Keke Palmer Revives the Copper Hair Trend With Mermaid Waves

Keke Palmer wearing new copper waves — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Keke Palmer's hair was so Little Mermaid-coded at Vanity Fair and Instagram’s Vanities Party on Feb. 26. After showing up to the 2025 SAG Awards with a bouncy bob haircut less than a week ago, the One of Them Days leading lady pulled a quick change at the star-studded shindig meant to honor young Hollywood talent.

Her slinky gold vintage Dior gown with a thigh-high slit, styled by Molly Dickson, paired perfectly with her equally metallic copper mane. Like a true siren of the silver screen, her long russet locks fell halfway down her back and stopped just short of her waist. Her hair was given a glamorous side-part for the occasion and styled in sultry waves with plenty of volume at the roots.

A photo of Keke Palmer wearing a gold vintage Dior gown with a high slit at Vanity Fair and Instagram&rsquo;s Vanities Party. — Keke Palmer stuns in a gold vintage Dior gown with a high slit at *Vanity Fair* and Instagram’s Vanities Party.

The copper hair trend started to crop up in 2022 with celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, Sophie Turner, and Madonna leading the charge. In 2023, several more—including Kristen Stewart, Dua Lipa, and Emily Ratajkowski—followed suit. In 2024, the trend became more subdued and wearable as colorists added a warm brown base beneath rich shades of auburn to create a cinnamon-spiked hue called "cowboy copper." Naturally, the Western-inspired look paired quite nicely with the never-ending cowboy boot trend.

Latest Videos FromMarie Claire

Watch full video here:

A photo of Keke Palmer sporting a wavy copper blowout with a side-part. — Keke Palmer sports a wavy copper blowout with a side-part.

Keke Palmer initially debuted her glorious auburn dye job in January during an appearance on Good Morning America, where she matched her new hair color to a bronze Dolce & Gabbana sheath dress. Hairstylist Kira Dora helped her achieve the ginger transformation and she's been rocking it ever since.

Keke Palmer in New York City — Keke Palmer first debuted her new hair color on the talk show circuit in January.

Prior to becoming a redhead, though, the best-selling author dabbled in last year's viral honey blonde hair trend—a look also embraced by the likes of Rihanna and Zendaya around the same time. Still, it's hard to imagine a more flattering hue for the hilarious podcast host than the reddish-brown she's currently sporting.

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.