Beauty Hair 16 Brown Hair and Caramel Highlight Looks Inspired By Our Favorite Celebs Plus, colorists let us in on how to best pull of this trending shade. By Erin Lukas, Erin Lukas Erin is a Brooklyn-based beauty editor. She covers all facets of beauty. InStyle's editorial guidelines Victoria Moorhouse, Victoria Moorhouse Victoria Moorhouse is a writer, editor, and consultant based in Brooklyn, New York who focuses on beauty, fitness, and health. Victoria was previously the Senior Beauty Editor at InStyle.com and a Senior Editor at POPSUGAR. Her work can also be found in notable publications such as Shape.com, The Zoe Report, Forbes.com, and Well+Good. She graduated from The College of New Jersey with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. InStyle's editorial guidelines and Natalie Arroyo Camacho Updated on April 15, 2024 @ 09:47AM Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Theo Wargo / WireImage / Getty Images If you have been researching "highlight hair pictures" on your quest for summer hair inspiration, look no further. The perfect way to go lighter for summer without going full-on blonde, and keep your status as a brunette, is by asking your colorist for caramel highlights. Warm caramel also happens to be one of the most flattering (and popular) highlight shades for dark brown hair. Caramel highlights on dark brown hair can be achieved through hand-painted balayage or foils to lighten the base subtly. When the color is evenly distributed and placed in the right areas, it should mimic what the sun does naturally: give the hair a more dimensional look. To find out more, we spoke to stylists Sophia Flores and Sierra Kener who let us in on their best tips for achieving and maintaining this hair color. Meet the expert Sophia Flores is a hairstylist and colorist at Salon Benjamin. She is based in Los Angeles. Sierra Kener is a celebrity hairstylist at Los Angeles salon Nine Zero One. She is also an ambassador for haircare brand #Mydentity. Keep reading for our expert-approved guide to getting brown hair with caramel highlights. 01 of 16 Contrasting Caramel Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images To really show off your dark and light hair color, a messy braid like Ciara's will do the trick. Her fishtail braid is neat and shows a stark contrast in hair color, but her loose pieces blend her caramel highlights beautifully. 02 of 16 Full-On Caramel Getty Images Hannah Jeter's caramel color begins at the top of her head but gains momentum closer to her tips for a full-on light caramel to blonde moment. According to Flores, this is done through a balayage technique. "The lighter pieces look a bit thicker than if you were to do highlights," she says. 03 of 16 Golden Copper Balayage Jean-Baptiste Lacroix / Getty Images Taraji P. Henson adds caramel highlights to her dark brown curls to create an ombré effect. Kener calls this a rooted golden copper balayage and says the look is good for people with warm skin tones. Kener suggests getting this color by first toning with #Mydentity Permanent 7NB from the brand's warm series and following that up with the Permanent Naked Glow 9. 04 of 16 Dimensional Chocolate Copper Getty Images Jasmine Tookes's caramel highlights begin a few inches away from her hairline, growing lighter as they reach the tips. Kener dubs this shade "dimensional chocolate copper" and says this is also great for warm skin tones. There are heavy weave highlights here that really give more depth to the look. 05 of 16 Darker Caramel Money Pieces George Pimentel / Getty Images Eva Longoria's caramel highlights draw attention to her facial features. Their face-framing placement functions more as money pieces — which we love. 06 of 16 Blonde Caramel Getty Images If you don't want to add too much caramel to your hair, stick with a subtle use of the color — as Jennifer Lopez does here. Over time, you can ask your colorist to add more and more caramel highlights until you reach a light blonde shade, which Lopez has also sported. 07 of 16 Golden Caramel Ombré Taylor Hill / Getty Images Kate Beckinsale's caramel highlights on her dark brown hair stand out even more when styled in loose, cascading waves. According to Kener, Beckinsale's hair is a golden caramel shade that would work best with fair skin tones. 08 of 16 Darker Caramel Babylights Steve Granitz / Getty Images What's flattering about this color is how it complements Priyanka Chopra Jones's eyes and warmer skin tone, Flores tells us. "To achieve this, I would do a lot of fine babylights throughout and tone with warm brown tones mixed with neutral tones," she says. "I would root her hair to match her natural color to make for a blended grow-out. 09 of 16 Sun-Kissed Caramel John Shearer / Getty Images Olivia Munn's subtle, sun-kissed highlights are really only visible from the middle to the tip of her hair, giving off beautiful copper vibes throughout her undulating waves. 10 of 16 Bright Caramel Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images Natalie Portman brightens up her brunette bob with caramel highlights that border on blonde. In this sandy beige bronde hair, Kener sees highlights with extra light pops that complement olive skin tones. 11 of 16 Lived-In Caramel John Shearer / Getty Images Sofia Vergara's highlights are focused toward the ends of her hair, but there isn't a harsh line of demarcation. Bring this photo to the salon if you want a super natural and lived-in look. 12 of 16 Auburn Caramel Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images Selena Gomez is serving up '90s chunky highlights here. To get the look, her colorist added thick streaks throughout the lower half of her bob. They're subtle, yet statement-making. 13 of 16 Barely-There Caramel Steve Granitz / WireImage Blink and you'll almost miss the face-framing caramel highlights added to Dakota Johnson's chocolate brown base. "It’s so subtle and natural you can barely tell she has any color. "The placement of these highlights is a foolproof way to brighten up your face," says Flores. Plus, their warm brunette tone make her eyes stand out, she adds. 14 of 16 Cool-Toned Caramel Getty Images / Chris Pizzello-Pool For this red carpet look, Halle Berry turned to her go-to colorist Tracey Cunningham. While her brown hair with caramel highlights looked gorgeous enough, combined with a micro bob and bangs, they were showstopping. 15 of 16 Caramel Fusion Getty Images / Michael Loccisano Gisele Bündchen is the poster girl for caramel hair. Here, her trademark long and loose waves show off several shades of blonde, bronde, and caramel all at once. Invest in a good sea salt spray to get her look. Note that if your natural color is a darker shade of brown, you'll have to lighten it first. 16 of 16 Soft Caramel Getty Images Katie Holmes's barely-there caramel highlights are perfect for brunettes who want a little color, albeit low maintenance. To keep brassy tones at bay while adding shine, invest in a toning shampoo and conditioner. We love the violet-pigmented Kenra Violet Shampoo and Conditioner.