Witchy brunette is the anti-summer hair colour we’re seriously crushing on

If you’re more of a moonlight girl than a sun-worshipper, chances are you skip trends in favour of following the beat of your own drum. If so, witchy brunette may be more your temperature when it comes to this summer’s hair colour. It side-steps the age-old ritual of shifting hair lighter and brighter as soon as the sun rolls round, in favour of something a little moodier and darker.

Unsurprisingly, sunshine strands are big news this summer, as with all the previous ones. Topping the charts for 2023? You’ve got luxe blonde, which centres on subtle, seamless dimension and looks luxurious, without you being able to place your finger on exactly why. There’s golden hour blonde, which sees silky golden tones lit up through strands to give a perma-gold filter to hair. And there’s Barbie blonde, the bleached-but-buttery shade that’s headlining (along with Barbiecore in general) thanks to the upcoming Barbie movie.

Pretty? Sure. Groundbreaking? Not exactly. But, if that’s not your vibe, witchy brunette is just beginning to brew its own magic. And, well um, the anti-trend has kind of become a trend in its own right with offbeat, rebel hair colours forming their own sub-cult this summer. Because, individuality and expressionism is very much in.

We’ve seen influencers like Danielle Marcan trade in her peroxide hair for a much darker, cool-toned, mystical brunette that lends itself to all things occult. Even better, if you’re not sure about the switch, you can test-run the colour, like Danielle did, with a spray-on hair colour like L’Oreal Paris Magic Retouch Spray.

While almost-black strands aren’t a new phenomenon, we’ve definitely noticed the hair colour getting paired with longer, witchier, XXL lengths and wilder, mussier styling that celebrates organic texture.