2026 is coming in hot, and what better time to adopt a ‘new year, new me’ mentality. Jumping on the incoming hair trends early is one way to transform yourself.

For hairstylist and trend forecaster Tom Smith, 2026 sees the growth of his brand new venture, a salon co-founded with Chris Donohue. “AEVUM is not a salon in the traditional sense,” Tom tells Glamour. “I wanted to create an environment that felt private, futuristic and relaxing to offer our clients a deeper moment of self-care and a more intelligent approach to their hair style.”

As London’s first hair health-focused salon, Tom intimately knows the power of a strong foundation to make the most of any hair transformation, big or small. “Without true hair health, your style won’t look its best – no matter how well your colour or cut has been executed,” he explains. “So many of our clients come to us because their hair has been overprocessed elsewhere during attempts to achieve a desired look, but therefore compromising it. With new factors affecting hair health like stress, long COVID and GLP-1 use, we needed to update the luxury salon model to ensure hair health and hair longevity is at the core.”

With that in mind, as we enter 2026, what is Tom’s number one hair habit that he wants to see left behind? “We can leave going to bed with wet hair in 2025,” he says. “Airdrying the hair can work well when you’re out and about, but gentle blowdrying or rough drying with medium heat hairdryer will actually be kinder to your hair! Just be sure to use a clever heat protector – my current favourite is the very clever hair cortex protecting K18 HeatBounce Conditioning Heat Protectant.

To get you ahead of the game, Tom shares the hair trends that he predicts will define 2026. Keep reading to find out what they are before you book your next appointment.

Naturalism blonde

“After years of icy and overly golden extremes, this believable neutrality is the obvious direction for 2026,” Tom says. “Naturalism Blonde copies the way blonde hair appears in real life, with a softened root and lighter ends that avoid any visible lines.” A versatile hair colour that can suit anyone who wants to look lifted without it being obviously dyed, it has a neutral warmth that looks quietly expensive.