Megan Thee Stallion is celebrating Pride month with rainbow hair, and the rapper who loves to play around with new styles is also tapping into another growing trend of the summer – Aurora Borealis locks.
‘Aurora Borealis’ hair is the coolest new trend of the summer
The look takes inspiration from the colours of the Northern Lights. "For all the vivid colour lovers, the new Aurora Borealis hair (or Northern Lights hair) is the must have," says stylist Stephane Ferreira from salon Live True London. "This trend will navigate in hues of blue, some green and slightly purple at times so that it mirrors the sought-after natural phenomenon."
For Ferreira, this look is an evolution from the mermaid trend which has swept Instagram in recent years. Instead of featuring pink colours and an ombre style, it's all about "turquoise and cobalt blues in streaks", he says. It's particularly on-trend as Pantone's colour of the year is classic blue, which is often the base colour of Northern Lights locks.
As with any hairstyle which involves a lot of colour, it will require a fair amount of work to get the vibrancy you want. Before dying the streaks of bright colour, Ferreira says "it will be necessary to lift the colour to a pale blonde so that the vivid pigments can be added to the hair".
If you don't fancy bleaching your hair, the stylist recommends: "Using hair chalks instead, so you can get a feel for the look. The downside of this is that the chalk will wash out fully after one shampoo." If you're not fully sure whether you'll suit the style, it's worth trying chalks first before committing to dying your hair. If you wanted to save your hair from bleach altogether, a coloured wig is always another option.
Finally, if you do bleach and then dye your hair, Ferreira says: "It is important to have the right aftercare post-colouring to keep these tones looking great for longer." This means doing a hair mask around once a week, using sulphate-free shampoo and covering your hair up if spending a lot of time in the sun.