28 pastel hair ideas to keep things fun and fresh 

The pastel hair trend is here to stay, because when it comes to non-boring hair colours, you can't really miss with candyfloss pinks, dreamy lilacs, peach, sky blue and mint and more. Our hair is an extension of ourselves and our style, so we love to see the personalisation that pastel hair shades can provide. Plus, there's something undeniably cool about swerving “trad” shades for something a bit more offbeat. 

And since, these days we're much more tuned into our mood, with aura manis and beauty horoscopes, pastel hair shades can become like our own personal mood ring, and easy wash out formulas have made it so much simpler to experiment. 

It's a hit with celebs. Everyone from Lizzo, to Megan Fox, to Dua Lipa, JLo, Kaia Gerber and Hailey Bieber have flirted with pastel pink. 

Who can forget Ciara's mermaidy ocean blue moment.

And celebs like Megan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, Kylie Jenner and Maisie Williams regularly mix up their hair shade to keep things fresh.

Of course, pastel hair isn't a new concept. Pastel pink hair dates right back to the 1700s. Marie Antoinette infamously treated her hair with saffron, turmeric, sandalwood and rhubarb in order to achieve a strawberry blonde effect. But, new renditions have kept the trend current.

“Pastel hair colours are a playful way to update your look,” insists Anya Dellicompagni, Director of Hairdressing at Francesco Group. "Most pastel shades tend to last between two to ten washes so they're a great way to temporarily update your look with minimal commitment," she adds.

And we love a remix. Like the e-girl or “digi blonde” moneypiece pastel highlights that have come back for the past few summers. “Digi Blonde is inspired by the digital escapism movement, which represents a world full of optimism, escapism, and playful excitement," says Christel Barron-Hough, founder and creative director at Stil Salon. “This blonde is playful but chic with a palette ranging from pink cosmos, awkward peach, grayed jade, inky blue, airy blue, iced mango and raspberry violet,” she explains.

“The colour technique is inspired by the late ‘80s panel blocking as seen on Cindy Lauper, merged with the early ’90s super model face strand, seen on Cindy Crawford. The idea is to highlight panels around the front to create a playful feel – glossed with pastel tones to make it more edgy and exciting, while leaving the surrounding hair more natural as contrast” Christel says. 

As for products. For a long-lasting pastel colour, we recommend visiting a hair salon, as they are able to assist in lightening your hair before applying colour. For a more temporary fix, however, Bleach's temporary Super Cool Colour washes are only £6.50 a pop and are perfect for giving a subtle shot of colour for a short amount of time (which is ideal for commitment-phobes). The Crazy Colour semi-permanent colour creams are also fantastic, and come in a large range of shades, including a unique pastel bubblegum colour. Plus the Fudge Paintbox colours have some dreamy pastel shades. Or, we love hair chalks for super easy application.

Inspired? Here's some of our favourite ways to wear pastel hair…

Grunge pastel

Pastel pink buzzcut

Pink ends

Blush curls

Liquid lilac

Peachy keen

Lavender and steel blue

Watermelon curls

Juicy pink and peach

Silky pink

Periwinkle crop

Blonde and lilac bob

Taffy pink curls

Peach moneypiece highlights 

Rosé pink

Apricot blonde

Raspberry and lilac 

Peach ends

Mermaid blue

Pastel pink moneypiece

Peach pink bob

Lavender and magenta 

Amethyst moneypiece

Face-framing pink 

Oyster blonde

Lavender buzz

Candyfloss pink

Tiger's eye blonde

For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk