‘Ghost Blonde’ Is the Hair Color We’re Obsessing Over This Summer

Soft-focus glam is everywhere right now. Rather than acid yellow nails, we’ve fallen for creamy butter yellow. A statement eye has been replaced by tonal makeup, and “ghost blonde” is the new, dialed-down way to get lighter strands this summer.

Not to be confused with TikTok’s “ghost roots”—where the ends of the hair are kept dark and the roots an icy blonde—the ghost blonde trend is exactly as it sounds. Rather than harsh highlights or a sun-bleached blonde, ghost blonde reads softer and more natural with hushed, almost invisible, lighter hues woven throughout the hair.

What puts the “ghost” into the blonde is that you shouldn’t able to see where your natural color ends and the blonde hues start. It’s sun-kissed without creating too much contrast in the hair. Think of it as the hair equivalent of “no make-up” makeup, and it’s seemingly already got the Royal stamp of approval after Kate Middleton recently debuted a noticeably lighter, bronde ‘do that is the definition of ghost blonde.

Last month, Thai rapper and singer Lalisa Manobal tapped into the ghost blonde trend, too. While at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Bella Hadid debuted a soft sandy blonde with creamy toffee accents and Halle Berry’s wavy bob had au naturel blonde accents.

How to go ghost blonde

“Ghost blonde is a barely-there blonde tinge added to darker blonde, light brown, or brunette hair, in super-faint strands,” says hair stylist Jason Collier, who brought the trend to our attention. “It’s not full-on highlights, but more of a lifted glow, like natural sunlight catching your crown. Ghost blonde catches in the light and adds dimension, without screaming ‘I’ve had my hair done.’”

It shares similar DNA as “glow-lights,” a term coined by Kate Moss’ colorist Nicola Clarke, to describe the type of soft glow your hair gets when subtly mixing neutral beige and golden hues with a darker shade underneath.