We are seeing a lot of auburn tones, and we love it!

Cowgirl copper is one of the hottest colours of the season. It’s a luxe auburn copper tone which is a little bit caramel, a little brunette, and a little red, and softer and more wearable than a brighter copper colour.

The look features a super glossy, rich caramel tone with a base colour that sits right between brunette and blonde, and is inspired by the super rich, caramel hues of Western leather. The cowgirl copper trend is more muted and natural-looking than colours with prominent copper tones, and it is perfect for those who prefer a statement colour which is wearable and a little more low-key. 

This look has been seen on celebrities such as Chrissy Tiegan, Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Riley Keough and Megan Fox, and has been showcased in the latest collections of brands such as Chloe, Jacquemus, and Isabel Marant.

The Colour:

The key to a gorgeous cowgirl copper is softer copper tones. This look avoids an overly bright finish and adds more muted auburn tones which are easier to maintain and which have a natural finish.

Blending a colour with prominent copper tones with a neutral colour will give you a softer auburn finish. Sometimes less is more.

The softer, more muted copper tones in the cowgirl copper colours is achieved by blending 3/4 tube of a neutral colour with 1/4 tube of a copper colour.

• The copper tones are achieved by blending either 1/4 of Palermo 7.43 Golden Copper Blonde or 1/4 of Trieste 6.34 Light Golden Copper Brown with
• a neutral such as either Genoa 6 Light Brown, Napoli 7 Dark Blonde, Sicily 8 Medium Blonde or Amalfi 9 Light Blonde (depending on your natural colour level or if you have lightened your base colour).

A blend of a neutral and a warm colour is also the best approach to cover and add warm tones to grey hair. Grey hair lacks all pigments, and adding warm tones only to greys will result in a lighter, brighter effect over greys, as the warm pigments will ‘pop’ more over greys. Blending a warm colour with a neutral colour will fill pigments which are missing from greys and anchor the colour, leaving a consistent colour and tone from roots to ends.

Our colourists can recommended the exact neutral and copper blend that would work best for you, depending on you natural colour level and colour goals.

*Both Chrissy and Julia also have some softer highlights framing their face and in the lengths of their hair. This can be achieved by adding foilyage highlights with our Highlights Kit and finishing your highlights with a semi-permanent application of the above colour blend. Highlights around the face are particularly effective and you need only apply a few highlights to frame the face.

Order:

To achieve a cowgirl copper, your first order would be a Duo order with one neutral colour (level 6 Genoa, level 7 Napoli or level 8 Sicily) and one copper colour such as Palermo 7.43 or Trieste 6.34.

As you will only be using 1/4 of the copper colour with each colour application, the copper tube will last longer than the neutral colour.

For ongoing colour maintenance, for colour applications 2-4 you will need a colour kit with just your neutral colour only, and you can blend the neutral colour with the remaining Palermo colour.

You would need a Duo Colour Kit order with your neutral colour and copper colour once every 4 colour applications.

Select the 20 vol developer for standard permanent colour coverage, the 27 vol developer for stubborn grey coverage, or the 5 vol developer if you want a semi-permanent colour result.

Application:

We recommend a full length application for all new colours, to achieve a consistent tone and colour from root to ends.

This colouring approach will preserve the health and condition of your hair by limiting permanent colour applications to once only for each section of hair, at the roots. We call it Colour Perfection.

Applying a semi-permanent colour will keep your colour and tone boosted and fresh, without lifting, damaging or impacting your base colour level or hair condition.

Select the 5 vol developer to create a semi-permanent colour finish.

Maintenance:

Cowgirl copper tones can be easier to maintain than brighter copper tones, which can fade faster. As the auburn copper look is already softer, these more subtle tones will still look great if the colour fades a little bit.

You can maintain regrowth with a root smudge application applied close to the roots only with a permanent developer (20 vol developer or the 27 vol if you have stubborn greys), and boost colour in lengths with a semi-permanent colour application blended with a 5 vol developer.

You can use either the same colour blend for a semi-permanent full length colour application to boost the copper tones.

Alternatively, you can use a single warm semi-permanent colour such as Torino 8.3 Golden Blonde to add some golden tones and shine to your lengths. Torino has a medium blonde base colour and warm golden tones. Using a Torino semi will deposit golden tones and shine only in your hair, adding a golden gloss to your colour finish.

Best For:

Natural colour levels between medium to light brown and dark blonde to light blonde base colour levels.

Grounded in a neutral base, cowgirl copper tones are suitable for those with cool or warmer complexions. create a flattering, energising contrast between a paler cool complexion. The naturally softer auburn tones can also fantastic on warmer olive complexions.

Base Colours:

Cowgirl copper tones have a wide variation in depth, accompanied by a softer, more muted and natural looking copper tones.

Julia Roberts base colour is light brown, so she naturally has more depth to her copper tones.

If your natural colour is lighter, then adding just a hint of copper will help you achieve a softer version of the cowgirl copper trend.

There is nothing more opulent than warm and glossy copper tones seen in the different variations of this trend.

Commitment Phobic:

If you’re interested in trying the shade but aren’t completely willing to commit, try using a semi-permanent colour. You can add semi-permanent copper tones if your existing colour is currently light brown-light blonde. This method is especially useful for blondes as the light-toned base color will help the nwly added copper tones to appear vibrant. This approach is also helpful if you plan to keep your copper tones temporarily. A couple of copper months were good enough for Emrata and can be just the on-trend, fun colour change you need for right now. If you’re thinking of transitioning back to to a lighter shade, a non-permanent color can be the best approach.

Styling:

You can add some soft waves, volume and movement to your locks with the Silk Curler Set. Finish your look with our Grooming Spray, which will add some light hold and body, without adding crunch and heaviness to your hair.

Pros:

• Fun and fresh, bold and elegant!
• It is healthier to add copper tones to a mid-light brown or dark blonde base than to repeatedly lighten hair to a blonde colour level.
• Try a softer copper result commitment-free, with a gentle semi-permanent colour.
• A blend of a neutral and a warm colour is the best approach to add warmer tones to hair with any greys as the neutral pigments fill and anchor the colour and leave an even, consistent colour result over greys.

Cons:

• Warmer copper tones can fade quickly. You can boost your tone and colour with semi-permanent colour applications in between your permanent colour root touch-ups.

Considering a new look? Softer, muted copper tones can give you elegant warm tones with an updated finish and it could just be your favourite new look.