Every Hair Color That'll Actually Matter in 2024 (2024)

I will take inspo from Megan Thee Stallion's look any day, but I'm especially loving this warm, caramel-esque balayage against her chocolatey base color. It feels pretty much seasonless, as it's got brightness for spring and summer, but depth for fall and winter. Ask your stylist to make sure there's a shadow root, which not only will make this look even more blended and natural, but keep your salon visits to a minimum.

Keep in mind, though, that bleaching your hair can be quite damaging, especially if you've got coarse, dry hair or already fragile strands. Strengthen your hair once a week by smoothing on a bond-building or protein treatment, and in between, load up your ends with a moisturizing deep conditioner to keep 'em soft and hydrated.

For the uninitiated, vanilla chai is TikTok's latest food-themed beauty take, tied into the whole "vanilla girl aesthetic" thing. It's basically a grown-out/rooted blonde with a sandy/beige hue and neutral undertone. According to hairstylist Dafne Evangelista, less is more in 2024. "People are going more natural with their blonde color," Evangelista previously told Cosmo, focusing more on keeping their hair healthy rather than all-over bleach jobs.

Plus, this look is a great way to subtly neutralize your blonde color and grow out your roots a bit to limit salon appointments. "I've had a lot of blonde clients growing out their natural hair a bit," Evangelista says. To give your blonde a zhuzh for 2024, coat it with a neutral hair gloss (try Kristin Ess Signature Hair Gloss in Winter Wheat; it's my go-to for keeping my blonde sandy).

If you always feel like your blonde never looks blonde enough (especially when you pull it back), you're gonna love the "Scandinavian hairline" trend. It's a coloring technique where your colorist will strategically lighten up your baby hairs and hairline to look much blonder than the rest, giving your hair a sunkissed, ultra-bright blonde appearance. Notice how Lila Moss's warm-blonde color (pictured above) looks especially bright just around her face, but it's not chunky like a money-piece highlight? That's the magic of the Scandi hairline, babes.

Just make sure to bring tons of pics to your colorist of what you're looking for, and be sure they're knowledgeable on the trend to avoid getting a Y2K-esque thick block of platinum blonde around your face (unless that's your vibe, ofc).

Vampy eyeshadow and dark-red lipstick strutted down runways at Balenciaga and Dolce&Gabbana, respectively, for spring/summer 2023. All the while, cherry-cola lips where you layer brown lip liner with sheer-red lip gloss started trending on TikTok. And now, we've arrived at cherry-cola hair, which is simply just a rebrand for the reddened dark-brown hair color we know and love: auburn.

This tone is great if you already have dark hair, as you just really need to throw on a red color glaze to add a warm tone to your hair. But if you're starting from scratch, ask your stylist for a deep-brown color with lots of red mixed in to get that cherry-cola hue.

Want to evoke major main character energy? Get in early on the icy, platinum-blonde hair trend. Think '80s Pamela Anderson or Regina George in Mean Girls. This full-throttle blonde takes us back to the days before ~simple, natural looks~, making it somehow feel current and different.

Sure, it'll take a major dye job (unless you've already got a head of light-blonde highlights), which can seriously damage your hair. Plus, you'll need lots of purple shampoo to tone between appointments, meaning you're potentially looking at a very costly, drying, and potentially damaging time. But (!) take a tip from model Georgia Ball, pictured above, who's wearing a wig to get the vibe without the commitment.

Dua Lipa debuted this rich, bold deep-red shade in 2023, and we can expect hella other celebs to follow suit in 2024. The warm undertone gives this color a bit of spice without veering into a bright, primary shade of red.

Ask your stylist for an all-over dye job with a vivid maroon shade. But the hardest part will be avoiding fading, TBH. Which is where color-depositing conditioner comes in. Not only will it add extra pigment to your hair color to make up for any fading, but it'll coat your hair with some shine and moisturize your ends. "Color-depositing conditioners are semi-permanent and can last anywhere from five to 15 washes depending on the brand and also the color pigment," hairstylist Venner James previously told Cosmo.

The light blonde to copper and amber hair color pipeline is strong (ahem, even creator Meredith Duxbury, above, did it in 2023). Variations of this spicy, orange-toned hair color will be everywhere this year, as it adds a lot of warmth and brightness to your hair without the depth of deeper red tones.

Upkeep is exponentially important with this hair color, as this vivid shade can get dull pretty quickly. Try to only wash your hair two to three times a week (make dry shampoo your BFF), and when you do wash, make sure you're cleansing with a sulfate-free shampoo for color-treated hair to help reduce some color fading. And once a week, coat your hair with a copper hair gloss to add shine and brightness.

• Dafne Evangelista is a celebrity hairstylist and colorist based in Miami, FL. She's also the founder of her own salon, Dafne Evangelista Beauty Lounge. She's worked with celebs like Alix Earle, Emma Chamberlain, and Natti Natasha.
• Venner James is a celebrity hairstylist, a certified hair loss practitioner, and the founder of the Venner-James Brand. His skills include wig making and application, short cuts, relaxers, Locs, custom wigs, barbering, braiding, and more. He previously chatted with Cosmo about color-depositing conditioners.