44 Brown Hair With Blonde Highlights Ideas to Show to Your Colorist (2024)

• Tiffanie Richards is a master colorist and blonde expert based at New York City's Nunzio Saviano Salon.

• George Papanikolas is a celebrity stylist and colorist for MATRIX.

Chestnut to Golden Blonde

Hailey Bieber is a showstopper with this hair color. Her tousled locks start with a deep chestnut brown color at the roots, flowing out to a golden blonde mid-length all the way to the ends.

Blonde With Dark Roots

With piecey fringe, Rihanna showcases the versatility of the blend. Here she is rocking heavy blonde highlights on top of her natural dark roots for tons of depth in an otherwise short coif.

Dimensional Highlights

Beyoncé's brown curls are accented with blonde highlights that add dimension to the tightly coiled texture. Throw a spunky half-up 'do into the mix and this look feels unfussy yet polished.

But leave a hue like this to the professionals. "I truly wouldn’t recommend attempting this or any look involving highlights at home," says Richards. "Something like this can go very wrong because brunette hair tends to pull very orange/yellow tones."

Caramel Highlights

Sofía Vergara's waterfall locks are highlighted throughout with a warm caramel blonde. Her hair looks thick, healthy, and lustrous. "If you have enough of your natural brunette mixed in with the right shade of blonde, it's extremely flattering on anyone," notes Richards.

Brown to Golden Ombré

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes looks absolutely sensational in this bronde shade. Her bouncy ponytail shifts from a brown to golden bronde ombré that beautifully catches the light.

Dark Brown Roots With Golden Blonde Ombré

This ombré look on Leona Lewis goes from dark brown to golden blonde. We love that the ash blonde highlights are mirrored in her shimmery eye shadow.

Auburn With Highlights and Lowlights

Kate Beckinsale's lovely shade of auburn comes courtesy of a blend of highlights and lowlights. Reach for Sachajuan Shine Serum ($36) to replicate that shine.

Bronzed Highlights

Jamie Chung's bronzed bronde highlights frame her face and flow to the ends of her hair. We love the dramatic contrast of this look.

Undulating Brown-Blonde

When she's not platinum blonde, Khloé Kardashian wears an undulating brown-blonde shade with long, loose waves. Try using the Beachwaver Pro ($229) for a similar effect.

Dark Roots With Ash Blonde Highlights

With dark brown roots and ash blonde highlights, Ciara's balayage is perfection. Her defined curls have a sun-kissed beachy vibe that truly brightens up her face.

Cool-Toned Highlights

Nikki Reed's cool-toned bronde balayage highlights are subtle and gorgeous all at once. We love how they match the exact color of her eyes.

Auburn Highlights

Taraji P. Henson's warm auburn highlights and natural waves feel low maintenance in the best way possible. The asymmetrical style has avant-garde energy that's perfect for the red carpet or a nighttime event.

Sun-Kissed Ombré

Alessandra Ambrosio's sun-kissed ombré locks look great when worn stick-straight, as seen in this red-carpet appearance.

Highlighted Ringlets

Move over, Shirley Temple. Jaz Sinclair's playful curls demonstrate how blonde highlights can add dimension and shape to natural hair texture.

Ash Blonde With Brown Base

Jennifer Lopez's cascading waves are so vibrant with ample ash blonde highlights. To get smooth, glossy locks like JLo, try Moroccanoil Smoothing Lotion ($36).

Golden Bronde

Drew Barrymore's relaxed, wavy texture and golden bronde highlights make her the original trendsetter for a boho, beachy vibe. Try a sea salt spray to land her effortless waves.

Bronde Sombre

Giselle Bündchen's bronde sombré 'do is the gold standard for casual (yet chic) looks that translate from daytime to evening. Its warm gold tones work to complement her bronzed complexion.

Subtle Blonde-Meets-Brown

Chrissy Teigen looks dreamy with her oh-so subtle blonde and brown highlights. Her lengthy mane and waves really bring out the color(s) to full effect.

Dip-Dyed Bronde

Vanessa Hudgens brightens her raven hair by dip-dying it dark bronde. Both colors complement her skin tone and her deep brown eyes.

Toffee Highlights

Jourdan Dunn is one of our favorite hair chameleons. The supermodel has experimented with several hair colors, but this toffee color with its collarbone-grazing length has our hearts.

Caramel Bronde Highlights

We love this wavy look on Shay Mitchell, expertly showcasing her caramel bronde highlights, which you can spot ever-so-subtly painted throughout the bottom-half of her locks.

Boho Bronde

Halle Berry's honey blonde highlights and shag offer a casual—but still chic—variation on the standard boho blonde.

Chestnut With Blonde Ombré

Chestnut hair with honey blonde ombré highlights flatters Jessica Alba's olive-toned complexion. The flipped-out ends are very '90s—or '60s—(depending on who's asking) and add a nice touch.

Golden Blonde Gradient

Rapper Latto's natural curls feature a golden blonde ombré that adds a warm, glowing effect. It also works to create dimension and define her curls, too.

Dirty to Golden Blonde

Rosie Huntington Whiteley's blonde mane is flawless in this cascading style that transitions from dirty blonde roots to golden mids and ends.

Bronzey Blonde With Raven Base

Serena Williams's long, spiraled locks are giving us goddess vibes. The gradience from her deep raven hue to a bronzey blonde complements her glowing skin.

Chunky Highlights and Lowlights

Miley Cyrus's crimped style shows the radical contrast of her blonde highlights. The bright blonde is juxtaposed against chunky lowlights of dark brown for the epitome of a retro rocker 'do.

Caramel Blonde

Caramel highlights add brightness to Niecy Nash's dark base color for a radiant finish. Meanwhile, her loose curls and glossy red lips turn up the glam factor.

Earthy Blonde Highlights

After color that looks natural? Take a page out of Elizabeth Olsen's book. Her light brown hair with subtle blonde highlights, paired with her green eyes, is the perfect balance of Earth tones.

Streaky Blonde

Jennifer Hudson's sleek and straight hairstyle with strategically placed champagne highlights is a subtle take on the chunky highlights trend—and we're here for it.

Deep Brown With Tan Highlights

Mandy Moore's dark brown base with tan highlights creates a highly coveted blend. If you're looking for the same weightless waves, add a spritz of Ouai Wave Spray ($28).

Sandy Highlights

Laverne Cox's loose updo flows into sandy blonde highlights, adding warmth to her beautiful brunette locks. The dark roots keep with the overall effortless vibe.

Buttery Blonde

We love Emilia Clarke as both a down-to-earth brunette (her natural hair hue) and a platinum-haired queen. Here, she adds some warm blonde highlights throughout her short and shaggy locks.

Auburn Honey Highlights

Lizzo's brunette waves are highlighted from the mid-lengths down with a glowing auburn honey color. It looks gorgeous, and that's a truth that doesn't hurt.

Face-Framing Bronze

Becky G's balayage adds a bronzed glow to her brunette locks. Meanwhile, the face-framing highlights also work to brighten her complexion.

Tawny Brown

Zendaya's coffee-colored base is already flush with natural tawny undertones. It's the perfect canvas for those subtle auburn touches to the mid-length and ends, which harmonize beautifully.

Dark Base With Creamy Highlights

Ashley Tisdale's cool-toned ombré melts from hickory to almond. It kind of resembles the color transition that happens when you add a splash of milk to black coffee—just saying.

Blonde Babylights

We love the subtlety of America Ferrera's delicate blonde babylights framing her face. They help illuminate her complexion without being too obvious.

Butterscotch Blonde

Jennifer Garner is a vision with butterscotch blonde highlights and long face-framing layers. We love how her volume creates relaxed yet sculpted waves.

Deep Brunette With Honey Brown Highlights

Rashida Jones is often sporting a deep brunette or chestnut hue, so these luminous honey brown highlights are a delightful surprise.

Brunette-to-Honey-to-Ash Blonde

Behati Prinsloo's ombré transitions from her brunette roots to honey bronde and ends in a light ash blonde. The look feels at once eclectic and also totally cohesive.

Glistening Bronde

Tyra Banks's long, brushed-out bronde mane is a mood. Her caramel ringlets pair perfectly with her skin's warm undertones.

Brown-to-Caramel Transition

There's a lot going on with Meagan Good's hair, and all of it (unsurprisingly) good. You can see the brown-to-caramel color play out in different styles and textures, from her dreads to her loose braid to her undercut.

Caramel Balayage

With her hair chameleon tendencies, it should be of no surprise that Zendaya made our list twice. If anyone can pull off a bowl cut with caramel balayage, it's Zendaya. This tousled, layered look feels chic and a bit edgy, and we absolutely love it.