Update: Two months later and Lisa Frank-inspired hair has yet to slow down. Even better: This latest look has really upped the ante. Coming from St. Louis hairstylist Caitlin Ford, it has smooth lines and a soft ombré that we love.
Keep scrolling to see even more images of the whimsical trend.
This story was originally published on September 6, 2016.
By now, we expect to find rainbow hair topping every seasonal trend list. As of late, we’ve seen more work-friendly iterations, including muted colors (hello, rose gold) and hidden rainbow hair. But there’s no blending in with the latest look: bold, neon colors pulled right from the pages of your OG Lisa Frank notebook, as PopSugar notes.
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The style requires the melding of a full range of colors, rendered in the brightest shades possible. And just like in those saturated Lisa Frank images, the color placement is kaleidoscopic to the point of surreal. Sections of yellow, orange, red, blue, and pink blend into one another, just like the gradients of a Lisa Frank picture — an effect that multiplies when hair is braided.
Alyssa Wiener, a colorist at Stylin’ in Norwalk, CO, specializes in vivid color and helped coin the hashtag #LisaFrankHair on Instagram. “I’ve been doing vivids in my bathroom since I was 12, and Lisa Frank has absolutely been an inspiration," she explains.
And though Instagram pictures may make the process look easy, Wiener recommends consulting a colorist before deciding to go full-on Frank. “It’s best to see and feel the hair beforehand to see what is and isn’t possible. People don’t know what it takes to get the color right,” she says. “If there’s any yellow in the hair and you go blue, then it will come out green, for example.”
If you’re ready to go full-throttle with the look, you can even go for Lisa Frank patterns, like cheetah-print or zebra stripes. Because why should your Trapper Keeper have all the fun?