At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games on Thursday, figure skater Alysa Liu made history as the first Team USA athlete to win gold in the Women’s Single Skating event since the 2002 Winter Games.

And yet, even more blinding than the medal around her neck was the stark blond and brunette stripes in her hair.

Dubbed “halo hair,” the color technique is similar to the calico pattern, which is modeled after the fur of calico cats, in that the finished product is highly contrasted and choppy, like early-2000s foil highlights. However, the tricolor blend of calico hair is reduced to two opposing shades, which are painted in horizontal bands across the head, in the halo aesthetic.

According to Spate, a company specializing in machine intelligence for the beauty industry, eye-catching transformations like these are part of a wider shift within the beauty lexicon toward more expressive, striking hairstyles that epitomize an individual’s persona. And while St. Louis-based colorist Kelsey Miller stepped in to refine Liu’s halo rings before Milan, all of these patterns are DIY-able.

Speaking with WWD, colorist Kelly Novobielski split the technique into two parts: lightening and toning.

Gregory Patterson, celebrity hairstylist and styling expert for Sally Beauty, said to start with the “depth or contrast” color first, usually “a semi- or demi-permanent” formula, to cover the head. “This can be natural, artificial — you just want to ensure there is enough of a contrast for the effect to work,” Patterson told WWD. “You’ll need to break through this with lightener, and [semi- or demi-permanent] will be easier for your lightener to work through.”

The key to achieving the effect is separating the hair into four quadrants. “You will be working each quadrant individually and working with one-fourth-inch and one-half-inch subsections within each quadrant,” he said. “Define visually where you want to place the pop of bright contrast, and apply your lightener there onto a long foil underneath the section of hair to help isolate the lightener and create a surface to paint on.”

Novobielski recommended using FRAMAR’s Maniac Mesh instead of foil to “see through each layer, build strategically and precisely control your lines of demarcation.” The expert also suggested starting at the back of the head.

When using the lightener, Patterson said it’s best to saturate small sections at a time. “Essentially just paint and repeat all the way up through the quadrant. These subsections help to ensure even saturation and processing,” he noted.

“As you drop each new subsection, separate it with the mesh sheets to clearly maintain your demarcation lines. Continue working methodically toward the crown,” added Novobielski.

Once the lightener is complete, Novobielski said to coat the hair with the Danger Jones 3-8 Gloss Toner for a “soft, dimensional brown” finish or combine Danger Jones’ 9-03 and 9-3 for “a balanced, natural-looking blond.”

“[Liu’s] is blond, with a brown contrast, but you can customize this to your favorite color palette or color combos,” Patterson continued. “The key is have as much fun here as she does on the ice.”