From gemlights to oil slick tones, the internet has well and truly spoiled us with heaps of new, bold, vibrant and seriously Instagrammable hair colour trends lately. But if you haven't yet booked in for a total hair colour transformation, this latest hair craze might just sway you. Introducing: stained glass hair.
If you're struggling to picture what we mean, imagine the watercolour-like shadow a stained glass window casts on a wall when the sun shines through it – that almost fragmented, multicoloured silhouette – but on your hair, instead.
Although there aren't as many hashtags for stained glass hair in comparison to DNA braids or strandlights, we're pretty certain the look is going to be just as huge. Despite pastel shades continuing to reign supreme, the key to pulling off stained glass hair is to choose the most vivid colours you can get your hands on. A quick scroll through Instagram serves up flashes of bright red, orange, fuchsia and green, over muted rose and baby blue tones, and thanks to recent innovations in box dye technology, the vibe isn't that hard to recreate at home.
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Whether you employ a brush or hand-paint using your fingers, you can be pretty slapdash with where you place the colour. R29 rates BLEACH London's Slime Light and Odd Fuchsia, £6 each, but if you want something more permanent, L'Oréal's Preference Infinia range, £7.99, consists of striking orange, red and dark purple hues that stick around for a little longer and work brilliantly on darker hair. Of course, if you want a print that's a little more intricate, your best bet is to visit a salon professional, but whatever you do, be sure to lock in your colour every time you wash it.
For coloured hair, using Olaplex is always a good bet if you don't want to end up with parched strands. Sophia Hilton, hairstylist and founder of Not Another Salon, also recommends Olaplex alternative - INNOluxe to repair damage and to keep colour looking vibrant for longer. She also suggests swapping out your humble conditioner for a hair mask, while colourist Taylor Clayton-Spicer at Paul Edmonds London suggests always washing your hair with a sulphate-free shampoo, such as the Shu Uemura Color Lustre, £36, to keep your colour on lockdown.
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