50 Dark Brown Hair with Highlights Ideas for 2025

For those with dark-brown hair with highlights, you might think a blonde and lighter brown are your only highlight options. However, hairstyles are versatile and can always be added to or improved upon. If you’re feeling bored with your current look, rest assured that there are many different colors you can choose from for highlights or lowlights.

We guarantee you that—by the time you reach the end of this article—you’ll have 50 new ideas to contemplate while you’re on your way to the salon, again!

1. Highlights and Lowlights. Mixing several tones together will play tricks on the eyes… in a good way.

2. Face-Framing Highlights. Highlights are great for freshening up your dark locks. If you don’t want to cover up your brown hair too much, try face-framing highlights. To achieve this look, you will need to lighten a few strands in the front and create several almost unnoticeable babylights here and there.

3. Caramel Balayage. Balayage on dark tresses looks magnificent. Wear it casually or style for special occasions. For instance, adding some waves to your hairdo creates an elegant evening look in no time.

4. Brunette with Shiny Balayage. Brown locks with highlights and natural lowlights gain amazing depth and dimension. It is low-maintenance and looks completely natural. However, you will notice the difference in the beautiful glow of your hair.

5. Auburn Highlights on Curls. A mix of reddish-brown highlights against dark chocolate-brown hair will make your hair look good enough to eat!

6. Highlighted Layers. Layered highlights on long hair are stunning. They accentuate the natural flow and texture of the hair, adding depth and dimension to every strand.

7. Hazelnut Balayage. These dark brown strands are a bit spiced up with a warm and natural macchiato shade and then handsomely brightened with hazel-tinted highlights, which keeps the whole scheme on a more neutral side.

8. Copper Highlights. Deep brunette hair with copper balayage looks romantic and brings those summer vibes, no matter the season. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the tone of highlights to personalize the style!

9. Ombre in Chocolate Shades. Deep brown is a beautiful natural hair color, but if you experiment with its shades and add an ombre effect to your style, it can make you look even more attractive. Bring waves or curls for volume!

10. Caramel Brown Highlights. Pairing dark locks with any of the highlighting techniques is a great way of adding dimension and shine to your hair. Caramel delivers resplendent glimmer to dark brown hair.

11. Bronze Brown Blend. Less is more, so why go for radical changes when you can just add a touch of lighter tones? This trick will enable you to keep your natural look with a bit of twist.

12. Cinnamon Highlights. Selecting a suitable color of highlights is paramount to achieving marvelous radiance in your brown hair. Highlights in the cinnamon shade look really good on dark brown hair.

13. Flamboyage Coloring. This hairdo is fast and easy to make. Besides, it will look gorgeous on any hair color, from caramel to deep brunette. Subtle yet gorgeous, this dyeing technique is what you need for a change!

14. Peek-a-Boo Streaks. Brunette highlighted locks don’t have to be bright and high-contrast. For instance, you can get partial peek-a-boo highlighting that will deliver a dimensional, sun-kissed look.

15. Glossy Caramel Highlights. Dark locks highlighted with caramel and given a glossy finish are a great option to consider. If you decide to go for a subtle style change, we suggest caramel babylights that create a sun-kissed effect.

16. Warm-Toned Balayage. This dark mane is slightly misted with auburn just to elicit a red sparkle in the sunlight, but the main focus is placed on the face by framing it with the softest caramel.

17. Subtle Highlights on Midi Locks. Low-key highlights on brunette locks will intensify the natural glow of your strands and make the color more vibrant. It is a great solution for the ladies who don’t want to deal with the consequences of intense hair bleaching.

18. Subtle Dark Caramel Streaks. Channel in your inner Blair Waldorf and spice up your hair with caramel highlights and just enough definition for the gossip-worthy lob.

19. Brown with Copper Ribbons. Bright blondes are not the only option for brunettes wishing to make a statement, and we are totally crazy about the peekaboo effect of the tiny copper-red streaks on the crown.

20. Peek-a-Boo Highlights on Curls. Dark highlighted tresses can be styled so that the lighter strands will be noticeable only when your hair is curled. Such peek-a-boo highlights add texture to your hairstyle and are easy to maintain.

21. Auburn Balayage. Auburn highlights on dark tresses make you appear passionate, outgoing, and open-hearted. It is also a good solution for women with fine hair, as contrasting highlights make the locks look more textured and thick.

22. Black with Brown Balayage. Add something a little more special to your long hair. Light brown streaks can easily bring a spark and volume to your brunette locks.

23. Contrasting Highlights. Deep dark locks with contrasting highlights loos amazing. If you are not ready to dye your hair blond, this is the way to see if you want to proceed with the experiment or not. Besides, it will definitely freshen your style up.

24. Bronze Highlights. Dark strands with blonde balayage may be too extreme for some. But what if you choose a less flashy shade? For instance, bronze doesn’t attract too much attention but spices up your hairstyle.

25. Cinnamon Hair. Balayage-style highlights in cinnamon make for a beautiful choice. The warm tones of this color complement a wide range of skin tones. Such a natural and vibrant look is super-easy to maintain!

26. Glossy Bronze Brown Balayage. This streaky espresso brown scheme is the perfect fit for natural brunettes who are not ready for drastic changes and who happen to have a neutral or cool complexion, which can pull off such sophisticated balayage blends breezily.

27. Mushroom Brown Highlighted Hair. This seamless balayage incorporates subtle shades of brown and gray to deliver a muted color palette, which is earthy rather than ashy and, thus, plays well with warmer skin tones without washing them out.

28. Medium Dark-Blonde Highlights. Strike a balance in highlights with a blonde that isn’t too light or too dark.

29. Milk Chocolate Highlights. Chocolate brown is a go-to option for brunettes with warm skin tones, and this hand-painted combination of natural warm browns and iridescent golds shows how rich and dimensional this yummy color can be.

30. Caramel and Golden Highlights. With all those ribbons of blonde where honey is interspersed with gold, this bushy lob looks naturally sun-kissed while the flawless root melt makes it amazingly deep.

31. Lob with Cinnamon Streaks. Varying shades of light-brown (cinnamon in this case) highlights quickly add beautiful dimension.

32. Short Hair Beige Balayage. Adding beautiful highlights in your favorite color to your shorter locks is an easy way to go from drab to fab.

33. Toasted Dark Brown. What we like most about this roasted chestnut balayage is how the moody driftwood-colored tips emphasize the choppy texture of the cut without diverting attention from the main color scheme.

34. Taupe Highlights. Here is an off-beat alternative to a nude beige bronde for cool to neutral complexions — it is dreamy and dimensional plus it has violet undertones to counteract any hint of unwanted yellow, yet it doesn’t feel too ashy.

35. Thin Highlights. Look at it from whatever angle or perspective, and you’ll still see the same thing – adorable hair dyeing job. The waves bring the zing to her hair.

36. Face-Framing Highlights. Use gorgeous golden highlights to frame the face in a flattering way. They add a radiant glow that enhances your natural features beautifully.

37. Dark Brown-Copper. The base color of this rich mix of brown and red is infused with mahogany hues to create a deeper underlying shade and make the intense copper highlights really pop.

38. Highlighted Coffee Brown. You don’t have to lift your color to blonde levels to create dimensional highlights on dark locks, such as these soft chocolaty hues, which emphasize the richness of the brown and enhance the overall shine.

39. Warm Balayage Bob. The rich hue of cinnamon balayage on deep brunette locks is exactly what this amazing short hairstyle needs to pop. The contrast between the darker and lighter brown is subtle yet stunning.

40. Caramel-Golden Balayage. Both professional and lovely, this style will fit right in with literally any vibe. Plus, it’s easy to take care of and doesn’t harm your locks!

41. Auburn and Golden Babylights. Sometimes even the sexiest dark brunette hair can feel boring. Change it up with some bright babylights for a distinct dimension. Brown locks with pops of lighter colors attract more attention than plain colors.

42. Chocolate Brown Highlights. If you’d like to keep the highlights for your dark tresses as close to home as possible, consider a deep shade of brown such as chocolate brown.

43. Highlighted Black Hair. You don’t have to go out of your way to turn your locks into a hot mess. Weave some cinnamon and caramel highlights into your brunette locks and curl them into loose ringlets. Your runway look is served.

44. Bright Blonde Highlights. This color job strikes the eye immediately not only with the dramatic contrast created by depositing more depth into the natural shade but also with the amount of illumination directed to the face through the chunky golden blonde highlights.

45. Short Black Balayaged Hair. In case you’ve spent all your life as a very dark brunette, then coming to the lighter side might seem difficult. Give a go to a soft black-to-chocolate balayage if you feel like it’s time for brighter days.

46. Golden Brown Highlights. To recreate this enthralling sunny radiance in your brown hair, opt for brighter shades of blonde or golden brown. Create loose waves to make your hair more interesting.

47. Russet Patches. Auburn highlights you can barely see are perfect if you want just a smidge of color. They subtly enhance your natural hair tone without overpowering it.

48. Caramel Macchiato Coloring. Bleaching some strands of your brown locks to one of the lighter blonde shades gives dimension and depth to your mane. Choose your highlights in a shade that is close to your natural hair color and fits your color type.

49. Highlighted Medium Brown Hair. The chocolatey brown shade with balayage in warm and cool tones looks really cute. Though your balayage can start from any point, streaks that spring out right from the roots offer a lovely luster to the shoulder-length hair.

50. Chocolate Salted Caramel. You don’t have to go for full-on colored highlights; a light cool-brown shade does wonders. It complements both warm and cool skin tones beautifully.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that you’re happy with your hair and you feel comfortable and gorgeous. The great thing about hair is that color eventually fades, which means that—in a month or two—you can try something completely different! What about one of the above-mentioned ideas? Have fun experimenting.