VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 03: Dakota Johnson attends the red carpet of the movie “The Lost Daughter” during the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 03, 2021 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Dakota Johnson is famous for many things other than just her acting portfolio. In recent years, she’s become somewhat of a cultural icon for her no-bullshit interviews (ahem, Ellen DeGeneres), dry humour (does she love limes or hate them?) and, of course, her signature look. Off-duty, Johnson prefers low-key outfits made up of loafers, jeans and blouses, while on the red carpet she’s a glam Gucci girl through and through. But one thing that never changes is Johnson’s signature hairstyle. 

Almost the entirety of her public life, Johnson has kept to her long wavy brunette locks, which she shapes around her face through loose bangs. But for 2022, the actress has given her look a shakeup. Though she hasn’t yet reached Florence Pugh levels of hair transformation—the Little Women star went from long blonde locks to a short pixie cut in the space of a year—Johnson has gone against the grain to the lighter side. 

While Gigi Hadid, Hailey Baldwin, Pugh and Billie Eilish have opted to go to from blonde to brunette in recent months (a phenomenon that prompted many think pieces about whether blonde is now in fact cheugy), Johnson has added blonde highlights to her usually colour-blocked brunette mane. 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 06: Dakota Johnson attends the 10th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala presented by Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 06, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

At the premiere of her new film in November, Johnson was photographed on the red carpet with the first hint at her newly blonde-lit hair, before she was pictured walking around her local neighbourhood of Santa Monica last week showing off even further highlights throughout.

Rather than regular highlights, which are more commonly done by lightening thick strands of hair, Johnson has opted for babylights, where smaller strands of hair are lightened. Those of us in the millennial bracket could also remember this beauty trend as being strikingly similar to streaks—the Tumblr aesthetic is making a comeback, after all.

What’s great about Johnson’s preferred method of hair transformation is it is super low-maintenance: because the highlights are spread so thinly throughout, you won’t have to hit the salon every six-eight weeks to get them topped up. Ah, Johnson, you sure know the way to our hearts.