How to Get Warm Brown Hair | John Frieda (2024)

Ready to add some warmth to your hair color? The most flattering shade of warm brown starts with your complexion. If you have:

1. Cool, Fair Skin: Choose a sandy brown or beige-color highlight to warm up your look while complementing your light eyes and complexion.


2. Warm, Fair Skin: Warm caramel and golden brown shades look stunning on those with peachy, golden undertones and warm eyes.


3. Neutral, Fair Skin: A balanced cocoa shade with some buttery highlights contrast beautifully with fair-skinned ladies rocking baby blues.


4. Cool, Medium Skin: Go for a dark chocolate brown that’ll work well with your brown or hazel eyes.


5. Warm, Medium Skin: Golden butterscotch and auburn tones can help give your warm, medium complexion a healthy glow.


6. Neutral, Medium Skin: A rich, glossy medium brown shade can add some warmth to neutral skin and eyes.


7. Cool, Dark Skin: A plum brown ombre or balayage looks awesome on dark, cool-skinned ladies, adding a touch of warmth to cool tones.


8. Warm, Dark Skin: Deep mahogany and toffee colors are extremely flattering on dark, warm complected gals.


9. Neutral, Dark Skin: Rich, warm caramel highlights look gorgeous with this skin tone.

Whether your hair is naturally a warm brown shade or you’ve added a warm balayage, highlight or ombre to your style, warm brown hair is prone to brassiness. Sun exposure, color fading, heat damage, and other factors can strip your hair of its depth and shine, leaving it dull and brassy-looking. So how do you keep your warm brown hair color shiny, fresh and vibrant? Here are a few of our top tips.

1. Counteract brassiness with a blue shampoo and conditioner. Because orange is opposite blue on the color wheel, the blue pigment in blue shampoos and conditioners cancel out brassy orange tones in warm brown hair. Wash and condition with this duo once or twice a week to keep brassiness at bay.


2. Protect your locks from sun exposure. Sun exposure has a natural bleaching effect on hair. Spending too much time in the sun can cause unflattering brassy red and orange tones to come out in warm brown hair. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your hair if you plan to spend the day in the sun.


3. Limit heat styling. Blow-drying and heat-styling your hair can dry out your locks, dulling shine and revealing brassy undertones. Limit heat by air-drying and styling your strands with a styling spray instead. Use a heat-protecting spray whenever you do blow dry and flat iron your hair.


4. Deep condition weekly. For color-treated warm brown hair, a color-safe hair mask can help maintain your color and give it a more luminous look.


5. Refresh your color with a gloss treatment. If your warm ombre or highlights are looking less than vibrant, try a color-refreshing gloss treatment to refresh your color between salon visits. A gloss treatment will replenish lost tones in your warm brown hair color while eliminating brassiness.