Wheat Blonde Hair Colour Trend
"Wheat Blonde" Is the Low-Maintenance Way to Do Balayage This Autumn
The best way to transition your blonde from Summer to Autumn this year is by trying our new favourite hair colour hue: Wheat Blonde. Hair colourist Jack Howard, who works at Paul Edmonds Salon in London, gave POPSUGAR the lowdown on how to try the beautiful warm shade of blonde for yourself this season.
"A fresh, wheat-coloured glaze softens everything up after the Summer holidays," says Howard, who describes wheat blonde as a warm, buttery hue with ribbons of gold painted throughout.
"It's an anti-ash blonde," he adds, "perhaps as a reaction to the mountain of ash tones we've been seeing everywhere". But why wheat blonde hair for Autumn you might ask? "We're not in Winter wonderland, and there are no snow whites just yet, so wheat blonde is a lovely way to transition into something softer", says Howard. It's a great direction to go in before possibly trying something a little cooler and lighter — marshmallow blonde, for instance — for the snowier months. It's also just a beautiful option that you can maintain all year long.
Wheat blonde isn't just pretty to look at, either; it's much easier to maintain than other blonde shades like ash, bronde, or platinum. And it can work for anybody. If you're a natural blonde, wheat blonde will work nicely with the pigment and undertones of your hair colour, resulting in a hue that's more natural and lived-in looking. However, it also works for those who have already lightened their hair with either foil highlights or balayage.
To create the warm, buttery hue, Howard uses the new Schwarzkopf BlondMe Bond Enforcing Premium Clay Lightener, instead of bleach, painting it on using his signature balayage technique. "Prelightener is for the hair, bleach is for your toilet bowl," Howard laughs. Once the the prelightener has lifted the hair's pigment to the shade he wants, Howard then finishes with the Schwarzkopf Igora Vibrance Glaze to add back overall warmth.
The balayage technique works perfectly for wheat-blonde hair as the colourist can add a variety of custom pieces depending on the overall look you want. Even if you've previously had a head full of foils, your colourist can add strategically placed micro-balayage pieces — such as money pieces — working with your natural hair colour to lift or tone down the colour. "Work with your natural tones, and come up with a game plan with your colourist for the entire Summer to Autumn season transition", says Howard. This could be using more balayage pieces with heavier application at the beginning of the Summer and then gradually letting these grow out for a slightly darker tone. Or, it could mean taking your natural hair colour and adding some micro-balayage pieces to add definition around the face and creating the illusion of more movement to your hair.
Ahead, see exactly how Howard created wheat blonde hair, plus even more variations of the trend to take to your colourist for inspiration — which Howard says is always useful as a guide for any hair colourist.
