Things Every Brunette Should Know About Hair Color

For example, you can deepen brunette hair into a rich chocolate. You also have the options to add in golden highlights for the "bronde" look, which is brown hair that's almost blonde. When you think of highlights, an image of a blonde woman likely comes to mind. However, brunettes can benefit from highlights just as much as blondes. A sweep of color around your face, known as "face-framing highlights" in the industry, can be flattering. Your colorist may also opt to add dimension to your hair via highlights and lowlights. And, if you want to follow the ombre trend, you have the perfect hair. It's easy to add a gorgeous gradient that starts dark at the roots and gently gets lighter through the shaft to a golden hue at the tips.

Try Balayage

Balayage is also a great technique for touches of color and many colorists are now quite skilled in it. It's an alternative to the typical foil highlights, which can look a little blocky on brunettes. The beauty in balayage (which is French for "sweeping") is that the color is painted on hair so it looks more natural.

What Is Balayage?

A freehand technique where highlights are applied by hand rather than using traditional foils for a more natural, sun-kissed look.

Bring Inspo to the Salon

Reading a book or magazine about hair color can simply be too confusing. It won't be long before you realize that it's a science to figure out your skin undertones and how that translates to your most flattering hair colors. So forget the jargon and keep it simple. A better use of your time is to instead find photos of hair color that you're drawn to, and leave it up to a professional to get that look.

Whether it's US Weekly, Vogue, or any other fashion or celebrity magazine, you'll find tons of inspiration for your brunette tresses. When it's time for a change, scour the magazines for hair that you love. Cut out any appealing photos and bring them with you to a consultation with your colorist. This will help them get an idea of what you are attracted to; the colorist can then determine the best look for you based on your skin tone, the natural color of your hair, and even your haircut.

When you're going for a dramatic change, it's often recommended to get your haircut before you get it colored. This allows your colorist to adapt the color so it's a perfect complement to your cut.

DIY Your Color

The nice thing about brown hair is that you can easily do your color at home. If you're on a budget or don't want to hit the salon every four weeks for touch- ups, a boxed color might be your best bet. DIY hair color has come a long way and even some of the top beauty editors admit to coloring their own hair.

You can do your own single-process, give yourself highlights, and even touch up roots on your own. The main rule of thumb with at-home hair coloring is to never go more than two shades lighter than your natural shade. The problem with boxed hair color is that you are a bit limited as to what you can do. A pro can layer your color and give you more complicated lowlights and highlights with added brightness around your face.

Gray hair is more obvious on brunettes than blondes, so unless you like the natural look (and more and more people these days do), you'll want to cover up your grays as they come in. Gray hair can be high maintenance and needs to be touched up every four weeks or so. For that reason, many women with grays choose to do their own color. If you choose to cover your grays at home, you can catch any new growth that comes in at the crown, the hairline, and your natural part. Quite simply, this is done by dipping a toothbrush in hair color and literally "brushing" the new growth.

Keep it Healthy

The healthier your hair, the longer it will keep its color. Whether you're going to the salon or planning a DIY color job, you'll want to prep your hair for the new color. Four or five days before you color, slather on a deep conditioning treatment like Briogeo's Don't Despair, Repair ($36). The strands will be less porous, and will be able to absorb the dye more evenly. If you don't want to invest in any fancy product, consider conditioning your hair with extra virgin coconut oil. Also, keep in mind that the process of going from dark to light can cause more damage than if you were to go from light to dark. If your hair is brittle or super dry, reconsider getting your hair colored until your hair is healthier.

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