The best brunette hair colors, according to hairstylists, are chestnut brown, honey brown highlights, toffee brown, caramel swirl, caramel mocha, sunny balayage, and beige brown with ice gold. Other cool options include chunky highlights, chocolate mauve, smokey sombré, and ash blonde.
Brunette hair color ideas
The best brunette hair color ideas for 2023 include dark golden brown with weaves of balayage, black-brown hair tones with soft beach waves, very dark brunette hair with soft curls, warm brown/caramel balayage, warm rose brown, burgundy or purple hair, chestnut brown with caramel highlights, ash/mushroom brown.
Brunette hair color trends
The biggest hair color trends for 2023 include warm espresso balayage, deep strawberry red for a cool and classic look, personalized platinum, copper red, candlelit brunette, barbie blonde, and other shades of a brunette with soft golden copper highlights.
Jessica Biel’s Suble Perfect Ombre
Jessica Biel’s hair shines in this deep brunette base color with warm caramel bayalage highlights. To get color like this you’ll need a stylist skilled at hand painting highlights through the fringe, framing your face and throughout the ends of your hair. See this same cut/color combintation with softer styling.
Angelina Jolie’s Warm Brunette Color
This warm brunette color is absolutely glowing on Angelina Jolie. While the color appears to be a solid one color application, the way it shimmers indicates that it’s likely the result of some very subtle highlights that are only one to two shades lighter and warmer than the base color. The results, while not dramatic, are a beautiful way to showcase the beauty of brunette hair.
Sandra Bullock’s Beautiful Highlighted Brown Hair
One of my most requested brunette colors in my salon is this color executed beautifully on Sandra Bullock’s long hair. A deep natural base color and precise highlights that aren’t allowed to process too blond are the key to this color coming out picture perfect. Professional tip: keeping the highlights minimal ensures that the color stays rich and dark without looking too blond.
Rose Byrne’s Highlighted Ash Brown Hair Color
When warm isn’t your thing, this ash brown base color with a heavy highlight in a light neutral shade is the perfect way to ensure you aren’t seeing red in your hair color. Rose Byrne’s color is a heavily requested look and keeps an ashier brunette color from getting boring by including heavy highlights.
Giullana Rancic’s Soft Medium Brown Hair Color
Sometimes simple is simply stunning. Giullana Rancic’s slightly warm brunette shimmers on the red carpet thanks to some very subtly soft highlights in a shade just a titch lighter than the base color that give the illusion of depth and thicker hair.
Ciara Harris’ Dark Chocolate Hair Color
A super dark (nearly black) chocolate base color is necessary to make this color great, as Ciara Harris clearly demonstrates. A few light dramatic highlights around the face and through a few select ends are all that is necessary to set off this striking brunette color. Professional tip: don’t over-do the highlights with this color or you lose the dramatic effect.
Selena Gomez’s Rich Brown Hair Color
This rich mahogany brown color on Selena Gomez is the result of a little red added to the color formula by a skilled colorist. Shine enhancing products can help the light dance off this rich color and bring out a variety of natural undertones. Professional tip: make sure your color is dark enough to keep the color rich without being too red.
Catherine Zeta-Jones’s Nearly Black Sultry Color
Wearing this dark of a brunette color can be harsh, but Catherine Zeta-Jones has a perfect formula that takes that harsh factor out of the equation. The key to making it work is to keep enough warmth in this deep color formula to cancel out the harshness. Professional tip: you can achieve this warm illusion in a one color application or by adding a lighter brown highlight throughout for the same effect.
Megan Fox’s Deep Brunette Ombre Hair Color
I’m in absolute lust with this deep, rich ombre hair color on Megan Fox. It works because the color transitions seamlessly from deep brown at the scalp to a warm dark blond through the ends. Professional tip: leave this one to the pros. A color application by a skilled colorist can keep the color warm without looking brassy or fried.
Jennifer Lopez’s Ombre Hair Color
Jennifer Lopez opts for a more dramatic ombre hair color with this stunning look that incorporates heavy light blond ombre highlights into a rich brunette base color. A color like this is best achieved over a series of two to three appointments to ensure that you don’t cause excess damage to your ends by over lightening. Professional tip: Keep your ends trimmed when going this light to keep split ends to a minimum.