Idyed my hair red in September 2025, and a handful of people noticed. But when I went in for a full transformation and opted for a lighter, brighter red hair color, everyone suddenly had a zillion compliments. I brought in a handful of reference images (a necessity for every salon appointment), and we decided on this fresh take on copper hair: baby copper, as my hair colorist Rachel Bodt (who also happens to work on a handful of celebrities—Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, and Lorde included) called it. And this softer shade is really starting to pop off as spring’s biggest hair color trend.
“I love that it’s such a gentle color and that it’s somewhere between strawberry blonde and copper,” says Bodt. Baby copper has a strawberry and orange undertone, but it gets its name because it’s more subtle than a standard copper. There’s more depth than a strawberry blonde, though. Best part is, you can totally tweak the shade depending on what you want. Looking for a more gold/blonde version? Ask your colorist for less However, you could also tweak the shade slightly to be a little more gold or blonde by adding highlights or less bold color.
Beth Gillette for Cosmopolitan
Keep in mind: You’re gonna have to lighten your hair to get a color like this unless you’re already a light blonde. But you don’t have to get your hair bright white or even use bleach necessarily (depending on your base color). I only required a lightening hair dye (no bleach!), which majorly cut down on damage and protected my hair.
“Reds can be slightly more maintenance, so your at-home hair care is super important, along with follow-up glosses in the salon,” says Bodt. She recommends color-depositing shampoos (like K18’s new purple shampoo that I tested during this transformation and helped subdue the orange hues in my copper hair). She also suggests co-washes to help “clean hair without stripping.”
Keeping your hair healthy is also a key element. “Bond builders can help to strengthen the hair so the tone doesn’t fall out too fast,” Bodt says. K18 and Olaplex are our two favorites at Cosmo. Another important tip? Lower the heat on your curling irons, blow dryers, straighteners, etc. “High heat can drastically strip hair color,” she explains.
Some Celebrity Baby Copper Inspo:Madeleine Petsch’s layered baby copper hair
@madelame
Emma Stone’s copper pixie
@mararoszak
Ravyn Lenae’s baby copper micro braids
@ravynlenae
Amelia Dimoldenberg’s bright strawberry Oscar’s red
@ameliadimz
Addison Rae’s festival baby copper hair
@addisonraee
Meet the expert:
Rachel Bodt is a celebrity hairstylist and owner of Homecoming Salon in New York, NY.
Why trust Cosmopolitan?
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with more than seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing hair stories.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you “have to try.” Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair ‘do every few months.
