THE blonde hair is back in 2026. But not just any blonde, but light and precise shades that will also test the hairdressers’ ability to create them. The first highly desirable blonde shade is the one inspired by Cloud Dancer, Pantone 2026 shade. A very light blonde, almost icy, which requires great skill with dyes and similar. The other shade is the Maple Syrup Blonde, or the blonde maple syrup, which “satisfies” everyone.
Blonde hair, in 2026 the inspiration is the Cloud Dancer
Even the world of hair styling is inspired by Cloud Dancer, the Pantone 2026 color. A soft, delicate, enveloping white that comes from the desire to find peace after the too many stimuli to which society, and we too, are subjected. And that translates into a light blonde hair color, very light, buttery and soft, not a cold or glacial white but a soft and milky nuance. Airy, just like the clouds.
A nuance that already had tfound space on the Chanel SS 2026 catwalk, and also on that of the Métiers d’Art of the maison that showed in New York last December, where XXL wigs made of feathers and weaves were cloud-colored.
The “cloud” blondes of Sidney Sweeney, Elle Fanning, Cate Blanchett (Getty Images)
But, if we look at past seasons, white hair has often been featured on the catwalks. Jason Wuagain for SS 2026, chose models whose Scandi blonde is very reminiscent of Panto’s Cloud Dancer, as well as the Gucci by Alessandro Michele has repeatedly brought on the catwalk a blonde so light that it is almost white. In short, the very light blonde, almost white, has now been released onto the catwalks and now it’s time to choose it in real life too.
How to make the Cloud Dancer at the hairdresser
If Pantone chose this color as a symbol of calm and a desire for softness, opting for this nuance at the hairdresser has a completely different meaning. Such a light blonde is in fact a symbol of audacity, of resourcefulness. It goes beyond the classic platinum blonde, the “Cloud dancer blonde” translates into a white-blond that certainly does not go unnoticed.
But how to achieve it? This trend will put the skill of hair stylists to the test. Also because to create the right degree of coldness, but at the same time softness, it is It is necessary to be familiar with balayage, in this case ice white, with oxygenations which completely lighten the natural color of the hair and then re-tonalize it with buttery nuances, or very light ash shades, depending on the shade you want to achieve. In short, a choice of great effect but complex to implement. Although incredibly chic.
Not just soft white blonde, the success of butter and Maple Syrup Blonde
For those who don’t feel like risking so much, there is no shortage of blonde alternatives, on the contrary. If you want warmth and an enveloping shade there is Maple Syrup Blonde, otherwise known as maple blonde. Rich in shades, including caramel, butter and cinnamon, this particular blonde is thewinter evolution of warm autumn blondes and is perfect if the starting base is dark, because it is a defined intermediate blonde.
Definitely mélange, it has a three-dimensional effect and is made with lighter front locks, to give brightness to the face and create contrast with the darker base which, in order not to be “flat” and dull, is enlivened by touches of light in specific points of the face. These points of light can also be buttery, in this case you will have Maple Butler Blonde, to be chosen if the natural base is light or the first white strands appear. The beauty of this blonde is that it adapts to everyone and is perfect if you don’t like sharp lines, but a mélange effect.