How To Ombre Hair For Its 2023 Comeback

As Y2K-anything slowly takes over the world (making us all reminisce of a happier time), hair colouring techniques keep on evolving. But in the past year, we’ve seen the revival of a few hairstyles that have originated (yep, you guessed it) in the early noughties. So what about hair colours? If micro ponytails and braided tendrils are not enough to quench your thirst for Y2K hairstyles, then look no further than the return of popular colouring techniques from the 00’s: Ombre hair.

1. What Is Ombre Hair?

Originally made popular by Aaliyah, ombre hair take its name from the French word “ombré”, which literally means “shaded”. The word indicated a transition from one colour to another, usually done in a soft, gradient way. In hair, ombre usually means a dark-coloured root that gradually fades into lighter ends. Over time, the colouring technique has evolved to please everyone’s style and aesthetics, making it a popular trend even among grunge and alt-fashion followers, who often picked funky-coloured ombre shades such as pink, turquoise or silver.

2. How To: Ombre Hair

If you’ve decided to give this glamorous hairstyle a go this year, you don’t necessarily need to let your tresses go through unnecessary stress and damage with a bleach job. Did you know that, in fact, you can get ombre hair whenever you’d like with the help of real hair extensions? Investing in ombre hair extensions can be the wisest choice you’ve made – allowing you to switch in between looks, add vertiginous length to your mane, and/or pump up the volume as necessary. Let’s see some cool and trendy options to try this year, as the ombre hair trend resurfaces on runways and red carpets.

3. Black And Silver Ombre Hair

Bold looks are everything this year, and when a classic balayage doesn’t quite cut it, ombre hair might just be what you’re looking for to give a kick to your hairstyle without going too extreme. Black and silver is a bright, high-contrast combination that leaves a mark. And if your hair is naturally dark or just recently dyed jet-black, you know that getting your ends to try and come as close as possible to a shiny, silver shade will be a mission impossible – not without cutting a few inches of fried, brittle hair. To solve this problem, Cliphair has made your journey into black and silver hair easier than ever, developing a set of silver ombre hair extensions designed to fit the needs of dark-haired individuals. Whether you’re thinking of a temporary change to achieve thanks to Double Wefted Clip Ins or a longer-lasting makeover to rock with the aid of Tape In Hair Extensions, this colour combination will surely stand out and give a daring, dazzling touch of shine to black hair.

4. Brown And Blonde Ombre Hair

If you’re a brunette looking to get that famous old-school Miley Cyrus look, then look no further than this popular colour combo: classic brunette melting in a soft, warm shade of blonde. Perfect for a spring-time makeover, this is the ultimate classic ombre hair look that leaves no room for interpretation. Bright and soft, creamy and compact, this mix of shades works wonders on people whose complexion is naturally warm, highlighting your features with this luminous, delicate blonde, and subtly blending in with the natural dark brown on the roots. Inspired by the colours of light honey and warm coffee, Cliphair’s Espresso Honey Ombre Hair Extensions are available in the Double Wefted Clip Ins option, or a weave – for those looking for a more permanent solution. This is the same set of shades seen on celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Drew Barrymore and even Jared Leto!

5. Turquoise Ombre Hair

Together with the good old dusty pink, turquoise ombre hair was one of the top-notch grungy hairstyle choices back in 2012 and 2013. Some of you may recollect this as the Tumblr-girl era, a place in time where hair like this was an absolute must – together with chequered shirts, denim accessories and black nail polish. For some reason, mermaids were a huge thing back in the days, and let’s be honest: at some point most of us wanted mermaid hair, one way or another. Whilst you can’t grow out your hair in a day, you can use hair extensions to add a dash of colour to your mane. Turquoise ombre blends can easily be obtained by dying the ends of your blonde hair extensions. You find out more about this in our dedicated blog: How To Dye Hair Extensions.

6. Dusty Pink Ombre Hair

Pink hair has a unique flavour to it, being whimsical and nostalgic, but also avant-garde and futuristic. Given the calming effects of the colour pink, it’s no surprise to find out that this lovely shade has been one of the most popular even when applied to ombre hair.

Pink ombre hair has often been seen paired with blonde shades, such as in the case of Enid Sinclair in the Wednesday Addams series on Netflix (although she mixed it with blue for a fairy-like finish). Blonde and pink ombre hair has also been spotted on Maeve from Sex Education, so yeah – if you’re looking for some blonde ombre hair inspiration out there, Netflix is definitely the place to go to steal some looks. I have talked more in detail about the revival of pink tresses in our blog: The Return Of Dusty Pink Hair – where you can read everything about this universally flattering shade and how to implement it in your next hair transformation.

7. Red Ombre Hair

Red ombre hair isn’t as popular as the options above, but for natural redheads or those who have fallen in love with ruby-like tresses (following the viral red hair trend last year), the option of a red ombre hairstyle is perfectly valid. Even DC Universe’s superhero Starfire is often depicted rocking a red-melting-into-blonde ombre hairdo, so why shouldn’t you? Whether you want your ends to go light and bright or you’re looking to achieve a dark-root look bleeding into a sultry, shiny red shade, red ombre hair is a glamorous and mischievous style to try at least once. Hayley Williams from Paramore had her own version of this fiery look back in the golden era of Misery Business, the song that climbed the charts in the blink of an eye: bright red roots fading into a vivid orange and bleach-blonde tips for an edgy, standing-out finish that is hard to forget.

8. DIY: How To Ombre Hair At Home

If you’re adamant you want to give your mane a permanent makeover and don’t want to mix ombre hair extensions to your natural hair colour, know that yes – you can try and achieve this type of hairstyle at home with a DIY job. Although I don’t condone bleaching jobs done at home, with a little time, patience and skills you can achieve a beautiful ombre hairstyle in the comfort of your own home. 

L’Oréal thought of this too, and developed its very own kit do recreate a gorgeous ombre hairdo at home. You can use L’Oréal Paris Colorista Bleach in Ombré Bleach to do this, following the instructions and using their precision applicator and lightening cream on your ends. More often than not, you will require a trim after you’re done bleaching – so choose the length of your ombre gradient accordingly.If you’re going to cut your hair, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to try the lovely butterfly haircut, a trendy DIY cutting option that has gone viral on TikTok. You can read more about it in our post: 5 Reasons You Should Get A Butterfly Haircut.

9. Conclusion:

Ombre hair is coming back, and it’s easy to see why: this trendy, glamorous lightening colouring technique can bring new shine and life to your hair’s natural texture, working wonders with lots of different haircuts – from layered and bouncy ‘dos to long and blunt cuts. If you’re looking to try more Y2K trends, have a look at our blog: That's So Fetch! - What Is Y2K Aesthetic And How To Achieve It.