Just when I got my hair all light and bright and extra blond for summer, it’s time to think about changing it up again for fall.

“Darker and warmer hues for fall are always a trend, but this fall, more than ever, brunette is going to be huge,” predicts Kyle White, lead colorist at the Oscar Blandi Salon, whose clients include Mariah Carey and Naomi Watts.

“Dark hair was all over the runways, and many celebrities (like Mary-Kate Olsen and Rachel McAdams) are turning to the dark side,” Kyle says. “It’s only a matter of time before we see the trend everywhere. The right shade can make light eyes pop, skin glow and features stand out. Dark hair also reflects a ton of light, so super shiny hair is going to be everywhere. By adding depth and warmth back to your hair after your sun kissed glow fades, you can bring warmth to your complexion.”

“Highlights? We’ll see less of the Ombre trend, and more natural-looking highlights with solid ends. The look is less two-toned and more of a subtle, connected highlight with dipped ends.”

Here, Kyle shares his tips for going dark:

1. Always go darker in stages. If you go too dark and end up more Morticia Addams than Kim Kardashian, it’ll be much harder on the hair (and you mentally) to strip out the dark dye. Start with a light brunette shade, and then decide if you want to go darker. The steady progression will also allow you to get used to the new darker you.

2. When darkening hair, you should always start by using a semi-permanent tint or vegetable dye. Whether it’s one shade or five shades darker, you’ll only be depositing color pigment so there’s no need for all the ammonia and peroxide that’s necessary during the lightening process. They also fade out gradually over time, so when you feel the need to lighten up again it’ll be a much less difficult process.

3. Vegetable dyes have a lot of emollients and moisturizing agents that coat the hair, making strands temporarily fatter and thus hair fuller. They also keep the “shingle-like” outer layer of the hair closed tight, giving incredible shine.

4. If you do accidentally go a shade darker than you want, try washing with a clarifying shampoo, and that will pull out some of the excess pigment.

5. Many at-home glosses like the Oscar Blandi Bruno, and color-enhancing shampoos such as Artec CoCo Bean, deposit color polymers in the hair shaft and wash out in one or two shampoos. These are relatively low-risk ways to experiment with the trend.