Contrasting last year's influx of solid, monochromatic shades, spring 2025 is welcoming highlights and multi-dimensional colours back into the fray, starting with 'Raffia Bronde.'
From taupe brown to the aptly-named monobrown, sleek and low-contrast hair colours dominated much of last year, particularly during the winter months. While the 2025 hair trends are predicting a continuation of these minimalist looks, there are a few tonal expectations beginning to emerge. Indeed, according to industry experts, highlights and other subtle, colour blending techniques will be very popular this spring - especially now that our eyes, skin and souls have soaked up a bit of sunshine - with one iteration leading the way.
Dubbed the raffia bronde hair trend for its 'intricately-woven' palette of warm tones, this look is the perfect option for those looking to brighten their natural strands or transition from winter's popular terracopper and auburn styles - here's why.
What is the Raffia Bronde hair trend?
So, what does this particular blend of brunette and blonde really entail? Having coined the trend, trend forecaster, artist in residence at Billi Currie and International Creative Colour Director at evo Hair, Tom Smith describes it as: "a true bronde but unlike the monochromatic looks we had in 2024 or the super high contrast of 2023, this time Bronde is a melted and subtly multitonal offering that has a woven texture and an intricate nature. You might call it quite an ‘Expensive Bronde’, thanks to its fine attention to detail."
It is very warm and rich, but unlike some highlighting techniques, which can appear a tad stripy, raffia bronde is supposed to be very subtle.
The suitability of Raffia Bronde
As for who should opt for this golden, multi-dimensional number, Smith notes that it's, "ideal for those who enjoy mid contrast in their fashion and makeup choices, this shade sits in the middle of the colour spectrum."
He also adds that this colour is easy to evolve throughout the year, "by brightening it up or toning it down," and has longevity, so you won't be traipsing back to the salon every few weeks, especially if you ask your hairstylist to blend any highlights around the roots or make the very gradual down the lengths.
It's also a great option if you hopped on any of last year's copper hair trends and are now looking to transition your strands into something subtler. "Thanks to the richness and warmth of bronde shades and the earthy undertones of soft coppers or terracopper, this can be a nice progression or evolution if you have played with copper over the colder months," says Tom, adding: "Soft coppers like terracopper, tend to fade more gold than red, and so when your colour needs to be redone, it can be more straightforward to achieve the raffia bronde multitonal result."
How do you request Raffia Bronde?
"This is a really personalised colour technique, the key being finely woven multi-tonal Highlights that don’t necessarily come directly from the root. A balayage technique can be utilised for this result, but classic highlights followed by clever zone toning can also be an option," explains Smith.
"For best results, show your colourist three similar hair colour reference images that you love, and ask them how they can be interpreted to work with your own natural base colour."
How to maintain raffia bronde
Like with any hair colour that sees you lightening strands of flitting between tones, ensuring that your strands are healthy and hydrated is very important - to stave off damage.
"Keep the hair strong and healthy if oscillating between various levels of bronde - be sure to keep heat use minimal and use nourishing masks."
For colour upkeep, Smith also suggests using good quality shampoos, "to keep the delicate nuances clear and toned." We recommend the likes of Kérastase and Kevin Murphy for the job.
RRP: £49.50
Ranked as best hair mask for colour-treated hair in our guide, Kérastase Chroma Absolu Masque is a must-have - especially if you're tempted by this hair colour trend (or any that 2025 has to offer). It's designed to penetrate your strands and reduce porosity, to leave your hair stronger and healthier - whilst preserving the intensity of your colour.
RRP: £29
Smith recommends adding a hydrating shampoo to your routine if you opt to go bronde this season and KEVIN.MURPHY’s Hydrate.Me.Wash is the perfect pick. It's like a glass of water for dehydrated hair, as it conditions and cleanses dry and damaged strands and split ends with its moisturising blend of shea butter and evening primrose oil.
RRP: £33
For another hydrating mask option, the amika Hydro Rush is ideal for medium to thick textured haired and features a blend of squalane, hyaluronic acid and bio-fermented coconut water to lock in moisture and intensely hydrated your waves, curls or coils.
3 raffia bronde-style looks we're loving
Now, if you're tempted by this rich and luxurious colour, we've rounded up three celebs who have sported a take on this hair trend over the past months - in case you need a reference picture...
1. Halle Berry's warm bronde hair
For a very natural take on this trend, that leans more brunette than blonde, use Halle Berry's hair as your reference. As we can see, it's darker at the root than it is at the ends, but there's no discernible starting point for where the caramel tones begin. They're weaved subtly through her lengths and add a beautiful touch of golden-warmth around her face.
2. Kristen Bell's golden-bronde hair
If you're a natural blonde seeking to go darker or really want to embrace this 'bronde' trend, Kristen Bell's hair is another great example of this 'Raffia' look. Her highlights are again, very subtle and really look as though they've been woven through her lengths - adding touches of honey-gold to the more warm-brown base colour.
3. Shakira's copper-bronde hair
Tom Smith also cites Shakira's curly bronde, almost copper, hair as an example of this trend at play. Her hair is a very warm, caramel brown, but you can spot lighter hints of blonde throughout her curls. They're there but without the obvious stripeyness some highlighting techniques afford.
