How to Get a Sweet Cotton Candy-Inspired Hair Color

Summer is synonymous with all things colorful and sweet, which means it’s quite fitting that cotton candy-inspired hair has emerged as a must-try look this season. Sure, there have already been handfuls of colorful hair trends to emerge recently, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another pigmented ‘do—especially when it’s as ethereal as this pastel pink and blue combo. Whether you love cotton candy or have always wanted to rock a rainbow shade, you can get the look with a little know-how. As with any hair color transformation, there are some things you’ll want to consider before taking the sweet plunge. We’ll walk you through it below, with tips on getting a cotton candy-inspired hair hue and taking care of your new pastel color.

What You Need to Know Before Getting Cotton Candy-Inspired Hair

As with all light hair color trends, a cotton candy-inspired mane will require quite a bit of work to achieve—especially if you’re starting with a dark base color. When it comes to creating a light hair color that really pops, you’ll need to bleach your hair first. And if you’re starting with a very dark base color, then it may even take multiple sessions for you to achieve your desired result. For a multi-colored hue such as cotton candy, you always have the option of visiting a pro colorist. That being said, keep reading to learn how to get this look at home.

How to Create Cotton Candy-Inspired Hair at Home

Coloring your hair at home can be super-convenient. So, if you choose to roll up your sleeves and create your own one-of-a-kind cotton candy-inspired hair color at home, we’ve got you covered. First, like we told you earlier, if you’re starting with dark hair, you’ll need to bleach your hair first. You can do so with the L’Oréal Paris Colorista Bleach Allover.

Now comes the fun part—it’s time to add your colors! Use the L’Oréal Paris Colorista Semi-Permanent Hair Color in SoftPinkand Blue, which are designed to work on blonde, bleached, and highlighted hair, to get that cotton candy look. As far as how to apply your two shades, you’ve got a few options. You may want to apply blue to one side of your head and pink to another, so that your cotton candy hair is split right down the middle. Or, you may want to place the blue on top with the pink on bottom—or vice versa. It’s up to you!

How to Take Care of Your New Cotton Candy ‘Do

Once you have your pretty new cotton candy hair color in place, make a few changes to your hair care routine to help care for your hue.

1. Switch to a system of shampoo, conditioner, and mask formulated for color-treated hair. Make room in your shower! Try the L’Oréal Paris Hair Expert Color Vibrancy Intensive Shampoo, L’Oréal Paris Hair Expert Color Vibrancy Intensive Conditioner, and L’Oréal Paris Hair Expert Color Vibrancy Intensive Ultra Recovery Mask.

2. Turn down the dial in the shower. Super-hot water can strip your strands of essential oils, so turn down the dial in shower in lukewarm temps instead.

3. Embrace your hair’s natural texture. Save some time in your morning routine by allowing your hair to air dry. To help enhance your natural look, you can create beachy waves by spritzing on the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle AIR DRY IT Wave Swept Spray to towel-dried hair. Meanwhile, you can help add volume to your mane by applying an egg-sized dollop of the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle AIR DRY IT Ruffled Body Mousse damp hair. Finally, you can embrace the season’s piecey trend by applying a dime-size amount of the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle AIR DRY IT Undone Style Cream to damp hair.

4. Use a heat protectant before styling. If you do decide to use your heat tools, just be sure to apply a heat protectant, like the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle BOOST IT Blow Out HeatSpray or the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle SLEEK IT Iron Straight Heatspray, first.

Love this multi-colored cotton candy hair hue? Then we bet you’ll also love unicorn hair. Read our article, How to Get a Unicorn-Inspired Hair Color, to find out how to get the look.