Honey brown hair—the sister of honey blonde hair and light brown hair—is a warm golden brunette that can be crafted with varying brightness and depth, adding dimension and life to the hair. Celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, and Beyoncé have all fallen for natural, sun-kissed shades in the past, as the look is super customizable—think highlights, balayage, and brown ombré.
Honey gives the color warmth and richness, Ben Matat at Mure Salon says. Because of this, there will often be a red or orange undertone to the hair. “We have to make sure that the client understands that, because when they go out in the sun, or when they see it in the light, they may see some red pigmentation or orange pigmentation or yellow pigmentation,” he adds. “They have to make sure that they are okay with that.”
Christine Silverman at Ramirez Tran Salon personally believes that warm hair tones look good on just about everyone, and “the level of warmth is what you would want to tweak in accordance with skin tone—some people can carry off more warmth than others depending on levels of red or pink undertones in the skin.”
To get the look, they “paint highlights throughout the client’s hair to add dimension and overlay a shine-infusing gloss to meld the lighter and darker canvas.”
Whether it’s because it looks bright and glowing or because it brings natural-looking warmth to the hair, we’re convinced that this honey color is the most photogenic. Keep scrolling to see 23 of the best honey-brown hair shades.
Meet the Experts
- Christine Silverman is a professional hairstylist and colorist based in Los Angeles.
- Ben Matat is a professional hairstylist at Mure Salon in New York City.