21 Brown Hair Colour Ideas To Stalk Before Your Next Salon Appointment
*dyes hair immediately*
Being brunette has never been so current or eclectic; with recent advancements in hair colour technology no shade is unachievable.
2022 is all about expensive looking colour: rich in deep shades and glossy in texture. 'I predict radiant brunettes, rich with cocoa, chestnut and tawny hues,' explains Marley Xavier, Master Colourist at Josh Wood Colour. 'I think we’re slowly moving away from everything being so cold and ashy and back into warmer, ready-to-wear palettes. Multi-tonal brunettes are always flattering and keeping a slightly deeper root can help it feel modern and low maintenance.'
From the richest chocolate tones to the lightest hazelnut hues, the only hard part is choosing which shade is right for you. If it's brown hair colour inspiration you're after, we've got it covered in this gallery of brilliant celeb brunettes.
Will you choose Winnie Harlow's balayaged curls or Bella Hadid's ebony blunt bob? Don't attend your next hair appointment without checking out our edit of the best brown hair colour inspiration first.
Hailey Bieber
Leading the way for the 'expensive brunette' hair trend, Hailey Bieber has taken her light brown lengths to the next level. Gone are the caramel blonde highlights, and here to stay are long, noughties style feathered lengths in a neutral light brown shade.
Karlie Kloss
Karlie Kloss ditched her signature golden blonde hair for the first time in years, switching to a cool-toned brunette shade that fans are dubbing 'expensive brown'.
The supermodel showed off her new brunette hue on Instagram in a series of selfies captioned, 'after a decade of being a blonde, i finally crossed over to the dark side.' Kloss wore a matchy matchy monochrome light brown plaid outfit to celebrate her brunette debut.
The 29-year-old's 'expensive brown' colour is the work of A-list hairstylist Jenna Perry who appeared in Kloss' Instagram stories mid-transformation with the caption, 'queen of #hotgirlhair'.
Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber's slow transition from beach blonde to moody brunette is officially complete. The model and soon-to-be skincare brand founder posted her new look on Instagram showing off her light brown hair styled in a collarbone-skimming bouncy blowdry that channelled serious Rachel Green vibes.
Florence Pugh
After adding a punky twist to her signature blonde hair in the form of an amethyst dip dye, Florence Pugh has ditched her golden lengths entirely, embracing a new brunette look. The Black Widow actor took to Instagram to reveal her new chocolate brown hair shade, dyed for her latest role in Netflix's upcoming The Wonder.
Lizzo
Singer and self-love activist, Lizzo, took to Instagram to share a powerful message of self-care and her newly DIY dyed light brown hair. The 'Good As Hell' singer posted a fresh-faced selfie showing off her lighter hair colour in two natural textured space buns. As always, the songwriter was refreshingly candid about her reasons for changing up her look, captioning the post:
'Hi. I felt helpless today. I changed my hair color and did my makeup and made funny faces to make myself laugh. It’s the least I could do. If you haven’t done anything nice for yourself today this is your sign to find a light. Black girls, I love you. We deserve to be protected and loved.'
Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber gave her signature blonde hair an update with a new cool bronde shade courtesy of colourist Cassondra Kaeding and pro hair stylist Amanda Lee. Lee took to Instagram to show off her client's new caramel brown hair colour, captioning the post: 'happpppiest ever to be back to work with my favorite people🤗🤗 #haileybieber.'
Beyonce
After hitting us last week with the best braid situation we've ever seen, Beyonce stepped out for Diddy's 50th birthday party with brand new brunette balayage waves. Bey swapped her usual golden curls for swept back Hollywood waves with dark roots and caramel blonde ends.
Laura Harrier
On the plummier side of the brunette shade scale, Harrier's long locks provide the ultimate dark chocolate inspo. The subtle purple highlights hit the light in just the right place, to avoid the colour looking solid and flat.
'Very dark brunette tones look super sexy on darker skin, you can add balayage through the hair to bring softness and playful element to the look over summer that adds contrast', advises Xavier.
Emma Stone
Stone stepped out with a new dark brown hue at the 30th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The actress has previously experimented with bleach blonde and copper hair colours before debuting her new chocolate 'do.
For fairer skin, Xavier advises to mix up some lighter tones in with the dark chocolate shades: 'milky brunettes work great for these skin tones, think child-like brunette hair in the sun, they’re not over-dominating, especially flattering over summer and work harmoniously with strands of golden blonde and caramels'.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson debuted a brand new chocolate brown pixie crop at the 'Avengers: Infinity War' premiere. The Black Widow actress gave her new look an added dash of drama with bold purple and pink eye make-up and a chain link choker.
Olivia Palermo
In a move that once again proves Olivia Palermo is the queen of the ultimate choppy lob, the style icon has given her enviable summer ombre a dark brown winter overhaul. God she's good.
Billie Lourd
Swapping her super long blonde tresses for mid length uber glossy brown locks, we're all over Billie Lourd's Autumnal hair transformation.
Winnie Harlow
A dash of balayage gives Winnie Harlow's curls a Summery kiss of caramel.
Selena Gomez
Dark at the roots, light brown through the lengths, Selena Gomez's brunette bob is on point.
Marion Cotillard
You can't go wrong with a classic cool-hued brunette.
Salma Hayek
Queen of the overnight hair transformation, we loved Salma Hayek's black to light brown dip dye.
Lily James
What to do when you're constantly switching between blonde and brunette like Lily James? Stay somewhere in the middle with dashes of blonde to add a 'sunlit' feel.
Alison Brie
Brown hair doesn't have to be one-dimensional - ask your hair stylist to add some hand painted lighter brown tones through the lengths for A-list worthy brunette hair.
Lily Collins
The cool girl way to rock brown hair, Lily Collins' dark roots, lighter lengths combo looks perfect with an undone beachy wave.
George Driver was the former Senior Beauty Editor - Digital at ELLE UK.
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![jodie turner smith new bob met gala new york, new york may 05: jodie turner smith attends the 2025 met gala celebrating superfine: tailoring black style at metropolitan museum of art on may 05, 2025 in new york city. (photo by dimitrios kambouris/getty images for the met museum/vogue)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2213610212-688772f19e73e.jpg?crop=0.500xw:0.750xh;0.257xw,0.0204xh&resize=360:* "Jodie Turner-Smith new bob The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" - Arrivals")
