Has checkerboard hair gone too far?

There’s a new rainbow hair trend on Instagram, again, and we’re not quite sure about this one. It’s definitely cool, but it’s not for everyone. Alex Brownsell, co-founder of It Girl salon Bleach London, posted a photo of herself on Instagram with square patterns colored into her hair.

Patterned hair is nothing new — many of us have seen (and been jealous of) leopard print hair — but it’s typically worn on close-shaven hairstyles. This is the first time we’ve seen a pattern on longer lengths of hair.

It’s very similar to the pixelated hair trend of last year, although that didn’t really catch on. If pixelated hair was Tetris for your hair, then this is checkers for your hair… hence the name checkerboard hair. Besides the placement, one major difference between pixelated and checkerboard hair is the deliberateness. Pixelated hair sort of faded into an ombré effect, while the checkerboard effect has very definite borders. It’s important to note that Alex painted these on with temporary hair crayons, not hair dye, so it’s much easier to control placement.

Like most rainbow hair trends, it works best on lighter hair tones. That said, you can really play with this trend. You can take it from root to tip or just place it on one panel of your hair. For a subtler effect, you can use a shade only a few colors deeper (or lighter) than your hair. To be honest though, this look isn’t about subtlety, so if you’re going to do it, go bold and use bright neon shades.

(Images via Instagram)