Ghost Roots: Meet 2026’s Edgiest Hair Trend

For 2026, we’re not ghosting—we’re ghost roots-ing.

So, we’re used to thinking about dyeing our hair—and focusing on our roots—as a corrective, routine treatment to cover gray hair. But there’s a dual shift that’s been happening in the world of hair color: We’ve been embracing natural grays and we’ve been experimenting in shades beyond blonde, brunette, ebony, and auburn. Looking forward to 2026, the edgiest hair trend to get to know? Ghost roots.

While a monthly trip to the hairdresser to cover regrowth can feel mechanical, the ghost roots trend bucks that, subverting and reinterpreting roots as a form of fun self-expression. Alternative It girls have long been embracing the ghost roots: Check Billie Eilish at the 2024 Golden Globes and Grammys, where she sported intense red and neon green roots respectively, a sharp contrast to her raven hair. Others have embraced acid pink, pastel blue, and peroxide blonde. A more recent example? Rosalia and her bleached halo hair.

Embracing the ghost roots hair trend

Ghost roots aren’t new: It recalls the angel ring hairstyle that’s been enduringly popular in Japan, and you’ll have seen them on emo kids of the early ’00s and anime characters—but now, it’s getting a higher-fashion, more chic refresh. Looking back, it was Sam McKnight that first brought the colorful roots to the runways, in 2020, for Dries Van Noten.

Legendary hairstylist McKnight bleached the roots in the center of the head and the lengths immediately above the ear and hairline to create a stark contrast, one that both frames and lights up the face. It totally coordinated with the colorful collection, inspired by the nocturnal glamour of the 1980s. Rather than dyeing the models’ hair, though, McKnight applied neon-colored synthetic feathers to the roots, applied with gel and brushed in with a comb. What came a few years later? Billie Eilish’s own sharp green ghost roots.