Hair trends come and go, but there’s always been one immovable tenet of having good hair: change it with the seasons. Bobs for summer, braids for winter, you know the routine. On a recent shoot, however, we got a hot tip contradicting the standard advice from one of our hairdressers who’s been making frequent trips to Asia. Seasonal hairstyling is on its way out, and celeb stylist Anh Co Tran gave us the inside scoop on what’s taking its place.
What is seasonal hair?
In the past, hair colors and cuts have always been deeply tied to the weather. You want your hair off your neck when the sweltering weather strikes, so it makes sense to head to a local stylist and trim off everything below your collarbone. The idea has applied to color, as well: Who doesn’t want to be a sandy blonde during their summer vacation on a pristine white beach?
Beauty trends often follow the ones set by the fashion world. Just as most people opt for jeans and fashion sneakers year-round, most influencers are now looking for hair that can see them through anything. That means dropping the season-to-season model, according to Tran.
“Sometimes I feel weird if I say a fall cut, summer cut. I just feel like there’s no more seasons. I’m so influenced by it,” he says.
That leads us to our next question for Tran. If seasons don’t matter, should seasonal cuts and colors?
Should I change my hair every season?
Blame it on a variety of factors, but seasons never seem to be as, well, season-y as they once were. Winter can have warm days, and we’re basically convinced the entire East Coast exists inside of a perma rain shower from September to May. That’s an idea hair lovers in Japan have taken seriously, Tran explains.
“I’ve been in Japan quite a lot lately, and there’s a lot of non-season stuff,” he says. “I think that’s so future right now because everything seems to be, you know, timeless, and it’s kind of cool.”
How do you get a cut or color that never needs to be changed?
Living less seasonally is an idea we’ve seen reflected in everything from cut techniques to highlight shades. Instead of bright blonde followed by dark auburn, our favorite stylists are customizing neutral honey shades and ash brown hair that’s explicitly designed to flatter your complexion and doesn’t need to be changed all the time.
Still searching for your ideal hair look? That’s totally normal! Start by booking a consultation with a trusted pro and take the time to talk with them about how you like to wear your hair, how often you’ll *actually* book an appointment to get your cut or color tidied up, and what your favorite facial features are. All those details might seem meaningless to you, but they’re puzzle pieces that can help your stylist understand precisely how to give you the perfect cut or color.
Once you’ve got it, the only thing you’ll have to change seasonally is your hair care routine—oh, and you might want to pack those sundresses away until next June. Follow Tran’s hair advice, and you’ll be living like a fashion maven.
