Pastel hair, gray hair and sand art hair… they've been all the rage this year but unless you're blessed with fair locks they involve a LOT of work.

Bleaching every ounce of colour from your hair not only wrecks the strands, but it takes a huge amount of upkeep to keep your roots constantly covered.

Luckily for ladies with darker tresses, there's a new trend in hair colouring that's altogether more brunette-friendly: the oil slick.

 

I love mixing colors together to create a dimensional effect. This purple and blue ombre reminds me of a blackbird's feather. Cut and color by Erin. #iridescenthair

A photo posted by @todyeforsalon on May 16, 2015 at 4:11pm PDT

Created by celebrity colourist Aura Friedman, the look mimics the appearance of gasoline or oil mixed with water – that purplish, greenish rainbow effect we often see on the ground after it rains.

Creating the oil slick look is surprisingly easy, as it simply involves layering a small number of colours onto the hair. "I find that when you take a dark purple and a dark green and layer them one on top of the other, you end up with this iridescent feeling," says Aura of her creation.

 

A photo posted by Courtney – (@phyrra) on Sep 10, 2015 at 12:25pm PDT

Using darker tones rather than bleached pastels has multiple advantages. The oil slick trend is "great for people who naturally have dark hair and don't want to go through a major bleaching process," Aura says.

"You don't have to lighten it so much to get it there, so your hair will be in better condition."

 

A photo posted by Sean Godard (@seangodard) on Sep 12, 2014 at 6:08pm PDT

Plus, darker tones last much longer than pastels and neons, so the oil slick look will see you right through to Christmas.

Win!