Vanilla glaze hair is the newest trend hitting salons—and it’s perfect for fine hair types

In my opinion, there is no ice cream flavour more elite than vanilla. Why must we mess with other flavours when perfection already exists? Well, that’s exactly how I feel about the biggest blonde hair trend right now: vanilla glaze hair. It’s simple, beautiful, and although appears effortless, it is a total work of art. 

If the latest hair colour trends are anything to go by—like cowgirl copper and the Scandi hairline —we’re in for a treat with this one too. Out of all the upcoming autumn hair colours, vanilla glaze hair has to be a favourite thanks to its vibrant, glossy and healthy appearance. To get the low-down on this beautiful colour, we asked Larry King, Redken UKI ambassador and Harriet Muldoon, Redken advocate and senior colourist at Larry King to share all. 

What is vanilla glaze hair? 

“Blondes are evolving from buttery and honey tones to a light neutral blonde with a healthy shine – it’s a clean, vanilla colour with a glazed effect,” says Larry. It’s a light, white-gold blonde that’s got plenty of dimension and brightness along the hairline and is incredibly shiny and healthy-looking. 

Created after finding that clients increasingly opt for a full head of highlights rather than scalp bleaches, Harriet explains that doing so allows a bright blonde; “blending multi-tonal colour with vanilla and creamy golds, keeping some depth at the root with these packed in highlights for each regrowth”. 

Like with all hair colour trends, it can, of course, be tailored to your specific tastes. “For a lighter look around the face, we can paint delicate ‘Scandi’ light tones on virgin baby hairs at the hairline for extra brightness,” Harriet adds. 

How is it achieved? 

The first aspect to emphasise is that this is always achieved in a salon. Blonde hair and bleaching requires years of training and it’s never worth the risk trying it at home with a box dye. 

“Vanilla glaze is the ultimate bottled blonde effect; it’s for the blondes who want to take their base sky high” says Harriet. Once the lifting process is achieved it’s all about not over-toning and combining warm and cool tones together. “It can be achieved with global coverage, highlights, balayage or a statement frame, it just requires a lot of lift to be able to show the vanilla pop,” Harriet explains. “I would always have gold as the primary tone followed by a drop of pearl.” 

Who should try vanilla glaze hair?

As with many hair colour and cut trends, anyone can try vanilla glaze hair. It’s just about tailoring it to your wishes, hair type and hair condition. “This blonde suits a lot of people because it’s more of a neutral colour, it flatters a lot of skin tones. This look is all about a healthy-looking shine too, which we create with subtle gold tones blended through, so if you have finer hair that can look flat, this is a great way to add dimension,” says Harriet. 

How to maintain the colour at home? 

Like many blonde shades, this one isn’t the most low-maintenance hair colour out there. “Bond care is important to create the ‘glazed’ shine and provide strength repair for bleached hair,” says Harriet, which starts in the salon using a protective treatment like Redken’s Acidic Concentrate system during your service. “For care at home, the Acidic Bonding Concentrate range helps upkeep the healthy look and feel,” she adds. Not only does regular maintenance keep your hair looking and feeling healthier, but it also protects the colour from fading. 

Vanilla glaze hair inspiration