What’s Actually Worth Trying This Fall (And What’s Just Noise)

If you're blonde, the fall move isn't going darker — it's adding dimension back into the pieces that got sun-lightened over summer. A few lowlights woven through, not a base color change. This is the difference between hair that looks intentional going into fall and hair that just looks like faded summer color nobody addressed.

For brunettes, this is usually the season to warm things back up — rich, glossy, less "sun-kissed," more grounded. It photographs better indoors, under the kind of light you're actually in from October through March.

I'd rank this one high. It's low-commitment, it grows out gracefully, and it fixes a real problem — summer color that's aged out — rather than chasing a new one.

Curtain bangs and long layers around the face keep showing up every fall, and there's a reason: they genuinely soften and update a look without requiring a full cut. This is one of those rare trends that's actually rooted in something functional —most faces do benefit from movement near the front.

The caveat: this only works if it's actually cut for your face and your hair's natural behavior, not copied from a photo of someone with different density and texture. I've had more than one client come in with a screenshot of face-framing layers that would've required completely different hair to look the way they wanted. We can usually get close to the feeling. Rarely the exact photo.

This is where I'll lose some people, but: if a trend only looks good with 20 minutes of daily styling, it's not a fall trend, it's a part-time job. I see this every year with certain wave patterns and certain "your color, but with three additional toning steps" combinations that look incredible on day one and require more upkeep than most people's actual lives allow.

I'm not against high-maintenance hair. I'm against high-maintenance hair sold as if it's effortless, because that's the gap where people end up disappointed in their stylist instead of disappointed in the trend

This one comes up every fall — a specific shade goes viral, and everyone wants it regardless of whether it actually works against their skin. Copper is a good example. Gorgeous on the right undertone. Genuinely unflattering, flat, almost sallow-looking on the wrong one. No amount of "it's trending" changes the physics of how a tone sits against your skin.

If a color doesn't work on you, it doesn't work on you. That's not a controversial stance, it's just one people don't like hearing in September when everyone's Pinterest board says otherwise.

Before booking anything because it's "trending," ask: does this require me to change my routine, or does it work with the one I already have? Does it grow out into something wearable, or does it need to be redone constantly to look right? And does it actually suit my coloring, or does it just suit the model in the photo?

Most trends worth doing pass all three. Most trends worth skipping fail at least one.