13 Hair Color Ideas for Brunettes

You might think there's no way to change up your look if you're a brunette: After all, blondes can be platinum, dirty blonde, and more, but brown hair is just brown.

However, there are actually tons of ways to dye your hair and keep your brunette base, like balayage, glazes, and the fan-favorite ombre fade. Below, check out our favorite hair color ideas for brunettes including a range from natural blends to crazy pops of color.

Sun-Kissed Highlights

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Adding in just a few face-framing blonde highlights can totally change your look by warming things up and giving you a beach-ready glow. To avoid having streaks, keep the blonde more gold-toned as opposed to white or platinum, and add it all around the crown—instead of just the front—to give a more natural, kissed-by-the-sun vibe.

Mushroom Brown

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This muted melt is anything but boring, thanks to a unique mushroom-like shade that falls somewhere between ashy blonde and taupe. Both cool-toned and warm-toned blondes blend flawlessly into a mushroom-colored fade, and it's the subtle shade Instagram is loving for color that's casual-cool.

Rose Gold Fade

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If you know your hair tends to pull slightly orange when it bleaches, a rose gold look is a perfect way to lighten up your brunette locks while keeping your roots dark. This is the kind of look that gets better as it fades, so what starts as a warm, brown-to-rosy-toned glow will end up a rockstar-approved orangish pink over time.

Warm Red Glaze

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If the idea of bleaching your brunette hair terrifies you, opting for an all-over glaze is a great way to add a little color to your look. A red-toned tinge can warm up dull brown locks and give them an almost burgundy look. Plus, glazing treatments can add strength and shine to hair, so you can leave the salon with a whole new hairdo in a short amount of time.

Smoky Brunette

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This dark black-to-brunette fade is seriously stunning—and proof that you don't have to go blonde to shake up your look. Plus, dark dyes are healthier for hair than bleaching, so your strands will thank you.

Colored Ends

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If you like the look of dark, almost-black brown hair but still want to change things up a bit, adding a pop of color to the ends is the perfect solution. Dip dye for a messy, carefree look, or do a melt like the previous look for a seamless transition. Navy or teal are statement-making yet wearable options if neon pink isn't appropriate for your job.

Classic Ombre

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Ombre hair started making waves with stars like Jessica Alba, Chrissy Teigen, and J. Lo flaunting perfectly blended brunette-to-blonde locks. This look is more natural than some other dye jobs, thanks to the progressive fade from root to tip. Plus, you don't have to worry about hair looking bad when the roots grow out—it only adds to the look.

Chocolate Melt

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A rich, hot-chocolate color is an absolute must if you'd rather not have a mousy brown shade. Whether it's a brunette glaze to brighten and shine your brown locks or subtle toning using different shades of brunette to get the perfect, decadent look, this is a safe bet for beginner dyers who want their hair color enhanced and not changed.

Brunette to Icy Gray

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Try a brown-to-gray fade instead of blonde tips: It's an updated, edgier take on highlights. Intentional gray and silver tones not only look effortlessly cool, but this dye job can also work wonders for women going gray early who want to mask—or embrace—their silver fox status.

Ashy Balayage

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An ashier look to your hair is a cool-toned take on the warm, summer-blonde streaks loved by many. Somewhere between gray and gold, the perfect ashy blonde exists to lighten up brunette locks and give them some much-needed lift when dyed using a balayage style, where the color is blended in at the crown of the head and becomes more prominent at the ends.

Hidden Rainbow Hair

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For the daredevil with an office job, the only way to embrace your mermaid-meets-unicorn hair desires is to opt for what's known as a hidden dye job. This means the top layer of hair looks completely natural, but when pulled into a half-up style, a layer of secret color is revealed.

Bronde

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Bronde is the perfect combination of brunette and blonde, made popular by celebrities like Blake Lively. The look is lived-in and effortlessly blended and can be a great first step if you're considering eventually transitioning to full-on blonde in the future.

Dusty Pink Blend

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Think of this as rose gold's cooler older sister—no warm tones here, but the pop of color keeps things interesting and trendy. This shade blends best with more naturally ashy brunettes, whereas warmer brown hair is better suited for a rosier tone.