Lately I’ve been noticing an uptick of celebrities and influencers wearing their hair in various shades of honey-brown. From Hailey Bieber to Jennifer Lopez, warm-toned brunettes are clearly having a moment in the sun, and I get it. In comparison to brighter blondes and platinum, reds or rainbow hues, honey-brown hair is much easier to maintain, especially if you keep the shades closer to your natural roots. So, if you’re a brunette who is looking to make a change to their hair, here are 30 honey-brown hair ideas to consider, according to hairstylists.
30 Honey-Brown Hair Ideas, According to Hairstylists
From ombré to barely-there highlights that'll make your strands shine
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Published Jul 22, 2024
Meet the Experts
- Guy Tang is a hair educator and creator of Mydentity, a haircare brand that offers styling products and color dyes to licensed professionals. He’s based in California and is best known for his YouTube channel ‘GuyTangHair’ where he posts fitness, beauty and lifestyle videos.
- Gregory Patterson is a celebrity hairstylist and a DIY Color & Styling expert for Sally Beauty. He’s based in New York City and has previously worked as a lead stylist for Project Runway. His past clients include Britney Spears, Anne Hathaway and Julianne Moore.
- Sierra Kener is a celebrity hairstylist, colorist ambassador for #Mydentity and owner of Nine Zero One Salon in California. Her previous clients include Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough.
1. Honey-Brown
Let’s kick things off with Queen Bey, who shines in this three-dimensional honey-brown hue. According to Tang, the base color is a warm brown with honey highlights blended in and focused primarily on the crown of the head to give it that halo effect.
2. Golden Brown
Trendsetting Hailey Bieber is known for her lush brown locks and chic bob. This golden-brown look showcases both with hints of honey highlights weaved in, starting at the mid-lengths, further emphasizing the choppy ends.
3. Toffee Ends
For something just a touch brighter, you can try toffee ends like Jourdan Dunn here. Ask your stylist to blend light to medium brown tones throughout your hair, with the brighter tones concentrated towards the ends to add vibrancy to the overall look.
4. Sandy Highlights
Not that we had any doubts, but here’s further proof that honey-brown highlights can really brighten things up for darker brunettes. The warmer tones blended throughout makes brown hair really shine.
5. Caramel Golden Brown
As Korab told us in a previous story, having warmer golden tones placed throughout can break up a dark brown base and give your hair more dimension.
6. Soft Honey Highlights
Sofia Richie stuns with her barely-there honey highlights here. Super-fine and beautifully blended, they brighten up her brunette roots (and her complexion, too).
7. Melted Honey Highlights
Speaking of beautifully blended looks, this honey balayage adds the subtlest, most flattering enhancement to brown locks.
8. Honey Golden Highlights
How could we do a roundup of honey-brown hair ideas and not include Honey herself? (For those who missed the reference, Honey is a movie character Jessica Alba played in 2003). Alba has worn some variation of honey-brown hair throughout most of her career, but our favorite look is this deeper brown base with golden highlights framing her face in front.
9. Golden Caramel Highlights
Ciara really leveled up with this look. As Patterson previously shared, “Adding some pops of blonde [give] the perfect minimal enhancement that you won’t have to fuss with too much over the summer months.” At home, the stylist suggests using a hydrating hair mask and blue-toned shampoo to neutralize brassy tones.
10. Honeyed Sections
One of our all-time favorite honey-brown looks comes courtesy of Kaia Gerber. Just look at that shine! To get a similarly luminous look, ask your stylist to blend warm mahogany and golden tones throughout your hair, focusing the placement of these brighter hues on the mid-lengths and ends, while keeping the base natural.
11. Whipped Cappuccino
Alongside Bey and Alba, J.Lo is another honey-brown hair queen who comes to mind. If we had to (ahem) highlight just one look of hers, it would be this whipped cappuccino masterpiece. With a caramel brown base and milky blonde streaks placed in the front, it really makes the singer’s hair look lush.
12. Sun-Kissed “Bronde”
If subtle is more your speed, consider this sun-kissed bronde. "It has soft, almost sparkly golden highlights with a natural root and bright ends. For brunettes, you're really working with your natural roots, and not overdoing it with the highlights—adding just enough color that it looks like you've just returned from vacation instead of the salon,” says Kener.
13. New Ombré
Given the return of 2000s trends, it’s not all that surprising that ombré has made a comeback. The good news is that the contrasting look has gotten a bit of an upgrade since then, now featuring brighter hues that meld together with the rest of your hair, rather than look so obviously two-toned.
14. Honey Blend
SJP is a master of honey-brown and blonde hair. Throughout the years, we’ve seen her with the entire spectrum of highlights, in varying levels of brightness and chunkiness. Her signature look, however, is a blend of honey hues woven throughout her brunette base to give her strands this multi-dimensional effect.
15. Baby Balayage
A bit more brown but no less golden, brunettes also have the option of going with super minimal highlights that are no more than one to two shades brighter than their natural color. This will save you from having to make multiple trips to the salon.
16. Rich Honey Brown Balayage
Similar idea, but a touch deeper. For those with darker brown roots, you can brighten things up by adding rich honey brown balayage on your mid-lengths and ends a la Sofia Vergara’s signature style.
17. Honey-Brown Curls
Leona Lewis shows us that honey-brown highlights can really bring out your curl pattern. Keeping a darker base gives the look a more casual vibe (that’s also easier to grow out).
18. Sun-Kissed Brunette
Jessica Biel’s sun-kissed hair deserves all the applause. It strikes the perfect balance between light and dark tones and exemplifies how much of an impact hair color can have on your complexion.
19. Caramel and Chocolate Swirls
Caramel and chocolate are a solid pairing, in desserts and hair color. Ask your stylist to weave in a few uber-fine strands of honey highlights from the top as well, to further brighten up the look.
20. Honey Drizzled Highlights
Warm honey highlights on brown hair = an endlessly flattering combo. ‘Nuf said.
21. Milk & Honey
Emilia Clarke's honey-brown hues blend seamlessly together to give her a vibrancy that shines on the red carpet.
22. Cinnamon & Honey
For a slightly different take on honey-brown hair, try mixing a touch of cinnamon to your honey highlights; the hint of copper has a glowing effect.
23. Platinum Honey Brown
How could we ever forget Jourdan Dunn's platinum honey-brown hair that’s further emphasized by her sleek A-line cut?
24. Calico Highlights
As recently reported, Calico Highlights are in. Showcasing chunky highlights in red, brunette and blonde tones to mimic the look of a Calico cat’s distinct fur, you can always skip the red tones to get a softer, honey-brown version of the look instead.
25. Caramel Blonde Highlights
Caramel highlights are always a safe bet for brunettes who are looking to make a subtle change. Ask your stylist to lighten up the mid-lengths, ends and a few face-framing pieces to really get that sweet, honeyed effect.
26. Golden Brown Highlights
Similar idea here, but skewed a bit blonder and brighter to really bring out the golden tones in your skin.
27. Honey-Brown Lowlights
For brighter brunettes who are looking to tone their color down a bit, you can always get slighter deeper lowlights to add dimension. This is also a good way to ease the transition back to your natural roots.
28. Barely-There Highlights
Blink and you just might miss these whisper thin honey highlights that are weaved throughout the mid-lengths and ends. Though they’re subtle, the shine they give off against darker brunette locks is impactful.
29. Bright Honey Ends
For the brunette who’s looking to make a bigger change with their color, you can keep your roots dark and have some thicker golden blonde highlights placed throughout with the brightest pieces in front and towards the ends for maximum effect.
30. Contrasting Highlights
Of course, J. Lo makes this list multiple times. She is the arbiter of all things glow, after all. Her contrasted brown and blonde streaks are a masterclass in highlights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Shade is Honey-Brown Hair?
Honey-brown hair includes both brown and blonde tones that skew on the warmer side. The beauty of honey-brown hair lies in its versatility and range, as it can include richer caramel tones, as well as auburn and golden bronzes. As such, it’s typically a lower maintenance look for brunettes and can be customized to suit an individual’s base color and skin tone for the most flattering results.
How Do You Get Honey-Brown Hair?
This will depend on your starting color. If you have darker brown hair, your stylist will have to lighten up sections with highlights before adding a glaze or toner on top to reach your desired shade.
How Do You Care for Honey-Brown Hair?
Overall, honey-brown hair requires less maintenance than other shades like red or blonde. That said, you should still use color-safe products in your routine. (Note: There are blue shampoos that are specifically formulated for brunettes to keep brass away.) You’ll also want to protect your color from fading by using a heat protectant before you style your hair.
