Unleashing Your Inner Rainbow: Dazzling Short Hair Ideas
Vibrant, multicolored short rainbow hair ideas are having a major moment right now. Embracing all shades of the rainbow allows you to express your fun, creative side while showcasing edgy trendsetting style.
The best part? You don’t need super long locks to pull off this explosive hair color trend. Even cropped cuts can feature vibrant ombré blends, peekaboo pops of color, and full prismatic mermaid fantasy glam.
Let’s discover the most eye-catching ways to work rainbow magic into short hair!
Benefits of Short Rainbow Hair
Besides providing a burst of colorful joy to your beauty look, there are many advantages to incorporating rainbow colors into shortened haircuts:
- Low commitment – If you end up not loving a certain hue, it grows out faster from shorter strands
- Easy application – Vibrant doses of color are quicker to apply and touch up on cropped sections
- Trendier look – Bold rainbow colors feel more cutting-edge and edgy against short cuts
- Increased volume – Bright all-over color contrasts with dark roots boost perceived fullness
- Spotlight on facial features – Draws attention upwards to your smile instead of heavy hair
- Fun styling potential – Create spikes, sculpted shapes, and messy texture
Best Short Rainbow Styles to Try
Whether you’re looking to commit to being a full-on rainbow mermaid or just want a peekaboo pop of candy color, here are the top short hair ideas to inspire your inner artist:
Hidden Rainbow Underlayers
For those who want subtle pops of color contrast, ask your colorist to weave bright shades just into the hidden underlayers of your pixie or bob. Vivid colors like green, purple and hot pink pair perfectly with safe blonde or black up top.
Then flip and tousle strands to reveal flashes of color shyly when desired. This is the perfect way to test the rainbow waters with less commitment.
Colorblocked Sections
Chunky panels of different concentrated rainbow hues lend a fun, graffiti vibe to cropped cuts. Favored placements include a pop of pink, purple or blue at the temple, concentrated color flooding from the ear forward, or an entire rainbow arc over one half of the head.
Multidimensional depth is created by leaving roots and ends dark. Vibrant colorblocking requires commitment but offers huge payoff.
| Color Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Jewel Tones | Sapphire blue, violet and ruby red clustered together channel a regal mood. |
| Neons | Electric greens, oranges and yellows inspire a youthful playfulness. |
| Pastels | Soft peach, sweet mint and baby blue evoke fairy tale romance. |
Hidden Rainbow Layers
Channel peekaboo surprise and dimension by lightening up select under layers of your pixie or bob cut to contain hues. Deep auburn paired with currant red hidden beneath and gold melting into lemon blond sections serves up depth.
Ombré Blending
Hand-painted color gradients which transition shades from roots to tips work beautifully on cropped cuts too. The shattered ombré effect with splatters of jewel tones popping vividly against black along scattered strands makes shortened locks appear thicker.
Reverse ombré blending lighter hues downwards also livens limp fine hair. Any ombré effect concentrates vibrancy towards tips for maximum short hair appeal.
Full Prismatic Mermaid
Some rainbow warriors aren’t afraid to commit their entire head to the full color spectrum fantasy. Allow vivid intergalactic teals to melt into violets, then meld into tangerine and lemon sherbet hues. The result? Pure mermaid goddess glam!
Complete rainbow immersion is best suited to edgy pixie lengths able to handle the drama. But the payoff provides total showstopping shine that steals attention.
Styling Your New Short Rainbow Hair
After applying that gorgeous new color, the fun has just begun! Short rainbow hair offers so many styling possibilities for creating shimmering attitude and edge.
Enhancing Your New Hue
- Gloss treatments – Amp up shine and seal in vivid color with clear glossing glosses.
- Volumizing styling products – Mousses, sea salt sprays, dry shampoo and texturizing creams help give fine or limp hair a boost.
- Highlight enhancing shimmers – Temporary iridescent hair makeup adds hints of rainbow sparkle.
- Fluorescent lighting – Mermaid strands pop like crazy under black lights at clubs or events.
Fun Styling Ideas
- Defined finger waves – Defined sculpted S-waves create retro allure on jazz age bobs.
- Piece-y separated texture – Messy chopped up strands encourage color dimension.
- Spiked pixies – Sculpt a faux hawk or edgy spikes using pomade for urban edge.
- Tousled loops – Scrunch colorblocked curls for extra attitude with leave-in conditioner.
- Braided underlayers – Incorporate trendy hidden rainbow braids for bonus pops.
- Geometric parts – Exaggerated side swoops, zig zags and triangles show off color.
Caring For Vibrant Short Rainbow Hair
Preserving the eye-popping vibrancy of a bold rainbow hair makeover requires some special care. Follow these pro longevitiy tips:
Post-Coloring Musts
- Purple shampoo – Tone down unwanted brassiness between color visits.
- Bond repair conditioner – Reinforce bonds weakened by lightening and coloring.
- Hot oil treatments – Regular infusion of moisturizing oils keeps color sealed.
- Color depositing masks – Use weekly to inject faded strands with fresh rainbow juice.
Daily Handling
- Cold water washing
- Satin pillowcases prevent color stripping friction
- Protective styling like bands and clips avoid breakage
- Heat damage prevention with lower tool temperatures
- UV protection from sun exposure which fades hues
With some planning and occasional touching up, vibrant rainbow brightness can adorn short hair for months of eye-catching joy.
Conclusion
Short hair offers the perfect canvas for weaving in features of brilliant color to cultivate exciting styling potential. Hidden rainbow braids, blocky color panels saturated in jewel tones, and shattered ombré blends all allow creativity to run totally wild.
Have fun parading your new short hair superpowers gained from infusing unexpected pops of color. Strut fiercely like the magical rainbow mermaid you are! People can’t help but swoon and smile admiring your audacious technicolor dream strands.
Frequently Asked Questions About Short Rainbow Hair Ideas
What is the upkeep like for short rainbow hair?
Expect to initially commit to toning and refreshing short rainbow hair every 4-6 weeks as color fades and grows out. Bright colors require more regular salon gloss treatments than natural shades. Using color depositing shampoo/conditioner weekly helps. Plan budget and time accordingly for the upkeep.
Does going short damage hair?
Not necessarily! The physical act of cutting hair itself does no damage and is painless. However, many choose to lighten their base first before applying rainbow colors. Bleaching and other chemical processing can weaken strands over time. Monitor hair health closely.
How long does vivid rainbow color last on short hair?
On average, bold rainbow hues start noticeably fading after 4-6 shampoos. The more you shampoo, the quicker color fades. Washing less with cold water, using dry shampoo to refresh, and adding weekly gloss treatments maximizes longevity to 6-8 weeks.
Should you avoid styling products if you have rainbow color treated hair?
No need to avoid styling products completely if you have short, color treated hair. Just be mindful of ingredients. Seek out formulas free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates and alcohol which can strip color. Prioritize shampoos/conditioners specifically formulated as color-safe.
Which short rainbow hairstyle is lower maintenance?
If seeking a low maintenance option, choose peekaboo pops of color just on bottom layers of a pixie cut or bob. Keeping the crown and top layers your natural neutral shade keeps visible regrowth minimal. Concentrating rainbow hues on hidden undersides also limits fading visibility between color refreshers.
What should you not do after getting bright rainbow color?
Avoid chlorine, direct sun exposure, excessive heat styling, and rubbing strands roughly with towels immediately after getting fresh rainbow color applied. Also, skip shampoo for the first few days post-application to lock in staining. Stick to gentle cleansing conditioning masks or just rinsing.
Do you have to lighten your hair first to get vibrant rainbow color?
It definitely helps! Pre-lightening natural brunette bases to a medium blond first enables the truest, boldest color vibrancy to shine through. Without lightening, darker hair tends to result in more muted rainbow hues. However, plenty still lightly color their dark roots for fun peekaboo pops of color.
Is rainbow hair damaging?
Frequent bleaching/lightening and re-dyeing the same strands does weaken the integrity over time, especially on already fine or fragile hair. Monitor strands closely and incorporate intensive conditioning treatments to combat drying effects. Take long breaks between color sessions or enhance just the underlayers to prevent excessive damage.
What are the best and worst rainbow shades for short hair?
Best rainbow shades for bright pops against short hair are vivid jewel tones like emerald green, sapphire blue, violet, and magenta pink. More muted earth tones like mustard yellow and rust orange tend to get lost. Worst offender colors are pastels, which fade quickly and appear uneven.
What hair type works best for pulled off rainbow hair color?
Straight and wavy textures show off neon pops best. Coarser curls and kinks blend and muddy vibrancy. Finer strands also require less bleaching trauma to lighten. However curly girls can still rock fun hidden rainbow braids! Discuss options with your stylist.
