Dark and mysterious? Not anymore—Dakota Johnson has ditched her deep brunette hair color for something brighter—and Vogue heard about it straight from the woman who completed the transformation.
“The color is what I call a ‘dirty blonde,” says celebrity colorist Tracey Cunningham. “It’s a soft, low-contrast blonde that blends cool, creamy tones with a subtle brunette undertone at the root. It’s not overly bright or high-maintenance. Instead, it has a diffused, dimensional quality that feels very natural and expensive.”
Cunningham used a technique that fellow colorist Kari Hill created while nailing Sarah Pigeon’s perfect Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy blonde for the limited series Love Story. “Rather than relying on traditional balayage or hair painting, Johnson’s color was created through a combination of precision foiling and tailored color work for a more refined, dimensional result,” Cunningham says. The Schwarzkopf creative director of color used the brand’s Blondme Premium Lightener to “selectively lift specific strands of Dakota’s natural brunette base, focusing on controlled, strategic placement rather than overall lightening.” From there, she toned with the medium-blonde shade of Igora Vibrance to create dimension while it still felt blended.
Overall, it’s a brighter summer beauty look for the actor. “Dakota has always had incredibly recognizable hair; it’s part of her identity,” says Cunningham. “There’s a simplicity and polish to it that feels timeless, but also very modern. What I love is that even when we evolve her color, like with this dirty blonde shade, it never feels like a departure, but instead just like the next version of her.”
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