Tri-colored tresses inspired by calico cats: The latest hair color craze blending auburn, black, and blonde for a bold, eye-catching look.
The animal-inspired hair trend pack keeps growing, with “calico hair” joining the mix. This new style follows the popularity of cuts like the wolf, butterfly, jellyfish, and kitty cut. It’s causing quite a stir in the beauty world as one of the hottest hair color trends for 2024.
Pinterest’s Summer 2024 Trend Report shows a massive 6500% increase in searches for calico hair this year, with people looking for hair reference photos to achieve this bold look. More and more people are jumping on this trend inspired by the unique tri-colored pattern of cat hair. Let’s dive into what you need to know about it.
What is the calico hair trend?
Taking cues from the striking coloring of calico cats, this new hair color trend blends auburn, black, and blonde hues. The result is a personalized look featuring high-contrast stripes and statement strands that are hard to miss. It’s the color highlights—a pumped-up version of the chunky highlights that were popular 2000s hair color trends (which also saw a 5400% surge in searches, according to Pinterest’s report). Chunky highlights curly hair is a great way to rock this look.
Why choose calico hair color?
Bold, rebel hair trends have made a big comeback in recent years, fueled by early aughts nostalgia. Celebrities like Billie Eilish, with her peekaboo hair, and Miley Cyrus have been at the forefront of this movement. When Miley brought back the ’70s shag in 2020, people were unsure. But since then, it’s become mainstream, spawning variations like the wolf cut, jellyfish cut, butterfly cut and even layered styles like The Rachel.
Calico hair color is set to do the same for hair color trends. We expect to see more of this animal-inspired hair look, ranging from subtle dimensional highlights to extreme high-contrast stripes like platinum blonde with red lowlights. It’s a great option to refresh your hair color in a bold, eye-catching way. The hair style is also poised to be one of the hottest Asian hair color trends in 2024 and girl hair colors.
How do you wear the calico hair trend?
You can go all out with stark red hair, black hair, and platinum blonde stripes for maximum contrast. But we also anticipate seeing softer, more wearable versions of the hair dye. Always ahead of the curve, Miley Cyrus showed off her gentler take on the trend for her W Mag cover. In one shot, it looks like simple, warm, chunky highlights from the 2000s. But another picture reveals more defined auburn copper and golden blonde shades in her fringe and face-framing money pieces. Instead of stark contrasts, she opted for closer shades: amber auburn instead of bright red hair, toffee lowlights instead of black hair, and honey blonde instead of platinum. An auburn copper bob hair is a chic way to try the trend.
Sydney Lou’s Accidental Calico Hair Discovery
We’re also impressed by how creator Sydney Lou stumbled upon her version of the calico hair trend. “Here’s a quick tip for all you calico hair fans,” Sydney shares. “It’s pretty simple. Start with natural, super-dark Asian hair. Then, use old bleach and a developer that’s probably past its prime. Try foils, but let them slip out halfway. Get your boyfriend to help, and just go with it. Don’t leave it on long enough; voila – you have a tweaked version of calico hair color! It’s like tweaked hair but with color.”
Capturing the Essence of Calico
She adds, “I think it really captures the essence and tri-colored pattern of calico cat hair – that random, patchy look. Calico cats don’t have neat stripes. Follow my steps, and you’ll get this fun, one-of-a-kind calico hair look that only nature or overconfidence can create. It’s the perfect style if you want a simple cool girl hairstyle with an edgy twist. Kelly Clarkson’s natural hair color would look great with some chunky lowlights in gray hair to get the calico effect.”
Trying the Trend: Tips and Techniques
Try hair color filters or AI Face Swap apps to preview the style to get the look without bleach. Then use a color refresh like IGK Back to Brown to add lowlights. With auburn hair, copper hair, and blonde pieces, the calico hair trend is fun to experiment with animal-inspired hair trends and statement strands. It works on any hair type, from a curly bob to long locks. Will you give this orange hair trend a try?
Source:
Elle Turner (June 6, 2024). Calico Hair Is 2024’s Fastest-Growing Beauty Trend. Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/calico-hair-trend. Accessed October 13, 2024
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