- POPSUGAR Australia
- Beauty
- Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? I Tried 2022’s Copper Hair Trend
Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? I Tried 2022’s Copper Hair Trend
by
Ruby Feneley
Supplied
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you’ll like too. POPSUGAR has affiliate and advertising partnerships so we get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase.
Tell us about your most outrageous splurge for your chance to win a $200 gift card for The Iconic. Click here to enter.
Copper hair has been everywhere this year.
Blondes like Gigi Hadid and Sydney Sweeney and brunettes Barbie Ferreira, Kendall Jenner and Zendaya have been undergoing fiery transformations and looking fabulous doing it. As an ex-redhead myself, I’ve been seriously tempted to dabble in the copper trend.
Here’s the thing: redheads serve Big Main Character Energy. When I was a kid it was Ariel in the Little Mermaid and Poison Ivy. When I was a tween, it was Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls. Then, when I studied art history at university, redheads were everywhere, from Titan to Dante and Botticelli.
So, What Was Stopping Me?
Two things. First, being copper and/or redheaded is high maintenance. Jaye Edwards of Edwards and Co says there is no way around this. “Vibrant peachy tones will always fade over time.”
Why? It comes down to chemistry. According to Garnier, the pigment molecule in red dye is larger than the pigment molecules used in brown and blonde dyes. The colour just doesn’t penetrate the hair’s cortex as deeply as these other pigments, so it is prone to wash out and fade.
The second reservation bleeds into the first. I was a redhead around the 2012-2014 “emo-meets-indie sleaze” era where red hair was more Hayley Williams than Emma Stone.
I am not wearing a wig in either of the below pictures.
There are so many things I would like to forget about this period in time. I am, however, willing to disclose one bad memory: the Manic Panic dye all over my towels, pillows, clothing, and bathroom tiles.
Fortunately, the new copper trend is a little more wearable, and a little less full of bad memories.
After boring everyone in the POPSUGAR Australia office to tears with my indecision, I finally bit the bullet, and booked in with Tom Beale-Burchell at Edwards and Co salons.
Copper Hair Need to Know:
Copper hair is still a high maintenance colour, but this new, more natural red is much easier to maintain. Firstly, it doesn’t wash out on my pillows. Secondly, the regrowth is less noticeable when your hair isn’t highlighter-orange.
But, there are some tips that will make life as a redhead easier.
Jaye Edwards recommends investing in a copper pigmented treatment mask for weekly maintenance. He favours Christophe Robin, Shade Variation Mask in “Chic Copper” ($68), and says regular gloss treatments are a fast and easy way to retain colour and shine between root touch-ups.
“They’re 15 minutes and will make your colour pop again, without the need for a full-colour service,” Edwards explains.
While adjustments will be different for everyone, as a natural brunette I made a few changes.
Firstly, I bleached and tinted my brows.
Going from cool-bronde to copper is quite the transformation, and my brows suddenly felt extremely ashy. Fortunately, it was actually an extremely easy fix — albeit an intimidating one!
I picked up a bottle of Vitality, “Creme Peroxide Developer, 20 Vol,” ($4) and left the solution for about 25 minutes. The stronger the peroxide, the greater the risk of error, so it’s best to stick with 20 vol.
Next, I toned my brows with the Christophe Robin hair mask, which gave my brows a slight copper hue. Finally, I switched to an auburn brow powder — I love the Ardell Brow Defining Quad, ($30) which comes with wax and an angled brush + spoolie.
Because I wash and heat style my hair very regularly, I use the Christophe Robin mask twice a week. I also tone my brows once a week. At Fashion Week, where redheads were all over the runway, I was also reminded that maintaining hydration is key for retaining colour.
Recently, I’ve been loving Virtue’s haircare range. I shampoo and condition with Virtue’s density-boosting Flourish range (you can read my full review here), then work “The Polish, Un-Frizz Cream” ($60) through, comb, and add a few drops of their “Heal Oil” ($63) through my ends.
Edwards says that salon-quality products are your best option with colour treated hair.
“Look for the ‘safe for colour-treated hair’ products,” he advises. “They don’t contain sulphates and parabens, which fade your colour faster.”
If you’re wanting to incorporate the warmth and radiance of copper tones without the commitment, Edwards has a solution.
“Peachy copper tones,” as seen on model Kim Potgieter above, “are a great way to add vibrancy, while still maintaining a natural look,” he explains.
Life As a Redhead:
Going red is a BIG CHANGE, no matter your hair colour. Even though my red hair was pretty subtle, I kept being startled by my reflection — and it seemed to throw off everything I was wearing, from my makeup to my clothes.
You can also expect your interactions with other people to change, too. One thing I forgot about having red hair was people talk to you all the time. From men in the street to girls at pubs and old ladies on public transport, you are automatically assumed to be the world’s hugest extrovert when you have red hair.
But honestly? Once I adjusted, people’s reactions kind of made me feel more extroverted. It’s that Main Character Energy Syndrome.
I also found the warm tones make me look healthier. Warm colours pick up on natural pink and red tones in our cheeks and golden undertones in our skin. After what I have described as “the sickest year of my life,” this was a nice pick-me-up. I’ve also found I can be bolder and more playful with my makeup and clothes. Colours that overwhelmed me or washed me out as a bronde suddenly suit me, from Yves Klein Blue to lilacs.
I can see why copper and red tones have had a resurgence post-pandemic. While strangers striking up a conversation in the street might be alarming, we certainly haven’t had much of it over the last few years. Red hair has certainly cheered me up during the onset of winter. While I loved being bronde, it turns out redheads do have more fun.
