6 of the Coolest Autumn/Winter Hair Colours – Revealed

It's time to upgrade your salon menu. There's a Color Touch Melt for every client who sits in your chair, and these winter hair colour ideas will keep their look trending all season long...

1. The Cherry Red Melt

Burgundy is the hottest shade to have in your wardrobe right now, so it's no surprise that the deep tone is also taking the hair world by storm. For bold colour lovers, this black cherry melt is bringing the heat as the weather turns cold. "I’ve taken inspiration from a palette of deep crimsons, vibrant reds and cool-wine tones," says Wella Professionals Ambassador Matthias Herzberg, who created the look. "I'm using a selection of these shades from Color Touch because it's going to give me an amazing glossy shine."

Matthias' model started with a dark brown base colour, which was pre-lightened with Blondor Freelights + 9% so the red pieces could pop. Then he applied a blend of five vibrant Color Touch hues: 55/65, 44/65, 77/45, 55/54 and 0/45. Each shade was painted in wide, diagonal pieces for an ultra seamless finish. Meanwhile, the combination of warm and cool tones gives the melt all-rounder appeal. All skin tones can work this hue, making it one of the most attainable bolds of the season.

2. The Blueberry Melt

Blue hair is a huge trend all year round, but the shades switch from season to season. While pastels pop through spring, and aqua makes waves in summer, we take things deeper and bolder as the temperatures drop. This blueberry shade is the perfect winter hair colour; cool and clean yet vivid. And because it features melted tones, it gives darker hair dimension and movement that enhances texture. Case in point: this blueberry melt by Wella Professionals Ambassador Briana Cisneros, which features navy sweeps on a rich black-brown base shade to make the model's beautiful ringlets shine.

"After pre-lightening the hair, I want to create a melt of blue tones, from lighter ink to deep navy brunette," said Briana. "Color Touch is perfect for curls because it's gentle with amazing shine. As the curls move around you’re going to see a play of light." Want in? Recreate the look on natural brunette clients by adding highlights with BlondorPlex + 6% first. Then, after applying Color Touch 4/17 for an all-over brown shade, apply alternating ribbons of 0/88 + 1.9% and 8/81 + 0/88 + 1.9% through lengths and ends. In the final five minutes of development time, melt the shades with a wide-tooth comb. The resulting blue is a beautiful shade that will stay true-to-tone in between salon visits.

3. The Vanilla Melt

Platinum is the ultimate winter blonde. With cool undertones and an icy colour, it's as crisp, fresh and bright as just-fallen snow – and a Color Touch Melt takes it to the next level. By adding in sweeps of vanilla, you give your client's clean blonde tone a dimensional twist. "Blondes this season are confidently neutral; not too warm, not too cool," says Briana Cisneros, who crafted this blonde color melt. "To achieve this finish, I have chosen a colour palette of light and soft tones for a subtle neutralisation." The shades of choice? Color Touch 10/1, 10/6, 10/0 and 9/16.

To create the look, Briana started lightening a base of golden tones with Blondor Soft Blonde Cream + 6%. It's the perfect pre-lightener for on-scalp lifting, enriched with protecting lipids to coat the hair and help prevent moisture loss. Once the correct underlying tone had been achieved, a formula of Color Touch 10/1 + 10/6 + 1.9% was applied to the root area, then swept through the lengths and ends. Finally, alternating strokes of 10/0 + 9/16 were painted through, lending a mix of cool and warm tones that reflect the light. Proving vanilla is anything but... well, vanilla, it's a fresh take on frosted colours for winter. And it's ultra-versatile; simply bump up the warmth or the coolness to suit your client's skin and eye colour.

4. The Chocolate Melt

When expensive brunette hair is on the agenda, a rich chocolate brown hair colour is the way to glow. It's one of the biggest brunette hair, delivering warmth and lustre in one. But this year, Wella Professionals Ambassador Jackson Nunes is giving beautiful chocolate tones an upgrade, with hints of reddish undertones that catch the light as your client's hair moves. “Adding a hint of copper to my brunette shade palette is going to boost the warmth of my mahogany tones and make the hair look rich and glossy," Jackson said of this hot chocolate melt.

That's why, alongside sweeps of brown colours, such as the new Color Touch shades 6/05 and 8/05, this mane features accents of muted copper 8/43 and caramel blonde 8/73. The shades were applied to a dark brown base, with no pre-lightening. You're seeing 6/05 on the dark roots, and all four tones painted through the lengths and ends in alternating ribbons. If your client is looking for a new way to wear deep brunette – a shade that warms things up in the cold weather – these hints of rich mahogany will glisten like never before.

5. The Pumpkin Spice Melt

Thought pumpkin spice hair was just for fall? Think again. This year, it's sticking around for the coldest season, giving red hair lovers a wearable take on vibrant copper. Just like the cowboy copper trend, which sees swirls of brown mixed in with ginger and auburn shades, this natural-looking hair colour is made all the more believable by the seamless melting of the rich tones.

And that's exactly what Matthias Herzberg was going for. "I am going to create definition and the illusion of depth with reddish-coppers, and then use golden-orange tones for the lighter pieces." The palette features a stunning variety, from chocolate cherry 7/43 and berry red 8/41, to blush blonde 10/34 and a bright ginger shade from the Special Mix edit, 0/34. Together, they melt into an amazing shade of copper that gives redheads a boost of dimension.

6. The Caramel Melt

Frosted locks aren’t the only way to do a winter blonde. If your clients prefer warm colours, introduce them to bronde hair (AKA brown-blonde) with this caramel Color Touch Melt. It reflects ribbons of chestnut brown, honey blonde and, of course, caramel, for a brown-meets-blonde shade that embodies the cosy months.

Jackson Nunes, who created the look on a model with a warm blonde base hair colour, combined Color Touch with the power of permanent Koleston Perfect for root-to-tip perfection. “I need to lift the roots with a cool shade from Koleston Perfect and deepen the porous lengths and ends with warm shades from Color Touch. I am using /7 brunette in all my colour choices for a seamless colour continuity,” Jackson said. So, Koleston Perfect 7/71 + 6% was applied to the roots, Color Touch 7/71 and 8/73 were alternated in large weaves through the lengths and ends, and 9/73 was used as an all-over toner for a burst of radiant shine. Proving the winter season doesn't have to be all about icy blonde highlights, this is sun-kissed hair reimagined for the colder months. The perfect shade for clients who miss their beachy mane.