How do I protect my blonde hair in the summer?

Yes, blonde hair can definitely fade in the sun. If you're planning on a lot of time in the sun, protect your strands with a dedicated SPF for hair.

How many months does a blonde dye job usually last?

On average, a blonde hair job can last anywhere from six to eight weeks.

40 Modern, Melty Blonde Hair Ideas for Summer and Beyond

lauren conrad — @LAURENCONRAD / Design by Zackary Angeline

You might think you have shades of blonde hair all figured out, but the truth is the multidimensional color entails more than just a head full of golden locks. The shade comes in countless tones from icy platinums to warm, summer strawberry blondes, and borderline-brunette ombrés. Whether you're looking to refresh your natural-blonde tones or you don't know where to begin your first foray into the light side, we have all of the blonde hair ideas you need to get it right.

Blonde Hair

Choosing a Shade: Cool toned blonde is a great option for people with fair skin, while golden shades look great with darker skin tones.

Maintenance Level: Most blonde hair has a high maintenance level, unless you opt for a natural ombré look.

Goes Great With: Blonde hair works great with all makeup looks, especially a bold red lip.

Similar Shades: Brunette ombré, strawberry red blonde

Price: You can expect to pay anywhere from $100 all the way up to $500 dollars, depending on your location and your stylist.

Ahead, 40 shades of blonde to consider for your next hair appointment, perfect for summer and beyond.

01 of 40

Natural Roots With Golden Ends

Ciara Blonde Hair — Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Ciara nails the dark-roots-golden-ends ombre, proving that natural brunettes can get in on the blonde action without having to keep up with bi-weekly salon visits.

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Beachy Blonde

Karlie Kloss Blonde Hair — Clemens Bilan/Getty Images

Karlie Kloss knows just how to nail that California-cool beachy blonde. With warm-toned ribbons of blonde painted throughout in varying shades, she effortlessly boasts that back-from-the-beach blonde.

03 of 40

Ash Blonde

Taylor Swift Blonde Hair — Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images

If you're trying to cover up gray strands, Taylor Swift's ashy blonde look is the look you need. The cool undertones of this light shade, paired with the variety of highlights and lowlights camouflage all traces of unruly gray, and makes upkeep a breeze.

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Blonde Extensions

Serayah McNeil Blonde Hair — Rich Fury/Getty Images

If you’re still on the fence about trying taking the peroxide plunge, experiment with the look via some cornrows with blonde ends like Serayah McNeil.

05 of 40

High-Contrast Roots

CL from 2NE1 — Han Myung-Gu / Getty Images

Chae-Rin Lee (better known as CL from the iconic K-pop group 2NE1) is known for donning platinum blonde locks from time to time. We love how the dark roots contrast the super light-lengths of her long loncks

06 of 40

Dark-to-Light Curls

Jasmin Sanders Blonde Hair — Daniele Venturelli/Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for BVLGARI

Curls boast tons of dimension on their own, but a perfectly executed dark-to-light ombré is as dynamic as it gets. Proof via this look worn by Jasmine Sanders.

07 of 40

Blonde Dip-Dye

For a fresh take on the artfully blended style, try a high-contrast (and even higher-drama) dip-dye ombré like Vanessa Hudgens's.

08 of 40

Honey Blonde

Serina Williams Blonde Hair — Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images

This glossy honey-blonde ombre with dark roots complements the golden tones in tennis star Serina Williams' skin like a dream.

09 of 40

White-Hot Platinum

Cara Delevingne Blonde Hair — Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

Cara Delevingne's pixie cut is by far the whitest we've ever seen natural hair bleached and it looks like a nymph dream. Full disclosure: This color is super high-maintenance, but we love the hint of black roots we see peeking through.

10 of 40

Multidimensional Blonde

Sofia Vergara Blonde Hair — Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Sofia Vergara is a pro at pulling off a believable blonde. Her secret is to weave in ribbons of golden caramel, strawberry blondes, and ashy strands for a look feels totally natural.

11 of 40

Brown Sugar Blonde

Laverne Cox Blonde Hair — Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Turner

It's no secret Laverne Cox is a fan of blonde locks, and for good reason. This brown sugar blonde flatters her skin tone and accentuates her naturally dark roots so well.

12 of 40

Strawberry Blonde

Rose Byrne Blonde Hair — Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images

Rose Byrne's blonde locks with reddish undertones make her the perfect candidate for strawberry-blonde inspiration at your next color appointment.

13 of 40

Blueish Blonde

Jennifer Lawrence Blonde Hair — Karwai Tang/Getty Images

The contrast between Jennifer Lawrence's warm and super icy blonde tones create the illusion of pale blue highlights and the whole thing looks so cooler than cool.

14 of 40

Natural-ish Blonde

Romee Strijd Blonde Hair — Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Even natural blondes can use the ombré technique to their advantage. Gradual, hand-painted highlights throughout your ends, like on Romee Strijd, will brighten up your look in a totally natural-looking way.

15 of 40

Platinum Blonde

Gwen Stefani Blonde Hair — Jeff Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images

Gwen Stefani is the queen of platinum blonde hair and we especially love how modern it looks in an updo. Just be sure if you try this look for yourself, to keep plenty of purple shampoo on deck to avoid turning yellow.

16 of 40

Summer Balayage

Chrissy Teigen Blonde Hair — Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Chrissy Teigen has a way of always wearing a medley of blonde and caramel tones painted in unison that give summer vibes all year round.

17 of 40

Blonde Highlight Medley

Jennifer Lopez Blonde Hair — Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Layering shades of blonde highlights ranging from cool to warm and neutral greys, with lighter ends like on Jennifer Lopez is the secret to the perfect foray into blonde for natural brunettes.

18 of 40

Copper Blonde

Rihanna Blonde Hair — Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

When you get the color just right, a copper shade of blonde dye job can act as a highlighter and bring out the natural glow in your skin tone. Rihanna's curls painted in this orange undertone complements her skin to a T.

19 of 40

Blonde With Natural Roots

Selena Gomez Blonde Hair — Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

The next time you second guess embracing your dark roots, think back to the time Selena Gomez went blonde and left her roots totally untouched. No second-guessing needed here.

20 of 40

Warm Platinum

Solange Knowled — Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Stuart Weitzman

While most platinum iterations err on the side of cool, this warm-toned platinum on Solange Knowles is just as modern.

21 of 40

Golden Honey Blonde Ombré

Latto with golden blonde hair — Getty Images Entertainment

Rapper Latto showcases her natural honey blonde hair gets the ombré treatment in the best way possible. The lighter pieces really highlight her golden undertones perfectly.

22 of 40

Pastel-Pink Blonde

Hailey Bieber Blonde Hair — Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

If you already have blonde hair, you're just a simple DIY away from wearing the pastel pink trend. A color-depositing toning product like this hair mask gives your hair a wash of pink, like Hailey Bieber's, while curing your dry ends.

23 of 40

Pale Blonde

If there's anything we've learned about Ariana Grande it's the longer your hair, the more room to play with gradients. A set of pale blonde extensions will give you an envy-worthy pony in seconds.

24 of 40

Sunny Highlights

Suki Waterhouse Blonde Hair — Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images

We don’t know if it’s lemon-in-the-sun highlights (Remember that trick?) or the feathered waves, but Suki Waterhouse is giving us all the ‘70s vibes in this look.

25 of 40

Ashy Golden Blonde

Lisa of Blackpink — Pierre Suu / Getty Images

Lisa from Blackpink is known for her awesome hair colors — and this ashy blonde hue is another banger from the singer.

26 of 40

Golden Ribbons

Leona Lewis Blonde braids — Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

One of the best ways to add blonde to your look is to add the hue to box braids, just like Leona Lewis. And the best part? It's not permanent so you can live the blonde fantasy for the summer without damaging your hair.

27 of 40

Berry Blonde

Emma Stone Blonde Hair — Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Emma Stone is almost always spotted in her signature red, so it's no surprise when she went with a blonde, she stuck with her natural undertones.

28 of 40

Cool Blonde

Rita Ora Blonde Hair — David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Charles Finch

Rita Ora does this thing with her hair that looks cool (literally and figuratively), without coming off as too icy. It's edgy, without going over the top and makes even the most simple ponytail look sophisticated.

29 of 40

Silver Blonde

Sasha Luss Blonde Hair — Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Russian model Sasha Luss does bright blonde with silver undertones like no other. A high-maintenance look, this hair color is the work of some really good bleach and tons of toner.

30 of 40

Golden Updo

Janelle Monae's golden sculptural updo is major vibes — and a major bleach job that you definitely want to leave to the professionals. If you want to try the look for yourself, opt for a giant top bun instead.

31 of 40

Poolside Blonde

Miley Cyrus has that summer shade of blonde that looks like she's been hanging poolside for months. It's an ombré with a casual, lived-in quality to it that looks so natural.

32 of 40

Caramel Blonde

Caramel Hair Colors Light Golden Brown Beyonce — Getty Images

One rule of thumb for making your dark strands pass as a believable, natural blonde (if that's what you want) is to have a few highlights extend all the way up to the roots like our queen Beyoncé.

33 of 40

Rose Gold

Kate Bosworth Blonde Hair — Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images

Blonde hair is often associated with strands of gold, but there's another metal out there that's just as beautiful. We're of course talking about rose gold—a pinkish, golden hue as seen on Kate Bosworth.

34 of 40

Mushroom Blonde

Fall Hair Colors Overgrown Highlights Gigi Hadid — Getty Images

Mushroom blonde is just that—a hue that mimics the natural color gradations found on the undersides of mushrooms. It's a gorgeous ashy shade with cool, dark gray tones woven throughout and underneath á la Gigi Hadid.

35 of 40

Golden Locs

Halle Bailey with Blonde locs — Momodu Mansaray / Stringer

Leave it to Halle Bailey to create a show stopping look for her signature locs. This time, she's opted to go for a golden ombré look that really complements her skin tone.

36 of 40

Glossy Golden Blone

Jasmine Sanders with blonde half up half down style — Amy Sussman / Getty Images

Jasmine Sanders has naturally golden blonde hair, but she also loves to go a little bit lighter for some dimension. This shade gives golden Barbie in the best way possible.

37 of 40

Rich Honey Blonde

Devon Aoki with blonde hair — JB Lacroix / Getty Images

Devon Aoki's rich, honey blonde hair is instantly iconic. We also love the touch of dark roots that give this hue a lived in look.

38 of 40

Champagne Blonde Streaks

Halle Berry really knows how to rock one of the coolest, edgiest blonde hues — champagne blonde. We especially love the juxtaposition between the blonde and the dark brown hair.

39 of 40

Buttery Blonde

Iggy Azalea Blonde Hair — Gary Gershoff / Getty Images

While people might associate butter with yellow, when it comes to hair, it's more of a golden creamy shade. Iggy Azalea pulls off this stunning color perfectly.

40 of 40

Dirty Blonde Bob

Khloe Kardashian blonde — Theo Wargo / Getty Images

Khloe Kardashian is known for her signature blonde hair and her dirty blonde hue at the 2022 Met Gala is another banger for the reality TV star.

FAQ

How do I protect my blonde hair in the summer?

Yes, blonde hair can definitely fade in the sun. If you're planning on a lot of time in the sun, protect your strands with a dedicated SPF for hair.
How many months does a blonde dye job usually last?

On average, a blonde hair job can last anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Platinum Blonde Hair: 7 Tips to Maintain Platinum Hair Color