30 Best Highlight Ideas For Dark Brown Hair
These lovely and stylish highlights will give your dark hair some gorgeous dimension.
Add a pop of color to your dark hair with some highlights. And if you need some help with picking colors, we have your back! Keep reading to check out some vibrant highlight ideas for dark brown hair. Highlights add dimension and depth to your hair – they make your hair look thicker and voluminous. In addition, they take lesser time than full-color processes without much damage. Also, they are low maintenance and can be refreshed right at home! So, we searched far and wide on the interweb and listed the best highlights to grace your dark brown locks. And for all you DIY fanatics and hair color enthusiasts, scroll down to learn how to highlight your hair at home! So, scroll down for more information.
In This Article
How To Highlight Your Dark Brown Hair At Home
What You Need
- Old t-shirt
- Hair brush
- Hair bleaching kit
- Rubber gloves
- Bowl
- Hair tinting brush
- Hair color (of your choice)
What To Do
- Mix your bleach in a bowl, following the instructions given on the box.
- Brush your hair to remove all the knots and tangles.
- Start picking up the strands of hair that you want to highlight.
- Starting from about ½ an inch below the root, start applying bleach to your hair with the help of your tinting brush.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 on all the strands you want to highlight.
- Check the bleached hair every 15 minutes to see how much it has lightened.
- Once your hair has lightened to your desired shade, wash your hair with shampoo.
- Condition your hair as bleach tends to dehydrate it.
- If you just want to blonde highlights, you can stop right here. But if you want colored highlights, continue on.
- Follow the instructions on the box and mix your hair color.
- Apply the hair color to only your bleached sections of hair.
- Leave it on for the time duration indicated on the box before washing it off with color safe shampoo.
30 Stunning Highlight Ideas For Dark Brown Hair
1. Golden Blonde Highlights
We will start off with probably the most obvious choice when it comes to highlighting dark brown hair. You guessed it! It’s blonde highlights. Super light golden blonde highlights create a stunning contrast with deep brown hair and make for a gorgeous hair transformation. And when done up in curls, there’s no stopping you from becoming the belle of the ball.
2. Mocha Highlights
Amp the natural brown color of your hair by playing with shades from the same family. Go for a coffee toned look by highlighting your dark brown hair with a warm mocha brown hue. Straighten out your hair to showcase the seamless blending of the warm tones in all its glory.
3. Rose Brown Highlights
You’ve obviously heard of rose gold hair (who hasn’t?). But get ready to behold the beauty that is rose brown hair. This pink tinted light brown works beautifully to add dimension and brightness to dark brown hair. Get this color done in ombre highlights to make your hair look like a raven waterfall.
4. Burnt Orange Highlights
Okay, orange highlights may sound ridiculous in theory, but hear me out. Highlights in a muted shade of burnt orange stand out beautifully against dark brown hair and give off a cute and quirky vibe. To add to the whimsical feel of this color look, get your hair cut in a short bob.
5. Honey Blonde Highlights
It can be a challenge to color your hair if you work in a professional environment with a strict dress code. You can get around that snag by sporting highlights that are on the same side of the color wheel as your natural hair color. For instance, these honey blonde highlights that are just a few shades lighter than thenatural dark brown base work well to give her an elegant hair look.
6. Two Shades Lighter Highlights
There’s a huge misconception out there that your highlights have to be drastically lighter than your hair to look their best. But, let me tell you, subtle highlights have a beauty that cannot be matched. Highlights that are just a couple of shades lighter than your natural dark brown hair are great for adding depth to your hair and making it look more voluminous.
7. Ash Brown Highlights
Add a cool toned element to your deep brown tresses with an ashy brown shade that is breathtaking to say the least. Ombre highlights done in this shade can create a gorgeous root melt effect that you’re guaranteed to fall in love with. Style this color look in some low curls to look like the graceful princess you are.
8. Chilled Frappe Highlights
Show off your love for coffee with this highlight look inspired by the world’s favorite beverage. This cool toned brown has been inspired by the gorgeous hue of a chilled frappe. Get highlights done in this beautiful shade on the front section of your hair to get a naturally sunkissed look.
9. Sandy Blonde Highlights
Get ready to have some fun and frolic around in the sun with this sunkissed highlights look. These cool toned blonde highlights recreate the look of beach sand on a perfect summer day and add brightness to your naturally dark brown mane. They look especially youthful when done up in an ombre highlights style.
10. Molten Gold Highlights
Want to look like the princess that you know you are on the inside? Then this highlights look will make all your dreams come true. These soft gold ombre highlights done on the lower half of deep chocolate brown tresses create the illusion that the ends of her hair have literally been dipped in a vat of molten gold.
11. Rose Gold Highlights
If you spend any amount of time on the internet then there’s no way that you have escaped the rose gold trend that everyone is going gaga over. Highlights in this pretty pink tinted shade work beautifully to add a bit of brightness and a feminine touch to otherwise monochrome brown tresses.
12. Dark Chocolate Highlights
No hair color exudes classy elegance the way dark chocolate brown does. Highlight your deep brown mane with this sexy shade to create an air of mystery around you. Big blowdried curls will work wonders in amping up the depth and dimension of this dark toned look.
13. Electric Blue Highlights
In the mood for something crazy? Then I’ve got just the hair look for you! March to the beat of your own drummer and highlight your dark brown hair with a bright electric blue shade to totally transform into a futuristic babe. Then, have a go at your hair with a big barreled curler to finish off the look with some soft curls.
14. Pink Highlights
If you’re a Barbie girl in a Barbie world, then you gotta show it off through your hair, don’t you? Flaunt your love for this girly color by highlighting your hair with a bright shade of pink. And if you want to take your look to a whole new level, just get it cut in a sleek angled bob.
15. Lime Green And Violet Highlights
Queen of the Swamp, it’s time for you to shine! Add a pop of bright neon color to your boring dark brown hair with the help of an electric lime green shade. Bring even more attention to your bright green highlights by contrasting them with a few streaks of deep violet added right under them.
16. Magenta And Bubble Gum Pink Highlights
The thing with having a big personality is that you sometimes need to show it through your physical appearance. And what better way to do that than with bright pink highlights! Magenta and bubble gum pink blend together flawlessly in this underneath highlights look to create a totally funky and awesome hair look. Style this color look in curls to complete the youthful vibe of this look.
17. Peach And Dusty Pink Highlights
There is a ton of hair color looks that are inspired by the seasons. But the ones inspired by autumn bear a beauty that cannot be matched. Highlight your dark brown mane with some soft peach and dusty pink balayage highlights to see for yourself what I’m talking about. Not only do they look stunning, but the hand-painted effect of the highlights also lends them the all-natural effect that is sure to make you look like the Goddess of Sun.
18. Burnt Red Highlights
The beauty of sexy sultry sirens cannot be compared and here’s how you can look like one. Get your long hair cut in layers and complement it with some deep red highlights to add some depth and dimension to it. This look works best when you go for a shade of red with a brown tint to it as it blends more seamlessly into your natural hair color.
19. Walnut Brown Highlights
If you love to play with subtleties and denounce anything that’s over-the-top, then here’s a hair color look that will suit your style. These blended balayage highlights in a dark walnut brown shade work brilliantly to add volume and understated dimension to her darkest brown hair.
20. Silver Highlights
And metallic highlights make a return on this list! If you want to jump onto the silver hair bandwagon, here’s how you can do it. Highlight your hair with a silver shade that has ashy undertones and style it in some bouncy curls to get a mesmerizing hair look.
21. Bronze Highlights
Bronze seems to be the new “in” metal these days – and for good reason. When done up in balayage highlights, this cool toned hair color works beautifully to add some light and brightness to naturally dark brown hair. Style this color look in a short shaggy bob to complete your Parisian chic style statement.
23. Maple Gold Highlights
Warm pancakes with maple syrup oozing down the sides are the definition of comfort food. If you like to take hair color inspiration from breakfast foods, then you’ve come to the right place! These maple gold highlights done on dark chocolate brown hair make for a truly luxurious hair look.
23. Rich Auburn Highlights
Sensual, yet classy. Who wouldn’t want to embody this bold look? To achieve this gorgeous hair look, just go in for some thin highlights in a rich auburn shade. Then, style your hair in curls to give it that straight-out-of-the-salon vibe.
24. Mahogany Highlights
Want to show the world that you’re a smart, independent woman who don’t need no man? Then mahogany highlights is the way for you to go. These rich brown highlights fuse seamlessly with the natural brown base of her hair and lend her an air of luxury and sophistication.
25. Deep Burgundy Highlights
Just because you’re highlighting your hair doesn’t mean that it has to be super ‘out there.’ Highlights done in an ultra dark burgundy shade have a blink-and-you-miss-it effect and look chic without changing your hair look drastically.
26. Copper Highlights
Add a flair of understated sophistication to your brown tresses by complementing them with a red tinted hue. Copper is that metallic shade with red undertones that draws attention without screaming for it. Highlights done in this color look vibrant against a brown base and make for a truly classy hair look.
27. Light Brown Highlights
Get the hair color look of your dreams by going for a brown on brown style. The most classic way that you can transform your dark brown hair is by highlighting it with a lighter brown hue. This creates that ‘natural’ illusion that makes it look like it grew out of your hair that way.
28. Cool Toned Brown Highlights
A good way to experiment with your hair color is to play around with warm and cool tones. You could, for instance, go for some cool toned chocolate brown highlights to bring out the depth of your naturally dark brown hair. This color style looks best on a long bob as it lends itself a sophisticated flair with this haircut.
29. Blonde And Auburn Highlights
A tiger’s stripes are its most striking feature – and this hair look inspired from the same can be yours. Now, a lot of you may shy away from getting highlights done in two contrasting shades, but trust me when I say that it’ll look amazing. Go for alternating highlights in platinum blonde and auburn over your dark brown hair to create this hair look that is just as unique as you.
30. Caramel Highlights
Caramel is one of those timeless hair colors that never go out of style. So, getting highlights in your dark brown tresses in this rich shade will have you looking sophisticated in no time. Focus the highlights on the lower half of your hair and blend in some mahogany streaks to give the whole look some more dimension.
Highlights for dark brown hair add volume and dimension to your hair. They need less time, lower maintenance, and make your locks thicker without any damage. You can highlight your dark brown hair at home easily. Golden blonde, mocha, rose brown, burnt orange, two shades lighter, ash brown, and honey blonde are some of the best highlight ideas for dark brown hair. Sporting these highlights against dark brown hair adds depth to your hair and offers you a quirky vibe and an elegant look.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you put blonde highlights in dark brown hair without turning it orange?
You can apply hair toner every 6 – 8 weeks. However, this is only a temporary fix. A more reliable solution will be adding lowlights if your hair has been bleached blonde. Washing with a blue shampoo twice a week may also neutralize the orange tones.
What do caramel highlights look like in dark brown hair?
Caramel highlights look beautiful in dark brown hair, as the brown-orange highlights pop against the dark shade, giving a dimensional effect.
