‘90s Hair is Here to Stay

As Gen Z continues to discover beauty trends from decades past on TikTok, another vintage hair colour is making a comeback.

Money piece hair is an updated version of chunky highlights, a controversial, polarising hair colour trend that was popular in the '90s. If looking back at Middle school and High school photos has made you swear off this style of highlights for good, celebrities like Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, and Bella Hadid might just convince you to revisit the look.

Mark DeBolt, celebrity colourist and co-founder of Mark Ryan Salon says money piece highlights are all about the '90s, which he exclaims, are back. "The money piece is all about having more dramatic colour," the colourist says, referencing Gwen Stefani's No Doubt days. "It's exciting to add a dramatic movement of colour to the sections framing your face. I think TikTok also played a big role in youth culture influences for this trend."

"I think we will continue to see it, especially in the summer, it adds so much impact without having to lighten your whole head," Rachel Bodt, Matrix brand ambassador and colourist adds.

While the look is typically achieved with a bleach blonde chunky, face-framing highlight for a bold, contrasted look (like Beyoncé), it's not the only way to lean into the money piece highlight trend.

"The great thing about a money piece is you can go super blonde or if you are a brunette and want to try it you can keep it more honey or soft brown in tone, it's really about the placement," Bodt says.

The caveat is like classic chunky highlights, money piece highlights are high maintenance to maintain. The good news is if you go a little too long between touch ups with your colourist, your grown-out roots can give your look a grungy vibe — another iconic '90s trend.

"Keeping this look very touched up would be high maintenance, but in reality, it served a nod to grunge culture and really looks cool with a dark root coming in," says DeBolt. "It's important to use products designed to care for colour-treated hair. The front sections are more fragile, so using thermal protectant products is a must."

Bodt seconds that. She recommends avoiding hot tools on the area, when possible, or lowering the heat setting to prevent damage. The colourist also suggests incorporating bond-repairing products in your haircare routine to keep colored hair healthy and shiny.

"Anytime you lighten your hair you want to make sure your at-home haircare products have protein, moisture, and include some kind of bonding treatment. This will ensure strong healthy hair," Bodt says. "I recommend Matrix Total Results Unbreak My Blonde as it has citric acid which helps repair broken bonds."