touch of backcombing under the crown.” Sabrina eat your heart out!
