Brown Hair With Blonde Highlights: 45 Ways to Wear the Color

Chestnut to Golden Blonde

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

Rather than dying hair darker and adding highlights, the look is best for those who already have brown hair. "Typically, the most flattering [color] would be adding blonde to your already brunette hair," says Richards.

A Bunch of Blonde

If the question is, "Has Rihanna worn this hair color and looked good in it?" the answer is always "Yes, of course." Here she is rocking heavy blonde highlights on top of her natural dark roots.

Tawny Brown

Cleo Wade's tawny-brown curls are highlighted with a touch of honey blonde around her face and at the ends of her hair. While bronde "can really work for any texture," says Papanikolas, "it usually looks the best with the hair has a bit of a wave, so that you can see the textures and swirls of colors."

Face-Framing Highlights

Beyoncé's brown hair is accented with blonde highlights framing her face. Throw some loose waves into the mix, and this looks 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.

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 ($199) for a similar effect.

Dark Roots With Ash-Blonde Highlights

With dark brown roots and ash-blonde highlights, Ciara's balayage is perfection. Her long, loose waves have a beachy vibe that still feels elegant on the red carpet.

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.

Shock of 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.

Multi-Dimensional Balayage

Heidi Klum's balayage blonde highlights and long, soft layers give her hair so much dimension. The deep side part adds extra drama.

Ash Blonde With Brown Base

Jennifer Lopez's blunt lob is so vibrant with ample ash-blonde highlights. To get smooth, sleek locks like J.Lo, try Moroccanoil Smoothing Lotion ($34).

Golden Bronde

Drew Barrymore's relaxed, wavy texture and golden bronde highlights make her the original trendsetter for a boho, beachy vibe.

Two-Toned

Beyoncé has almost always worn blonde and brown hair, which looks so good against her caramel complexion.

Beachy Blonde

Giselle Bündchen's wavy, un-polished look is the gold standard for casual (yet chic) looks that translate from daytime to evening.

Golden Blonde-Meets-Brown

Chrissy Teigen looks dreamy with her golden-blonde and brown highlights.

Dip-Dyed

Vanessa Hudgens's raven hair is dip-dyed a dark bronde that complements her skin tone and deep brown eyes.

Toffee Highlights

Jourdan Dunn is one of our favorite hair chameleons. The supermodel has experimented with several hair colors, but the gentle ombré on her chin-length bob 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.

Gold Bangs

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 is Jessica Alba's signature look, and it's not hard to see why.

Face-Framing Golden Blonde

Rapper Latto's natural curls feature a golden blonde ombré that adds a warm, glowing effect around her face.

Classic Sleek Blonde

Rosie Huntington Whiteley is flawless with this sleek style that shows the symmetry of her blonde highlights.

Bronzey Blonde With Raven Base

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

Grown-Out Highlights

Miley Cyrus' tight, sleek high-ponytail shows the dimension of her blonde highlights. This is a great look for those who need a touch-up, as it pulls roots away from the face.

Speaking of touch-ups, your natural shade will impact how often you need to visit the salon. "If you are naturally light brown, then getting the bronde touched up about every three months with highlights should be sufficient," says Papanikolas.

Peekaboo Blonde

Bits of blonde peek out from under and through Niecy Nash's darker highlights, adding brightness without being obvious.

Earthy Blonde Highlights

Elizabeth Olsen's light brown hair with subtle blonde highlights, paired with her green eyes, is the perfect balance of Earth tones.

Champagne Blonde

Jennifer Hudson's sleek and straight hairstyle with strategically placed champagne highlights offers a more subtle example of this trend.

Deep Brown With Tanned Blonde Highlights

Mandy Moore's golden ombré gives her a highly-coveted beachy look. If you're looking for the same weightless waves, add a spritz of Ouai Wave Spray ($26).

Sandy Highlights

Laverne Cox's wavy updo is peppered with sandy blonde highlights, adding a warmth to her beautiful brunette locks.

Buttery Blonde

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

Honey Blonde Ends

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

Glowing Bronze Highlights With Brunette Base

Becky G's balayage adds a bronzed glow to her brunette locks, complementing her glowing skin and brown cat-eye.

Caramel Balayage

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.

Coffee Base With Milky Highlights

Ashley Tisdale's cool-toned ombré looks like when you add a splash of milk to black coffee and color transitions from hickory to almond.

Blonde Babylights

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

Butterscotch Blonde

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

Deep Brunette with Balayage

Rashida Jones is often rocking a deep brunette or chestnut hue, so these shiny balayage 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 totally cohesive.

Light Blonde Allover Highlights

Tyra Banks is the queen of caramel highlights. Her long, golden ringlets are gorgeously contrasted with her smoky eyes.