The Dreamy Hair Trend That's Taking Over Instagram

Butterfly wings, soap bubbles, peacock feathers, oil slicks: The human eye is just drawn to anything with the color-shifting sheen of iridescence. It makes perfect sense, then, that we’d also be captivated by a hair color with similar holographic properties, like the mother of pearl-inspired pastels that are all over Instagram right now.

Much like unicorn hair, and mermaid hair before it, the mother of pearl trend weaves several complementary tone-on-tone shades together — from icy white and silver to pale pinks, purples, and blues — for a seamlessly blended finish. The result is both shiny and soft, with a washed-out, desaturated effect that’s downright dreamy.

Not to burst your shiny soap bubble, but if the trendy look has you itching for a salon date with a bottle of peroxide ASAP, you might want to stop and consider the consequences. Kate Reid, colorist and design director of Kevin Murphy’s Color.Me line, warns that the pearlized color is much easier to lust after through photos than it is to maintain. Not only do you need to start off with the whitest, most stripped-down blonde to begin the process, but you’ll need to follow off with a regular maintenance program, too.

“It’s a slow process,” Reid tells us. “Take the journey like it’s a long-term commitment, not a quick fix.” Noted.

Unless you’re ready for the burden of a high-maintenance hair color, living vicariously through others who have undergone the transformation will have to suffice. That, or you could start a seashell collection instead. Picking up a new hobby never hurts.