17 Stylish Hair Color Designs: Purple Hair Ideas to Try!

CHRIS MCMILLAN Last Update: February 15, 2025

Now that rainbow coloured highlights have made sweeping in-roads in the world of hair fashion and highlighting, it’s not surprising that purple hair ideas are so popular this year!

Rich and dark

On dark or black hair, purple streaks and highlights add fantastic richness and depth and as an all-over colour, purple is a superbly eye-catching look.On an ash-brown base colour you can add some wonderful balayage colour effects that will add dimension and make your hair look thicker.

Dark Purple Hair Color /Via

Dark Purple Hair Color

Futuristic and edgy

And on ash-blonde and edgy platinum-blonde, you can add some fantastic drama with flashes of purple hair. Ideas for new hair colour techniques and colours are revolutionising our hairstyles and it’s only a matter of time until the non-natural colours become a mainstream look.

Youthful and stylish

Purple looks great with silver hair, too, and it was a popular trend for the over-60’s in the 1960’s and 70’s. However, it’s the younger women – who love an unconventional look – who are wearing the most purple hair ideas this year!

Fortunately, purple hair ideas come in a wide range of shades – so there’s a perfect purple for everyone’s personal style.

Purple Hair Highlights – Straight Medium Hairstyles /Via

Purple Hair Highlights – Straight Medium Hairstyles

Sweet or spicy glamour

If you love a soft, pale blonde look and pretty flower-print clothes, then a pale lavender shade will add a special touch that highlights your personality. And the lavender-pink shades added to blonde hair look very sweet and pretty.

Furthermore, if you’re keen on vampire chic, then purple hair is an absolute top trend for you to wear this year! Matched with purple eye-shadow and lipstick, purple hair creates the ultimate contemporary-Goth look.

Balayage purple hair ideas

The rules about highlighting have loosened since the more artistic balayage style took over from those uniform straight lines. So you can design your own flash of purple hair to accentuate your brown or green eyes, which both look fantastic next to purple!

Ombre colour

Dip-dyeing, ombré and the gentler sombré colouring techniques are everywhere this year, and a graduated purple running through your hair is an opportunity to show off several beautiful lavender, violet and inky-dark purples.

Matching

Ask your colourist to help you choose a shade that will complement your individual skin tone. Pale skins with a cool undertone look best with a bluey-purple or lavender-blue colour. This is also a good shade to choose for anyone with a complexion that’s too red.

However, pale skin with a warm undertone looks super with a touch of pink in the purple or lavender shade. And very dark skin and hair look absolutely stunning with purple streaks or highlights, too!

So, if you’re itching to see exactly what this year’s trendy purple hair ideas actually look like, here’s our latest gallery to get you all fired up!

Blue Pastels Hair – Ponytail Hairstyle with Long Hair /Via

Blue Pastels Hair – Ponytail Hairstyle with Long Hair

Purple Hairstyles – Long Hair with Braid /Via