From "Golden Hour Ombré" to "Iced Espresso"—5 Rich-Looking Hair Colours Brunettes Need to Know for Summer
2. Toffee Balayage
If you have brunette hair but don't want to go too light, then consider balayage. The French technique, which translates "to sweep" involves hand-painting sections for a seamless and naturally highlighted look. It's softer than ombre, but allows you to bring brightness through your lengths. I love Hailey Bieber's darker brunette base here, which is paired with soft toffee balayage to bring her hair colour into the summer season.
The additional benefit of balayage is that you can also enjoy seamless grow-out, so you're not left with a noticeable root or committing to salon visits every couple of weeks. Low-maintenance hair colour? Yes please.
Shop The Look:3. Iced Brunette
When you think of brunette hair colours for summer, most typically think of lighter tones and blonde balayage. But, every summer I actually love to go darker. While I find it too stark against my skin tone in the winter, come summer, I find it suits my hair far better as my complexion warms up. So this season, I've opted for an iced chocolate hair colour rather than going lighter. You can experiment with a deeper, cooler brunette hair colour by asking for a hair gloss from your hair colourist, which will give a semi-permanent hue that will gradually fade. Or, you can try a tinted hair gloss at home, which will wash out gradually.
If you're already blessed with deep brunette hair, going back to your roots is a great way to reset your hair health too if you're used to dying your hair or using a lot of hair tools. Plus, darker brunettes also benefit from enhanced gloss and shine compared to blonde and highlighted hair, so it will always look rich, glossy and healthy-looking.
Shop The Look:4. Raffia Brunette
Vittoria Ceretti's hair colour was pinned to my Pinterest board so fast. Like the multi-dimensional tones you see in a raffia basket bag, this look sees finely woven highlights that are expertly blended into her brunette base. The result? Natural-looking, dimensional brunette hair colour that looks like you're lengths are naturally sun-kissed after spending two weeks on the French Riviera.
In fact, Smith predicted the trend for raffia bronde earlier this year, so it was only natural that we saw this finely woven hair colour trend reach brunettes too. "Unlike the monochromatic looks we had in 2024, or the super high contrast of 2023, this time bronde is a melted and subtly multitonal offering that has a woven texture and an intricate nature," he says. "You might call it quite an ‘expensive bronde’, thanks to its fine attention to detail."
Shop The Look:5. Cinnamon Gloss
Craving a warm-toned brunette shade for summer? Then you might want to add Kaia Gerber's hair colour to your Pinterest board, too. I love the subtle cinnamon tones that give her hair a luxurious yet glossy warmth, while remaining rich and expensive-looking (and as for that blowout—I'm digging out my hot brush immediately).
If you're already brunette, this is a great colour to try if you want to switch things up without going too far into auburn territory. You can refresh your current brunette shade with a hair gloss or colour-depositing hair mask to enjoy the warmer tones through your lengths.
Shop The Look:
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