In July of this year, the brunette Benito Skinner posted a topless gym selfie debuting a drastic new look: a blonde short textured crop and a seriously tanned body. The texture of his hair combined with the warmth of the hue complementing his peachy skin read: gone for summer vacation, do not disturb. Based on a crop of thirsty comments in response, the internet seemed to approve.
More and more, fashionable men are reaching for the bleach, a nostalgic throwback to the ‘90s and early aughts. Alongside a resurgence in spray tanning, frosted tips, and even the “warrior” haircut, 2026 is looking more like 2006 with every grooming revival. Of course hairstyle trends come and go, and we noticed a similar blonde wave back in 2016. Within the world of celebrity, a bright new coif can serve a few purposes: it can transform an actor for a role, mark a new era for a musical artist, become an eye-catching statement of confidence for an athlete before a big game, or generate media buzz for whatever project a star may be promoting.
Take Paul Anthony Kelly, for example. The Love Story actor was photographed on the set of the latest season of FX’s American Horror Story, and he looked dramatically different from his modeling days. The actor was wearing a slick, blonde wig, and the new hair color didn’t draw the same thirsty responses that Skinner’s did. Now, why is it that some guys who go blonde elicit tongue-out emojis and others make us long for what we used to have?
It all comes down to color contrast
It all comes down to color contrast. “The issue is temperature, the shade sitting on [Paul Anthony Kelly] is too cool and too flat for his complexion and undertones, which makes it look like a block of color dropped on top rather than something that grew from him,” celebrity hairstylist Sami Knight says. “It’s reading synthetic because there’s no variation in the tone and no warmth to bridge it to his skin.”
A change in hairstyle, especially hair color, can communicate a lot about a person before you even know them.
Kelly plays an undisclosed role in the Ryan Murphy production, but his leather duster combined with the blonde locks indicates a potential turn to the dark side for the former JFK Jr. actor. Call it the Malice Slick, a play on the slicked-back, side-parted blonde villain trope as seen on Max Zorin in A View to Kill or Ace Merrill in Stand by Me. Kelly’s blonde is in stark contrast to Nicholas Hoult’s bleached top from 2025 (which he no longer has), which read more “Summer Surfer” than comic book villain, according to celebrity hairstylist Melissa DeZarate.
Knight points out that the darker base to Hoult’s hair played well with the warmth of the blonde while avoiding “the brass trap,” in a way that inadvertently pays homage to Patrick Swayze in Point Break. Ryan Gosling has been all over the blonde spectrum in his career and famously went platinum for his role as Ken in Barbie. Initial looks at Gosling with the hair sparked scrutiny and jokes, with Jimmy Fallon comparing him to “Draco Malfoy if he went to Barry’s Bootcamp.” While he was ultimately nominated for an Oscar as the doll-come-to-life, Gosling found more success (and online praise) when he transitioned to blonde highlights post-Barbie press tour, a look he’s retained.
He’s not just Ken, he’s the Classic Ken,
“He’s not just Ken, he’s the Classic Ken,” DeZarate says. “His highlights are classically done and not a single one is out of place. His color is literally iconic at this point because it’s actually cemented in the physical representation of Ken.” What works, Knight points out, is that the hair looks like an extension of his natural dark blonde strands, and the highlights are “naturally warm and sandy” to complement that hue.
Another memorable blonde transformation in 2025 was Carlos Alcaraz’s debut of a silver buzzcut two weeks after winning the 2025 US Open. DeZarate dubs style the “Ice King or Queen depending on the circle.” It’s a powerful look—and power move—especially given the occasion in which Alcaraz revealed the look, post-Grand Slam win. His coloring was almost like a frosted tip job that ended up going closer to the root of the hair than what’s standard for the style.
He also kept his hair dark brown around the temple, creating a heavy contrast between the two colors. “His icy bleach tone is calling you to stare at its perfection,” DeZarate says. ”Part of me thinks this hair color could have been a power play to keep all eyes on him at all times, but that would have happened either way.”
On a more emotional and aesthetic level, a blonde dye job can communicate a certain level of whimsy.
Going blonde reads as lighter, more open, sometimes
“Going blonde reads as lighter, more open, sometimes more carefree, sometimes more ambitious depending on the context and person,” Knight says. “On a man specifically, it tends to disrupt expectations in a way that reads as bold or experimental, which is probably why it’s become shorthand for a certain kind of reinvention, or, occasionally, a moment of crisis.”
The way to choose a shade of blonde for you depends on matching it to your complexion because, as Knight says, you don’t want the hair color to fight your skin tone lest “the whole thing looks wiggy.”
“Warm skin needs warm blonde, honey, caramel, and golden,” Knight explains.
“Cool or neutral skin has more range and can carry ashier, platinum tones.”
Generally, if blonde is your goal, the most forgiving type is golden since it can read more as a natural evolution of your actual color versus a stark contrast from what you’re born with. On the other hand, going platinum can be the hardest to stick the landing, especially if you’re doing it yourself—that requires a professional to create a custom tone to complement the person’s complexion.
Now, dyeing your hair won’t immediately catapult you into the A-listers league, but if you’re looking to begin a new chapter in your life, a new shade could be for you. “Sometimes reinvention in a moment of transition can be both distracting and empowering,” says Knight.
Source: www.gq.com
