25 Ash-Blonde Hair Ideas You'll Want to Send to Your Stylist (2024)

• Laura Estroff is a hair color specialist in Brooklyn, New York.
• Victoria Hunter is an expert hair colorist and co-founder of Whittemore Salon.
• Sarah Klein is a hairstylist at Nine Zero One Salon in Los Angeles.

What It Is: "Ash blonde hair is blonde hair that falls on the cooler side of the spectrum, with hints of blue, gray, green and violet tones," says hair color specialist Laura Estroff.

Choosing a Shade: If you're not sure which shade to go for, your stylist will be happy to lend their expert opinion. People that have a pale complexion with a peachy undertone can pull off ash without it washing them out.

Maintenance Level: Some blonde hair techniques are typically high-maintenance, and it's generally said to be a commitment no matter what. Plus, three months is the max amount of time you can wait in between a touch-up. However, there are still many blonding techniques that won't require frequent salon visits.

Goes Great With: Cool undertones

Similar Shades: Looking for something warmer but equally as fun? Try mushroom blonde or toasted marshmallow for a change.

Price: A full head of highlights usually starts at $150 but depends on the salon.

Icy Ash

Kim Kardashian's take on blonde is the perfect example of icy ash. Keeping the roots dark adds an element of smokiness that emphasizes the coolness of her look.

Platinum Ash

In order to get an ashy blonde, your colorist must lift your hair past any orange/yellow tones, as much as possible. Ideally, lifting to at least pale yellow is best. Here, we get a beautiful platinum/ash look, with roots as bright as the rest of her color.

Ash Blonde Undertones

Jennifer Lawrence has an ultra-cool blonde color with slight ash-blonde undertones. It's almost icy at first glance, but not quite there yet.

Toned Balayage

As for toning, you’ll need neutrals and cools that cancel out whatever color the hair lifted to. For instance, if you have yellow tones, you need to put in violet to cancel it out, Klein says.

When toning ashy blondes, Klein mentioned adding gold into the toner so the hair stays bright and reflective. It's easy to make the hair dull when toning to this color, so additional bright golden highlights definitely help keep things balanced.

Old Hollywood White Blonde

Julianne Hough's blonde is icy cool, with only a little bit of ashiness toward her roots. She also has a bit of warmth near the front, which helps add a bit of extra dimension.

Rooted Blonde

Whatever the base color, ash-blonde works best when lifting to a level that is tonable, Klien says. When lightening a natural brunette, like model Soo Joo, to her now well-known near platinum shade, Klein says it's important to make sure you're protecting the integrity of the hair and not over-processing it.

Gray-to-Ash Highlights

Sometimes going this light can be damaging—which is why the Whittemore House Salon created a protective developer called Liquid Cashmere, made from nourishing oils. Expert hair colorist and co-founder of Whittemore Salon, Victoria Hunter, says clients end up shocked at how silky and smooth their hair is even after being color-processed.

Buttery Ash

Olivia Holt gets her icy ash color done by Redken ambassador Matt Rez. Her textured lob looks so great in this cool tone. We're seriously in love.

Warm Ash

French actressPom Klementieff's hair is usually more silver-toned, but we're in awe over this slightly warmer ash hue on her.

Neutral Ash

Back in 2016, Taylor Swift rocked a fantastic neutral ash-blonde shag. The tones of her hair perfectly complement her features.

Light Blonde Base

Klein notes that having a light blonde base, like Dakota Fanning's softer blonde shade, is best suited to this hue. That way, she says the overall tone stays consistent over time, both when lightening the hair and in between services.

Dark Roots

This cool-toned color features natural roots that balance out bright blonde tips. Hunter is a fan of this kind of soft, seamless style, noting that darker roots give the hair more depth around the face. Plus, she says it's nice to always make the ends very light so they don't "feel drab,"

Subtle Ash

Model Cara Delevingne is one of our modern blonde icons. We think this cooler ash style with shadowed roots suits her complexion and blue eyes amazingly.

Textured Ash

We're big fans of this darker ashier tone with edgy visible roots. It's all kinds of smoky perfection.

Natural Ash

Moving through a few versions of bright to dark blonde over the years, Dunst has always kept to a relatively neutral ash blonde tone. With the exception of a few subtle face-framing highlights on this slicked back pony, she is usually one of the first we think of when picturing ash-blonde.

Muted Ash Blonde

Go the muted route with an all-ash-blonde look featuring cool lowlights that bring out the ashiness of the lighter blonde.

Cool-Toned Curls

One of the most low-maintenance ways to try ash blonde is by integrating the tone as highlights amidst your natural color. We love how the addition of a brighter shade here works to further emphasize those beautiful, defined curls.

Caramel Ash

Ash-blonde is often described as icy blonde, and it's cooler in tone. If Beyoncé is anything to go by, ashy tones tend to look exceptional with bright, glowing skin. Colorist Sarah Klein at Nine Zero One Salon, who has worked with a bevy of celebrity clients, echoes what Estroff says above—that ash-blonde tends to reflect more blue and gray hues than a traditional or warmer blonde.

Face-Framing Highlgihts

A few face-framing ash-blonde highlights add a touch of brightness to brunette strands. When it comes to this style, purple shampoo is a must, as it keeps hair from turning brassy.

Bright Ash Blonde

There's a pretty platinum undertone to Lucy Boynton's look that manages to brighten up a regularly cool ash hue. It's a lived-in look we love.

Blended Ash

Ash blonde doesn't have to be one tone—in fact, it looks even better blended with highlights.

Lived-In Ash Blonde

If you're looking for a masterclass in ash blonde, just turn to Halley Brisker, who's worked with the likes of Samara Weaving (above) and Elle Fanning. She's created a few incredible ash-blonde colors that are both cool-toned and easy.

Wheat-Meets-Ash

Sophie Turner's hair, courtesy of Sonia Dove using Wella Hair, is a glamorous blend of wheat and ash tones. If you're looking for something a little brighter, talk to your stylist beforehand and bring in a photo to show them what you like and don't about a color. Communication is key here.

Grunge Ash Blonde

We'll say it: ash blonde hair can be relatively edgy. It's also a bit grunge when you go all out like the look pictured here.

Gray Ash

This take on ash blonde verges on the gray side, playing up silvery, mushroom tones.