The Blonde Hair Dictionary: Defining Every Gilded Shade Under the Sun

No two shades of blonde are quite the same. Blonde comes in dozens of iterations, from strawberry blonde and honey blonde to caramel blonde and buttercream blonde—and many, many other shades that don't sound quite as delicious (but still look gorgeous). It's not just a light-to-dark spectrum, either: Blonde hair can veer towards white, yellow, red, brown, orange and rose gold tones, and manages to look completely different every time. It's easily the most versatile hair color (if you can even call it a single color), because it lends itself beautifully to so many different tones and textures. 

The ambition of going blonde seems to be a state of hair being that almost everyone goes through once in their life. Of course you could always bleach your own hair at home, but the results may not be exactly what you wanted. So put the box dye down and go see a hair colorist. Whether want to achieve the buttery blonde of Marilyn Monroe or a more natural ombré blonde, there's a style and shade for you. Maybe you're not ready to fully lean into a completely blonde look—that's fine; there's highlight and lowlight styles for all. We took the liberty of naming every single freaking shade of blonde out there, along with photos, so you can easily share with your stylist.