Top 5 Hair Trends for Spring 2016

It’s time to pack up heavy winter gear and do away with long locks

What better way to embrace the season of rebirth than with a fresh new hairstyle?

Vancouver-based Chris Weber is a hairstylist to Instagram’s hottest stars. He recently styled local fashion blogger Alanna Durkovich (xandervintage, pictured above) on the cover of Flare magazine. Not to mention, he has nearly 40,000 followers on his own Instagram account.

Click through for Chris’s top five trends for Insta-worthy spring hair.

Colour contouring

Just like makeup contouring trends, hair contouring is now a thing too. It’s a technique that involves highlighting and lowlighting to either enhance or minimize certain aspects of your hair. For example, lightening hair around the face to provide a nice frame.

“My personal favourite is to mix warm and cool tones to create more of a contrast,” says Chris. “When you have really light pieces next to something really dark, it’s more interesting as it creates more life in your hair.”

Caramelized colours

Warm is the new cool. For an easy and low-maintenance hair update, go for shades of caramel, copper, mahogany and gold.

“The trend is getting back to more natural looking hair,” says Chris, and it’s perfect when you achieve a sun-kissed tan. “When you’re in the sun, you’re warming up. It makes a difference when your hair colour warms up too.”

Messy braids

Messy braids aren’t going anywhere. From West Coast weddings to a regular workday, an unkempt side braid, fishtail braid or milkmaid braid gives hair a lived-in look that’s more approachable. “People like easygoing hair,” says Chris.

Try following Vancouver beauty blogger Kassinka’s step-by-step Youtube hair tutorials. Still can’t figure it out? Salons like House of Blond offer styling sessions where you can learn from the pros. Or just try braiding half-heartedly—it’s supposed to look like a haute mess anyway!

Pro tip: Use a beach spray during the braiding process like Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Spray or local beauty brand AG Hair’s Sea Spray.

Baby bangs

Baby bangs are making a big statement. Think of them more as a super short fringe that frees up your face while also framing it.

“When you have long hair, it’s hard to change your face with just the hair. But if you give yourself a set of bangs, then you can frame your face differently,” says Chris.

He also recommends adding contrast to the bangs with an undercut to create more dimension.

One warning: baby bangs can be high-maintenance. Be prepared to buy a mini flat iron and use it every morning.

Oil slick

The tables have turned, and brunettes are about to have more fun. Enter oil slick, the new rainbow hair trend for dark-haired girls that resembles oil on wet pavement. Layer on blues, greens, and purples for an iridescent shine. The bonus is that it won’t damage your hair as much since you won’t have to go through a major bleaching process.

If you have fair hair, don’t worry, you can still get the look. “With a blonde, all you have to do is create a blue base then add colour,” says Chris.

We can already see Katy Perry sporting the slick.