Honey brown hair is a light brunette color with hints of warm or golden blonde tones. It’s a great way to introduce summer-inspired warmth to your locks without changing the base color.
Here are a few tips from Oregon-based stylist Lauralee Olson. Ladies, take note!
💡 Key Things to Know First
- For women with an opposite shade, ask for reverse partial balayage. Lifting the color will be easy if you decide to go lighter again. And surely, it’s easier to add warm tones throughout if you want more depth.
- Check your finances and lifestyle to see whether 6-8 week maintenance is possible. If not, choose face-framing highlights (money pieces) or partial balayage.
- Regular trims are one of the best ways to keep hair looking healthy.
- Get toners between color services to make your hair shinier and stronger.
- Wash your hair no more than two times a week. Rinse it in the shower if needed, just no shampoo.
- The recommended products are MilkShake Color Maintainer Shampoo and Conditioner to hydrate hair and prevent color fading; ColorLOKK Complex to prolong the color; and Bocca Velvet Smooth Blowdry styling balm to create a flawless, smooth, frizz-free shine.
Enjoy these images of honey brown hair color ideas and breathe life back into your locks!
#1: Caramel Honey Brown with Naturally Curly Hair
Honey brown curls are super desirable when you’re craving dimension and texture at the same time. Remember to always moisturize your highlighted natural curls. These honey-colored curls can dry your hair out if not properly taken care of.
#2 Reddish Brown to Honey Brown Ombre with Loose Curls
This shade of auburn brown with highlights offers a mixture of honey and golden brown colors to show off its warm undertones that complement tan skin well. This golden ombre color melt will make you an outdoor woman because you’ll want to show off its fiery-ness under the sun.
#3 Sunset Glow Honey Brown Layers
This long-layered cut, graced with a sunset glow of honey-brown hues, exemplifies an effortless summer vibe. Its seamless color transition from a rich brown to lighter, sun-kissed honey on the ends creates an illusion of depth and volume, perfect for adding some lightness to your style without a full-color transformation. Ideal for medium to thick hair, the subtle wave at the ends lends a soft, feminine feel, suitable for casual and formal looks.
#4 Long Hair with Hazelnut Honey Highlights
It’s such a super pretty hairstyle if you have long chocolate-colored hair with accents of honey! Add some waves and delicate honey highlights on brown hair at the end to add softness and give you a more dramatic look.
#5: Honey Brown Mix
A honey brown hair color incorporates multiple warm blonde and brown tones. Honey brown hair dye is easy to maintain if you already have brown hair. A trip to the salon two to three times a year to freshen the highlights is all you’ll need.
#6: Honey Brown Balayage
Honey brown balayaged hair is a beautiful blend of golden blonde and brown! This blend may be most flattering to lighter-medium skin tones. Honey brunette hair can be touched up every 3-4 months, depending on your preference for the grown-out look.
#7: Honey Blonde Highlights on Brown Hair
Honey blonde highlights on brown hair are a subtle yet noticeable way to transition into going blonde. This is a great way not fully to change the color scheme of your hair but also to add some depth. This is an ideal color scheme for medium skin tones. The advantage of a thicker highlight is that when grown out, it can look similar to a balayage.
#8: Honey Brown Highlights on Black Hair
Honey brown highlights on black hair is a great look for colder weather but also a great way to lighten up your face and add movement to your dark locks. Leaving black shows depth and so much warmth in the hair. Honey brown highlights are very low-maintenance on black hair.
#9: Medium Honey Brown
Medium honey brown is a mixture of medium brown with a honey or golden undertone.
The best way to get medium honey brown is to start with a brown base and add golden blonde highlights.
This is a beautiful shade to enrich and brighten light-medium skin tones.
#10: Long Honey Brown Hair
Long honey brown hair typically incorporates some combination of a dark base and a variation of a golden blonde/brown. This is a perfect display of a honey ombré. This type of honey balayage requires the least amount of upkeep. The transition from medium brown into honey brown and down into a sun-kissed honey blonde is perfect for the girl wanting that beach-kissed hair look!
#11: Golden Bronde
Golden bronde is a subtle mix between a golden/honey brown and a golden/honey blonde. This creates a very noticeable yet natural look in the hair. Almost as though you sat in the sun for a day!
#12: Honey Brown Almond Highlights
“These honey highlights on brown hair don’t turn your hair color upside down but add just enough extra color to make it unique. There’s a natural complexion combined with the highlights, making it able to enhance any skin tone,” explains hairstylist and salon owner Mylena Vittori of Switzerland.
Vittori believes this honey-brown hair dye is perfect for women with naturally brown hair. The hair color is mostly the same, but it still exudes glamour.
“It also suits anyone with a warm color type,” she notes. “Should these brown hair colors wash out after a while, refresh it with a shiny tint.”
#13: Natural Light Honey Hair Color
Mesmerize everyone with this natural-looking hair with subtle light honey brown hair highlights! Wearing a light honey hue is a proven way to make medium-thick hair look dimensional and full of volume.
#14: Dark Honey Brown Hair with a Face-Framing Middle Part
The dark brown with lighter honey brown hair highlights along the bangs are gorgeous. Mimic this stunning honey-colored look by pairing a long, layered bob with a middle part for an extra modern look and face-framing edge.
#15: Medium-Length Honey Brown Butterscotch
Naturally dark to medium hair would achieve this sweet honey brown hair inspired butterscotch beautifully. A medium-length haircut is just enough to show off this smooth transition if you don’t want the upkeep that long hair needs.
#16: Cinnamon Red with Streaks of Honey Brown
You can take your tresses to the next level when you mix the right hair colors, especially the top three trendiest ones of all time—brown, blonde, and red. Play with the many dimensions and styling ways to use this hairstyle on honey-toned red hair.
#17: Honey Brown Toffee on Wavy Hair
A marvelous way of getting lightened for the summer – a warm, beautiful, multi-tonal honey brown hair balayage. It’s super effective if you want to keep your darker, long hair yet have the illusion of a light one. A honey-hued tone plus golden-hued tones are summer’s best friend.
#18: Mocha with Honey Brown
A subtle way to punch up your medium brown hair is by getting honey brown streaks. These honey brown waves give you that effortless dimension and depth your natural hair needs.
#19: Straight Hair with Ashy Honey Brown Highlights
These adorable ashy honey brown hair highlights painted on straight black hair make the whole hairstyle pop out with the dimension it offers. Style these honey-colored locks with a center part perfect for faces with symmetrical sides.
#20: Short Hair with Golden Honey Brown
“This is a natural, golden honey brown hair color with natural highlights for warm, golden skin. If you have thick hair, keep the sides and nape area short,” says hairstylist Niki Germain of Texas.
If you want this honey hair color, Germain says you need the personality and lifestyle for this color and haircut to make you feel good.
#21: Soft Brown with Honey Balayage
This honey balayage brown is a free hand-painted dimensional and textured balayage. It creates movement with color placement.
The platinum blonde and chocolate brown hair tones were hand-painted next to each other to make the lightness from the blonde pop and give it a nice honey brown hair color. When the hair moves, the dark accentuates the blonde and creates that beautifully textured movement.
Balayage and freehand hair painting have become very popular because they give women the ability to have low-maintenance blonde hair. Since the roots of the hair are left on their natural tone, it allows you to wait several weeks before getting a touch-up.
#22: Gorgeous Copper Honey Brown Hue
This dimensional honey brown color transitions from a darker copper at the roots to a lighter copper through the ends, emphasizing the long layered cut for a soft and natural effect. In sunlight, the color almost looks golden blonde. This luscious hue works with most hair types and goes well with light and clear skin tones with a golden or peach undertone. For women who consider going with copper and honey shades, it’s important to use a shampoo that is gentle on the color-treated hair and protects it against fading.
#23: Deep Brown with Honey Caramel Highlights
“This is a rich and warm bronde balayage just like Jennifer Lopez’s honey highlights on dark brown hair,” explains senior stylist Jamie Pierce-Elwell of Santa Monica, CA.
She says, “The combination of cool and warm tones gives it so much dimension. We love color and balayage with some natural deeper tones towards the mid-lengths and ends. The grow-out on that can be harder to maintain and a lot harder on the hair’s health.”
When you look at honey brown hair colour, you can picture milk chocolate mixed with suede and caramel to bring out a nice light brown hair tone and streaks of bright blonde color.
These shades, or ones with similar placement, are great for women who want dimension in their hair. Because some depth was maintained, Pierce-Elwell says the grow-out is softer. “You’ll only need to get highlights 2-4 times a year, but you’ll need your base color every five weeks.”
These honey brown highlights work on every kind of face shape. The stylist needs to consider that placing lighter pieces next to the widest parts of a face can make that area seem wider, so pay attention to where the brightness falls.
#24: Chestnut Brown with Honey Balayage Highlights
This chestnut and honey-colored hair has the perfect tone for a brunette looking to go a little lighter but still wants to keep it natural. It was created by hairstylist Michelle Daly of Wayne, PA.
“A full head of balayage highlights was done to create this color of fresh honey,” she describes. “Balayage is an easy way to achieve warmer honey brown highlights on a darker base.”
Also, the grow-out is so soft that you only retouch the balayage three times a year! Daly recommends you do a glaze toner a couple of times in between. “This golden brunette hair is about as low-maintenance as it gets and budget-friendly!”
Buy professional hair care products. If you’re spending $200 on your color services, spend a little more on shampoo to maintain that beautiful color!
#25: Warm Honey-Colored Blunt Bob Cut
This honey-colored hair is gorgeous. If you love a warm latte, these honey brown tones are for you. As you can see in the photo, this cut and color appear simple but have so much going on. There’s a dimension in the tones, and the cut is bold.
#26: Dark Brown to Honey Brown Ombre
This low-maintenance honey brown ombre look was created by hairstylist Olivia Hyska of Sturgis, MI. “The honey brown strands and caramel highlights flow nicely with a natural base color. This color has lots of options for hairstyles, but the best is a soft wave,” she notes.
For women who are considering this kind of hair color, Hyska wants you to know you won’t get that harsh demarcation line, so you’ll only need a few color appointments.
“This is a good introduction if you want to go lighter, especially for brunettes,” she adds. “A glaze is a great in-between service to freshen up the color.”
Use a color-safe hydrating shampoo and conditioner. Heat protection is also very important for those lightened ends.
#27: Honey Brown Highlights on Dark Hair
These are honey blonde highlights on dark brown hair. You get the elements of being blonde through highlights and balayage while still playing off the natural color.
“The beauty of this honey blonde hair color is its ability to be low-maintenance, which makes it work for almost anyone,” says stylist Amber Young of Encinitas, CA.
Young believes the ideal woman for this dark honey brown hair would want to keep her natural level 4-6 base color and enhance it with some highlighting. It’s important to start with strong, healthy hair that can withstand the lightening process.
“Dark hair with honey-brown hair color does require some TLC at home because of the lightning,” says Young. “You should be using salon-grade products at home to maintain the integrity of the hair. A Sulfate-free shampoo, a moisturizing conditioner, a heat protectant spray, and a nourishing oil are all staples for a look like this. Washing only two to three times per week is also crucial to maintaining health and vibrancy.”
#28: Golden Brown Shoulder-Length Hair
“This honey balayage on brown hair shows off how pretty and wearable a warm blonde highlight can be after a medium brunette start,” says hairstylist Luis Moreno of Boston, MA. “No need to worry about looking brassy when you use colors that work together to create an overall nice and natural-looking honey golden brown hair color.”
“A balayage hand painting technique was used to create this sun-kissed, natural highlighted brunette shade,” notes Moreno.
As far as products, Moreno says that as long as you use a good moisturizing conditioner, a color-safe shampoo, and maybe some conditioning treatments to maintain the health and shine of your hair, you can keep a nice honey blonde brown. Try JBeverlyHills color and styling products because they keep honey-colored hair vibrant.
#29: Lob with Honey Brown Highlights
This is a lob with copper/honey brown hair highlights created by stylist and color specialist Caitlin Boehm of San Francisco, CA. “The dimension of the color has a melted effect from top to bottom,” she describes.
A honey-colored hue is a nice option for women with medium to dark brown hair that wants the dimension that highlights give but don’t want mega-blonde hair. Highlights can go from bright blonde to platinum blonde, depending on the base color.
“Ask your colorist to focus on coloring the mid-lengths and ends so you can go months and months without having to keep up with it,” says Boehm. “It’s always important to use the color-safe shampoo recommended by your stylist to maintain brown hair with honey highlights.”
#30: Honey Brown Hair Balayage
This balayage honey brown hair was created by stylist Ashley Keippel of Vernon Hills, IL. She says, “It goes from subtle honey to super light ends. Don’t you love the transition of the hair?”
The products Keippel recommends to maintain this light honey hue would be Redken color-safe shampoo and conditioner and an at-home conditioner.
“Balayage is ideal for women who want little upkeep. Anyone can wear this because it can be a subtle service and transition. This particular color looks best on a pink skin tone,” she adds.
Many younger women want this brown hair color with highlights simply because they don’t always want to have their hair colored. Visit the salon at least six to eight weeks after the service for a glaze because it is a semi-permanent color.
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