How Last Year's Cherry Cola Hair Trend Is Igniting Animal-Inspired Hair Colors in 2025
New hairstyles for 2025 are quite eccentric. The top favorite, "cherry cola hair," was popular during 2024 and early 2025, but now rusty colors are becoming more popular. Opal Megan and Malia Obama recently changed their deep red hair for burnt orange, and Parker Posey lightened her dark hair to bright copper in May. Spate, a company that focuses on smart tech in beauty, claimed that all these hairstyle changes are part of a major shift in the beauty industry aimed towards bolder hairstyles that expose a person's identity. These styles are primarily inspired by hot shades worn by famous people and tend to use bold shades that are hot, but not mixes, and rather the opposite of.
Calico hair is projected to be one of the biggest styles in 2025, expanding 1400% in popularity. It resembles the coat of calico cats, incorporating orange, red, brown, and blonde. While the blend is soft, it is often very bold and choppy, similar to the foil highlights from the early 2000s. Miley Cyrus's bold blonde streaks seem to be aligning with the calico trend but are lacking the dark brown and shiny amber accents.
A host of new trends emerge on TikTok, such as the obsession with calico hair. The videos exhibit a transformation of women coloring their hair either at home or in salons, encouraging other women to partake. Moving on, the next trend is foxtail. This trend sees people sporting orange, red, or blond hair with dark brown or black tips. Gregory Patterson, an influential hair expert with Sally Beauty, describes it as a "total DIY-able color moment." He claims the look saves money and offers a nice way to change things up. What does this say about current trends? Patterson believes it indicates a shift toward preference for low-maintenance, long-lasting beauty—people desire the effort put in to maintain the color and its durability to work more efficiently, and value plays a key role. He compares it to tough denim: the more you wear it, the more it wears in and tells your story.
As many turn from "cherry cola hair" to looks that draw from the wild, folks are now choosing to go back to their real hair shade, leaving behind years of bright, bleached hair. Some call this shift "recession hair," born from fear of bad times in the money world. Many are now spending less on fancy stuff to keep more cash. Big names like Millie Bobby Brown and Justine Lupe have already moved away from their light hair, adding dark roots.
While speaking, Lindquist noted, "We're more and more worried about what this means for people's trust, their spending, their wealth, how U.S. companies compete with new, higher costs, and mostly, we fear the U.S. might be moving toward a low-growth future."
