Light brown is an eye-catching hue that works beautifully for anyone seeking a change. Its classic yet flattering shade makes for stylish hair all year long. However, dyeing your hair can be damaging. Bleaching is particularly detrimental and can strip strands of essential nutrients.
Shades
Choose the ideal shade of brown hair depending on your tone and complexion; for instance, those with cool undertones should consider dark chocolate, chestnut, and mushroom shades as options. Caramel with blonde highlights and golden brown can also work beautifully if your skin has warm undertones. Or try something bolder, such as mahogany; its vibrant shade brings attention to anyone with blue, green, or hazel eyes. Light ash brown shades offer another great way to go lighter without losing your brunette hues. This shade creates a gentle yet natural-looking balayage style effect; use high-quality dye such as Schwarzkopf’s dpHUE Gloss that nourishes and colors your strands for beautiful, lasting results.
Undertones
Warm brown hair with golden highlights adds a warm, radiant glow that softens facial features and complements every complexion. Ask your colorist for this stunning hue to accentuate the curls on your head or create subtle contrast through deep side parting and loose locks. Cool-toned ash brown provides a light neutral shade that complements warm and cool skin tones, making it the ideal choice if your dark brown hair color is too warm or to cancel out warm roots. If you have fair skin, select level 4 shades with less black for the lightest hues that won’t appear harsh against your complexion. A vein test on your wrist is another good way to determine if a color will work with the undertones of your face; green veins indicate warm undertones, while blue ones point toward cool ones; neutral veins mean there is some variation between warm and cool undertones present in your complexion.
Bleaching
Bleaching hair involves breaking down melanin pigments to lighten strands. Without getting too technical, bleach, when combined with peroxide, opens the cuticle and initiates the lightening process – breaking down black and brown pigments first as they are dense; when these have been broken down further, red and yellow hues will begin lifting from their root deposits and make your tresses lighter than before. Before bleaching your hair, it’s essential that a strand test be conducted, as overprocessed and damaged hair is never attractive. Also, try only bleaching the roots, as this will be less damaging than highlighting all over. Be sure to follow all instructions on your bleach bottle – leaving too long can result in irreparable damage!
Box Dye
Box dyes offer a quick and convenient way to lighten brunette hair at home, yet can often result in more uneven, splotchy results than salon-grade dyes due to non-uniform mixing of colorant with the developer as well as their inability to consider hair texture, shade, or condition when formulating their formulas. Non-professionals may also need help applying bleach and color correctly, leading to an uneven saturation that leaves some areas with inky or brassy hues. Clients can get into serious difficulty when performing home coloring themselves. With proper care, clients could avoidorange or red pigments behind or, worse yet, add too much bleach – issues that would require professional stylists’ intervention to resolve.
Natural Options
Bleach can be used to lighten hair, but other natural options are much safer and offer just as much lightening potential. Both brunettes and blondes should know about these alternatives for lightening their locks. Strong black tea or herbal hair dye containing henna or rhassoul can help you achieve an earthy-toned dark to light brown shade without potentially hazardous chemicals. Be sure to test all DIY products on a small section of hair before applying! If you want a striking and on-trend hair color, coppery rose may be just what’s needed to keep up with fashion. This warm tone works beautifully on darker roots with lighter ends for an eye-catching balayage style, suitable for any hair texture and minimal maintenance requirements – ask your stylist for golden brown highlights!
