35 Ways to Rock Blonde Highlights on Brown Hair
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Whether you already have brown hair or are looking to make the switch to brunette, highlights are a great way to spice things up. Want a subtle or dramatic finish? There is plenty of color inspiration out there. We did some research and asked our stylist friends to share the coolest shades to try now. From bronde hairstyles to honey hues, here are 35 ways to wear blonde highlights on brown hair.
Meet the Experts:
What You Should Know Before Your Appointment
4 Tips for Getting Blonde Highlights on Brunette Hair
Congrats, you just booked your appointment! Now, check out these four tips to prepare you for your new highlights.
22 Light Brown Hair Color Ideas to Spruce Up Your Natural Shade
1. Light Brownie Brown
As Korab previously told us, this shade adds golden tones throughout a brunette base to give it shine and dimension. A stylist will often apply a gloss treatment, which adds shine and softness to your brown hue.
2. Bronde
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Bronde is a staple shade, especially if you want to add blonde highlights on brown hair. To recreate Gisele Bündchen’s signature color, mix a dark blonde and light brown color together and apply throughout the hair. “Bronde can easily be achieved if someone is already blonde and wants to darken their natural shade,” says Dorram.
3. Bronde Balayage
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Speaking of bronde, have you considered adding balayage into the mix? This combo helps your color grow out more seamlessly (see Sofía Vergara above). As Papanikolas previously explained, “It allows natural brunettes to adjust the tone of their hair to be warmer or cooler, and it sits right in the middle of the hair color spectrum, so a variation of this shade works for most clients.”
4. Warm Brunette
COURTESY OF ADINA PIGNATARE/L'ORÉAL PROFESSSIONNEL
This “warm brunette” shade is a prime example of how blonde highlights on brown hair is an endlessly flattering combo. According to Pignatare, the process is simple. “When I paint on a brunette, I always stay on the surface, so I don’t expose too much warmth.” To maintain the shade, use styling products that help strengthen strands, reduce brassiness and nourish your hair.
5. Whipped Cappuccino
As Lopez previously explained, “This hair color is a caramel brunette mixed with milky blonde. It seamlessly blends balayage and baby highlights together and works best on naturally brown hair." To maintain this color, the stylist suggests using a hydrating shampoo and conditioner for shinier locks.
6. Money Pieces
Amy Sussman/Staff/Getty Images
Want striking highlights without making a full commitment? Meet money pieces. These face-framing tendrils brighten up brown locks and can be easily customized to fit your aesthetic. As Lopez previously told us, “It can be super subtle. Money pieces are the most flattering when kept right around the face.”
7. Beige Highlights
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Prefer a cool-toned shade? Consider adding beige highlights to your hair. The neutral tone adds dimension and softness, while seamlessly blending incoming grays, as Jennifer Aniston shows us.
8. Winter Gold
“Winter gold” centers around a natural brown base with specks of gold sprinkled throughout the hair. The trendy shade brings warmth and softness to your strands by highlighting key areas like the crown, ends and a few face-framing pieces.
9. Honey Brown
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Why stick to one color when you can rock a three-dimensional shade like Beyoncé? According to Tang, the base is a warm brown with honey highlights blended in. “The golden tones are placed on top to give the hair a goddess feel,” he explains. To maintain the color, Tang recommends a hydrating conditioner to reduce color fading and a heat protectant to minimize damage.
10. Sombré
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We all remember the early ‘00s ombré. To tone things down, take this softer approach instead. The sombré (aka a soft ombré) blends brown and blonde hues beautifully—just look at Elizabeth Olsen. As Tang explained to us, your stylist begins with a brown base before gradually lightening the hair, starting at the midpoint. “The ends should be the lightest color and everything should flow smoothly [throughout the hair],” he adds.
11. Milk Latte
For those looking for a subtle change, “milk latte” is a top contender on our list. This color technique applies lowlights to a dark blonde base for an updated version of our beloved bronde. To create Lo Bosworth’s color, ask your stylist to apply a gloss treatment after dying your hair to brighten things up.
12. Babylights
Babylights add fine highlights throughout your hair to create a more natural look. To get a similar look to Jessica Biel’s color, a stylist will focus on lightening the ends and the front strands to brighten things up around your face.
13. Chunky Highlights
Nothing screams the ‘90s quite like chunky highlights. These statement strands provide dimension and a major contrast to your darker locks. To recreate J.Lo’s look, a colorist will apply bleach and foil on large portions of hair.
14. Dirty Blonde
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Known as the darkest shade of blonde, this hue blends warm blonde and brown tones together. If you're already rocking a dark base, this shade is easy to get and maintain by having highlights weaved in.
15. Golden Chestnut Brown
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Hailey Bieber knows a thing or two about switching up her naturally brown locks. While she’s rocked “expensive brunette” in the past, she’s recently been sporting a deep chestnut brown at the roots with a hint of gold starting at the mid-lengths and working its way down to her ends. Paired with her short bob, the color pops even more.
16. Caramel Highlights
Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Contributor/Getty Images
“Warm caramel blonde highlights that seamlessly blend with brown hair creates a rich honey appearance,” says Haliti. To recreate Jessica Alba’s shade, a stylist applies golden blonde and light brown dye throughout to add a subtle contrast to your darker locks.
17. Ash Blonde Highlights
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If you have light brown hair, adding ash blonde highlights is a no brainer. As Dorram explains, this shade can be “lightened or deepened depending on the direction you want to go.” The expert recommends using a sulfate-free shampoo and a nourishing conditioner to maintain the shade's vibrancy.
18. Auburn Highlights
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Issa Rae shows us that mixing brown hues with a hint of blonde can turn your locks into a rich auburn shade. And if you have beautiful coils like the Insecure star, then the highlights will add warmth and definition to your swirls.
19. Bleach Blonde Ends
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Highlights don’t always have to start at the roots. This dip-dying process focuses entirely on brightening the ends and leaving your darker roots untouched, which makes it a fairly low-maintenance color.
20. Toffee Highlights
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Toffee highlights make for a sweet addition to brown hair. A stylist will mix light to medium caramel brown tones together and apply the color throughout your hair. As shown on Jourdan Dunn, the shade adds warmth and vibrancy to your natural hue.
21. Strawberry Blonde
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Strawberry blonde is a great option for the curly gals. To create the most flattering hue, a stylist will mix a concoction of honey and reddish blonde dyes to make your ringlets shine, as seen on Jaz Sinclair.
22. Caramel Blonde Highlights
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A regular bronde is fine, but consider incorporating caramel highlights to your look. Ask your stylist to lighten the mid-lengths, ends and some face-framing pieces to really bring out a sun-kissed glow.
23. Caramel Blonde
Rodin Eckenroth/Stringer/Getty Images
In contrast to caramel bronde, this variation takes a subtler approach. The light shade starts at the mid-length section of your hair before descending into a darker brown at the ends. To recreate Niecy Nash’s cascading color, a stylist will focus on each section at a time, so everything blends together beautifully.
24. Streaky Blonde
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If chunky highlights and babylights had a sister, it would be this streaky blonde. The shade does a great job of showing off golden blonde pieces without overshadowing your brunette base. Need a reference to prevent your stylist from going foil crazy? Show them this picture of Jennifer Hudson.
25. Sandy Highlights
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Once you apply highlights to light brown hair, you’re left with a warm shade that complements darker skin tones. Here Laverne Cox shows off her natural dark roots with blended blonde highlights that shine beautifully on the red carpet.
26. Barely-There Highlights
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Blink and you might miss Zendaya’s blonde highlights. These barely-there pieces brighten up dark locks just so, and they’re a low commitment look.
27. Platinum Highlights
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Before her signature golden highlights, Beyoncé loved rocking platinum pieces. Her natural brown hair mixed with cool blonde highlights offer a striking contrast that makes a big statement. To maintain the color, Haliti recommends a purple shampoo and a leave-in conditioner to bring moisture back to your strands.
28. Dark Caramel
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Natural brunettes can easily warm up their color by adding pops of amber and gold throughout. See how defined Camilla Cabello's layers look with the addition of these shades?
29. Beach Blonde
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You don’t have to book a sunny vacation to mimic Blake Lively’s color. “The subtle sandy blonde highlights mimic the natural effects of the sun and saltwater on brown hair,” says Haliti. To elevate the look, the expert suggests using a salt spray for more texture.
30. Subtle Caramel Highlights
Bruce Glikas/Contributor/Getty Images
These caramel highlights can brighten your natural hue with minimal commitment. “It’s a gorgeous, but simple caramel highlight. As a stylist, I focus on a subtle enhancement of natural brunette hair by adding face-framing highlights,” explains Tang. The key here is applying foil only on the pieces around the face and using the right formula (including pearl blonde liquid toner) to lighten the section.
31. Espresso Highlights
From Olivia Munn to Shay Mitchell, brunettes have been rocking darker highlights lately. According to Tang, a mixture of bright and pearl blonde is used for the highlights, before a brown glaze is applied to the rest of the hair. At home, Tang suggests misting a shine spray on the mid-lengths to ends for extra shine.
32. Neutral Blonde Highlights
Todd Williamson/NBC/Contributor/Getty Images
This balayage looks so natural that you’ll forget you’re rocking blonde highlights. If you just want a subtle enhancement to your brown locks, show this picture of Jessie James Decker to your stylist.
33. Mocha Bangs
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If you’re currently rocking a full fringe, consider adding this light brown shade for warmth. Similar to Margot Robbie, this small change can also bring out your eye color (in this case, her baby blues) and provide a soft contrast to your natural shade.
34. Bronze Highlights
Whether you’re returning back to your brunette roots (like Sofia Richie) or simply want to brighten your hair a bit, bronze highlights are the way to go.
35. Dark Roots
Mike Marsland/Contributor/Getty Images
Rihanna shows us just how chic it can be to show off your natural roots. The dark base color and heavy blonde highlights creates an edgy contrast that's anything but boring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Blonde Highlights a Good Option for Brown Hair?
100 percent. “If an individual wants to add dimension, and brighten up their brown hair, then absolutely! Blonde highlights on brown hair is a popular choice because they offer a subtle, natural look when done properly,” says Haliti.
What Are the Benefits of Getting Blonde Highlights on Brown Hair?
According to our experts, there are four main benefits of getting blonde highlights on brown hair. For starters, highlights can add dimension and depth to your natural hue. And depending on the shade and placement of your highlights, they can also create a sun-kissed appearance. Lastly, they’re a low-maintenance option that won’t make regrowth too noticeable.
Can I Dye My Brown Hair Blonde Without Bleach?
If you’re looking to go lighter, bleaching your hair is unavoidable. However, our experts say there’s a way to limit how much bleach is applied. “If you want to go lighter, your colorist can recommend options that minimize how much bleach is used. Techniques like balayage can reduce the amount of bleach used, while still creating a stunning, sun-kissed look,” says Haliti.
What Colors Should You Avoid with Brown Hair?
“Brown hair has the benefit of being right in the middle of the color spectrum, so there are very few colors you should avoid. Pick colors that are the opposite of your skin tone for more contrast. Another rule of thumb is to stay within four shades of your base color,” says Tang.
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