Candy-colored hair is a fad that’s gone too far
Pink hair, don’t care. Same for pistachio. Or aqua, lavender or dusty gray for that matter. When pastel locks appeared on runways in 2010—a nod to the powdered wigs of 18th century Parisian aristocrats as much as to the grunge punk revival of the 90s—it was a fresh move by creative artists behind the scenes looking to break their shows onto crowded and influential social feeds.
Not surprising, then, when scene stealers like Gaga and Katy Perry appropriated the palette, alighting on hair hues the range of a box of Ladurée macarons. But unlike the dyes themselves, this trend did not wash out with the seasons. In fact, it picked up speed, as more mainstream celebrities such as Lauren Conrad and Helen Mirren and Kelly Ripa turned to My Little Pony for their hair inspo.
Five years in and salons find that women are requesting ombré pastel highlights or candy-colored tips with the same fever as they were the mid-nineties Rachel or the late 2000’s Rihanna lob. And while the wacky pastel nail polish trend launched by Chanel’s debut of the limited edition Le Vernis Jade in 2008 forever changed what sensible women could now consider normcore as a manicure color, it’s hard to imagine we have forever moved into a world where faded orange sherbet will be as ordinary an option as strawberry blonde and burnt ginger. Whatever they think of next might just not be the most flattering shade for everyone when it comes to hair.
Foxman is editorial director of InStyle and StyleWatch