The summer months are when we truly see blondes coming alive! Brunettes look to update their look with sun kissed streaks and muted blondes opt to go lighter and brighter updating their hair to reflect the change in seasons. Here Tracey Ann Smith, Artistic Director at Mood looks at the top trends this year.

SUMMER BLONDES

For summer 2026, we are moving away from platinum and icy tones, and instead, are shifting towards warmer, more dimensional lighter blonde hues including creamy, buttery vanilla tones and beige and bronde tones like teddy bear blonde – shades that are softer and more natural but still look beautiful and expensive. Below are some of my favourite blonde tones for summer 2026 and my must-have products for keeping them looking their best throughout the warmer weather.

APRICOT BLONDE

For those looking for a richer, warmer blonde hue for the summer season and a blonde with a bit of edge, apricot blonde is one of the must-have blonde hues for the season. We are also seeing this colour trend pop up as Cherry Blonde which effectively is a more golden blonde hue with a wash of apricot cherry or soft peach. This colour is less red than traditional strawberry blonde and is best achieved by using a peach-coloured toner on a lightened blonde base or by infusing copper and golden tones on a golden base.

TEDDY BEAR BLONDE

If you’re after a warm, cosy, more ‘bronde’ hair colour, Teddy Bear Blonde, will be very on trend this summer season. This is great for those who want a lower maintenance blonde, that features a soft, natural root, and who prefer warmer tones of toffee and toaster brown instead of ashy or creamier blonde tones. This look is best achieved with balayage to create that more lived-in feel where these more natural shades can be freehand painted throughout the hair by your colourist. Alternatively, a mixture of highlights and lowlights can also be used to create a teddy bear blonde look. Glossing services are also great to give this colour further shine and a more luxe feel.

BLANCHE BLONDE

A new trend for 2026, Blanche Blonde, is a creamier, more ethereal take on platinum blonde. This near white shade is super bright and high impact, but also has a slight softness, not being as icy in tone and instead having a slight creamy edge to it. A foiling technique like highlights is best to achieve this look over a period of time, ensuring your colourist doesn’t add too much warmth or cool tones to the hair. Instead, Blanche Blonde should be right in the middle between warm and cool – deliciously vanilla toned.

With this shade, using a silver shampoo and conditioner like the MOOD Silver Specific Shampoo and Conditioner are key to ensure the hair does not have too much warmth. However, it should not be used too regularly – I would say every 2 weeks, alternating this with a colour shampoo and only leaving the silver shampoo on the hair for a minute to avoid it becoming too ashy toned.