Autumn is the perfect time of year to start playing around with darker and more natural hair looks. That’s why we’ve decided it was definitely time to check out some of the cutest and coolest dark brown hair with highlights looks. We’re not just talking about blonde!
Going darker for a while will give your hair a much-needed break, particularly if you’ve been lightening your hair for a long time. All that bleaching and treating does serious damage to your locks. As well as drying it out, it’ll also cause it to become brittle and to break. After a while of going lighter, it is encouraged to go darker, just to give your hair the break it deserves. If this is something you’re considering right now, these dark brown hair with highlights looks might just tickle your fancy:
21 Looks: Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
1 – Loose Dark Hair with Fluttery Highlights
You almost wouldn’t notice the changes in the brown tones in this hair look, they’ve all been blended together so perfectly. They are there, however, and these lighter and darker tones, when mixed together, give you added oomph in hair that might otherwise not have quite as much bounce to it. Combine those highlights with some big and bouncy waves, using a curling iron, rather than tighter tongs. A touch of sea salt spray will help the look to stay crunchy and beachy-boho like. Alternatively, you could use a touch of light-hold hairspray for a more relaxed and feminine look.
Source: jamiekeikohair
2 – Short + Choppy Red-Tinged Highlights on Dark Hair
You could always go for something like this, going for the chop as well as opting for a dramatic colour change. We love the red tones used on this dark brown and natural hair, and it’s been cleverly blended, with lighter and darker shades, to make it look as natural as possible. It also doesn’t matter if you leave it a few weeks before trim-appointments too. Those shaggy ends go well with choppy and short looks, such as this one. It’ll save you a fortune in hair salon appointments if you play your cards right.
Source: lisandrasue
3 – Naturally Blended Balayage Highlights
The idea behind a look like this dark brown hair with highlights is to achieve a look that you would naturally get from running around in the sun all day. That’s why balayage blends are a really good place to start, particularly if you want something that ends up looking wonderfully natural. You’re adding a softness with those wispy, soft and blonde waves, even if they’re a more caramel or honey hue, over a platinum blonde.
Source: rootedhairstudiolq
4 – Dark Roots, Light Ends Highlighted Short Hair
Adding the lighter highlights to the outer ends of your hair will add what appears to be a halo of light around your face. That’s perfect if you’re going for something shorter than you usually would, but still want to pack an impressive impact. There are many benefits to be said for opting for the chop every now and again, even if it’s the last thing you’d want to do.
Source: mikaatbhc
5 – Dark Brown Hair + Barely There Highlights
For maximum impact, add the bulk of the highlights to the parts that frame your face. Add some feathered layers there too, and you’re killing two birds with one stone. These face-framing layers and locks are well known for being very flattering on all face shapes. The highlights are so delicate, you’d never know they weren’t natural. You really could mistake these for the kind of sun-bleached locks you’d get from spending a summer in the sun! (We wish … )
Source: jandrewserna
6 – Face Framing High Contrast Highlights
If you want your highlights to be quite obvious on your darker and natural hair, you should look to dark brown hair with highlights like this one. The much higher shades have been left towards the ends of the hair, and also the front, where it licks around your face. By doing this, you’re still leaving things relatively natural, but still packing the punch with those lights tones clearly visible.
Source: _missmarilyn
7 – Caramel Ombre Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
You may need to consider that lighter blondes in your dark brown hair with highlights are not a good idea. If your hairstylist tells you not to go lighter, you should probably listen. This lightening action on your hair is going to be very damaging, and the lighter you go, the more damaging it will be to your hair. If you want a sun-kissed glow to your natural locks, darker and more burnt shades are going to be a great place to start.
Source: southmarksouth
8 – Intense Dimension Dark Brown Highlighted Hair
The more photos you take to your hair stylist, the better idea he or she will have of what you really want to walk out with. If you like the dark brown on one look, but the ashy blonde of another, take them both in and tell them that you like a combo of the two. They can help you to create what you want, but first, you must tell them what you want.
Source: mikaatbhc
9 – Obvious Highlights in Darker Hair
If you opt to keep the lighter shades and tones away from the roots, you’ll have a much easier time of things when you have darker hair. Not only does it make the look much more manageable, and cheaper in terms of salon appointments, but it also helps to add volume in otherwise limp and lifeless locks. Add some waves to your ‘do and you’ll be adding in even more!
Source: rootedhairstudiolq
10 – Caramel Honey Highlights over Dark Brown
This is such a beautiful look, a few loose waves added around the face to really bring out those stunning honey-caramel tones. Going lighter with your highlights doesn’t always need to mean going for a really bright and bold blonde. You can opt for something darker – a bronde, for example – or even with a different coloured tinge to it, such as red or purple. Those are two looks we have also explored within these 21 looks.
Source: frances_hairartist
11 – Dark Brown Hair + Deep Purple Highlights
If you wanted lighter highlights, this look probably isn’t for you. If you want something different, a real pop of colour injected into your look, this dark brown hair with deep purple highlights look is just fabulous. It gives you a way to still play around with colour, without needing to resort to serious lightning treatments just to get there. The darker shades, particularly these purple tones, seem to work well on darker hair, by injecting the shade as a ‘wash,’ rather than a ‘dye’. We certainly love this look, but what do you think?
Source: hairbynoora
12 – Braided Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
A great way to show off your dark brown hair with highlights is to use intricate twists and braids, as shown by this fabulous look. The different twists combine the lighter and darker sections together, showing off every shade you’ve used to create those lovely locks. Not only that, but braids can provide the perfect go-to hairstyle when you’ve woken up late and don’t quite have the time to wash it. Add a touch of dry shampoo and get braiding, and you’ll have a look that is sassy as anything, and easy as you like. We love things that make mornings easier, don’t you?
Source: rootedhairstudiolq
13 – Chocolate Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
Keep the highlights to face-framing edges, and you’ll find they are much easier to wear when you have dark brown tresses. Those lighter segments will add a fluffy lightness to your hair, and it will also add a new dimension. That means that thin and lifeless hair will be given a new lease of life, all thanks to those light-reflecting lighter bits.
Source: mikaatbhc
14 – Super Shiny Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
Have your hair stylist blend a complex mix of lighter blondes, darker blondes, and caramel-brown hues to get the most natural dark brown hair with highlights that you can. If you have very obvious blonde highlights, they can sometimes look a little bit like stripes, and if you’re hunting out the natural look you’ll be very unhappy about it.
Source: southmarksouth
15 – Dark Brown to Light Brown Bob
There are plenty of ways to wear these dark brown hair with highlights, but opting for highlights that are only a couple of shades away from your natural hair will achieve so much. It will leave you with a look that is both natural and stunning, all in one, and it also makes your hair much easier to take care of. The lighter you go, the more lightening treatments you will need. Sticking closer to your hair shade is a good way to experiment without damaging your locks.
Source: colorbylisa
16 – Dark Brown Hair + Ashy Platinum Ombre Highlights
If this is your first time playing around with dark brown hair with highlights, go slightly darker than what you actually want with your highlights. Going to a bright blonde from a dark brown is going to be a really big hit, and if you don’t like it, there’s not much you’re going to be able to do about it. You would have needed to lighten your hair to get there, and that means bleach. Any colour you apply over that bleach, no matter how dark, will have a lighter impact on top of the bright bleached look. Some shades may even look a little orange. We would definitely recommend heading to a professional hair colourist to ensure the orange hair curse doesn’t hit you, and even more so if you’re hoping to achieve these stunning ashy shades.
Source: jesgayhmua
17 – Dark Brown Hair + Peekaboo Highlights
The good thing about these dark brown hair with highlights is that you can start with darker highlights and add more or lighter shades as you go on. The natural shades will allow for more root growth than other dye jobs, and you can really play around with the tones that you use. If you’re not sure whether or not a particular shade will suit your skin tone, add a little. If it works, add some more. You can add more tones and depth over time with these hand painted, balayage designs, and that’s why they’re great for busy women.
Source: southmarksouth
18 – Rockstar Grunge Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
This absolute babe rocks the rockstar grunge look with ease, and so could you. This high contrast blend is perfect for those who want an easy-to-rock do with attitude. Also: the style will grow as your hair does. Keep the roots maintained for a more on-fleek look, or leave things slightly grown-out for a more punk-grunge affair. We actually love this hair a lot. More than a lot.
Source: _missmarilyn
19 – Dark Brown Hair with Pink Highlights
Hey! You never said we couldn’t play around with colour! You just said you wanted dark brown hair with highlights, and technically, this hair is just that. Are you bold enough to rock some pink locks? It’s summer … There’s never been a better time. Plus, this look is SUPER cool! Okay, we’ll go back to behaving now. We won’t mention the pink idea again. (But you should definitely still consider it!)
Source: hairbyhannahdisconnected
20 – Soft Balayage Ombre Dark Brown Hair with Highlights
If you’re growing out an older, lighter look, try an ombre balayage blend. You can get away with darker roots, with those face-framing light layers bringing the full force of the highlights into play. There has never been a better time to go slightly darker than you usually would. Also: there are a hundred and one benefits to having natural hair for a while, and maybe even more than that. Don’t make us start listing them … We will! We love a good hair care lecture! 😉
Source: jandrewserna
21 – Subtle Dark Brown and Caramel Balayage
Bronde is the new blonde, and just in case you don’t know what bronde is, we’re about to educate you. It’s simple really – brown hair and blonde hair together – bronde! It’s a clever play on words, and it’s a clever play on hair too. Looks like this mix subtle shades of lighter tones, in with darker and richer locks, to give locks that are bouncy, filled with volume, and as three-dimensional as you’d like! It’s basically everything you should be looking for from your hair right now.
Source: off7thsalon
And there you have them – 21 looks for dark brown hair with highlights that we are definitely obsessed with right now. Which ones have rocked your boat? Are there any you’re tempted to try yourselves? Which picture will you be frog-marching into the hair salon to copy on your own locks? We can’t wait to find out, and we’d love for you to send us in your beautiful hair snaps. If we’ve inspired you, shout about it. We would love to feature you and your locks on CherryCherryBeauty.
Don’t forget to show these amazing hair creators some love while you’re here. We wouldn’t have anything to fawn over if it weren’t for them. There’s your daily dose of hair inspiration. What shall we take a closer look at next?
Thanks for supporting CherryCherryBeauty! It means so much to us!
xo