This Is The Hot New Hair Color Trend For 2016

Hair color techniques have come a long way from the basic ombré looks that first came on the scene a few years back. Since then, we have been introduced to balayage, hair contouring, and bronde-ing (read: brown-meets-blonde), and now there is a new one to add to the list. So what is color melting exactly? You might ask. The truth is, it's really just an upgraded, better version of all past hair coloring techniques combined.

Have you ever seen melted crayons? The way each color spills out and subtly gets lighter? It's pretty much like that, just with hair. Even though ombré aims to gradually change your hair color from dark to light, it doesn't really do it so seamlessly — color melting is here to correct just that.

This new and improved method involves the erasing of harsh, distinct lines that appear when dyeing your hair contrasting colors, such as blue and pink, for example. According to Matrix StyleLink stylist, George Papanikolas, “Melting is a technique that blends the highlights with the base color of the hair so you don’t have any harsh lines,” he tells BuzzFeed. “The difference between this and regular highlights is that you use multiple shades to create the ‘melted’ effect," he adds.

Pretty cool, eh?

It can be done with more natural hair shades, too.

It seems that these seven celebrities are already on-board with this new hair trend, because they totally nailed color melting.

1. Dascha Polanco

See how effortlessly the pink blends with the silver? Flawless.

2. Hilary Duff

So. Damn. Pretty.

3. Vanessa Hudgens

Hudgens was way ahead of the curve when she debuted this blonde and aqua color-melted look nearly two years ago.

4. Rihanna

RiRi's long dark pony turns to silver so gradually, you barely even tell the difference.

5. Jourdan Dunn

Can you even tell which strands are blue and which are gray?!

6. Jennifer Lopez

J. Lo's hair color has fused into one gorgeous caramel-colored shade.

7. Kelly Osbourne

Stunning. Just stunning.