Curly brown hair with caramel highlights

Coachella Weekend Two kicked off mere hours ago, and already music festival icon Vanessa Hudgens is on the ground and decked out in a head-to-toe bohemian-chic ensemble complete with fun makeup and an ultra-trendy hair upgrade you’re about to see everywhere. Joining a pair of just-cut curly bangs are Vanessa Hudgens’ caramel curly hair highlights. Acting like a spotlight on her ultra-lush natural curl pattern, the highlights are an infusion of pure summertime warmth — perfect for Coachella’s long, hot days in the desert. Hudgens has always been up for hair experimentation — she’s done blonde, raven, red, long, short — but this bang-accented look, showing off her dark brown curly hair and highlights, might be her greatest move yet.

The best part of Hudgens’ new look is how subtle yet transformative of a change the highlights are, even from last weekend. At Coachella’s Weekend One, Hudgens was sporting her classic rich brunette curls, letting them flow wild and free. Her only accessories were a few different (admittedly very stylish) hats, including a few cowboy-adjacent styles and a funky ‘70s-looking bucket hat. But Hudgens is always looking to change it up, which makes it utterly unsurprising that she’d return to the festival a week later with an entirely new vibe.

The new bangs and highlights add plenty of retro appeal to Hudgens’ overall look, which is only heightened by the arc of glimmering, stick-on jewels and powder blue eyeliner across her lash line. Dark brown hair with highlights (especially for curls) actually happens to be trending across the board, too. Just a day ago, Kehlani’s hair colorist, Jess Gonzalez, shared a pic of the singer with her own curly caramel highlights. Though it’s not clear who is responsible for Hudgens’ new color, celebrity hair colorist Nikki Lee comments heart eyes on the post so it could be possible that Lee is to thank for the new sun-kissed look.

Either way, keep your eyes peeled on the ‘gram as lots more variations of highlights are sure to keep popping up on A-listers as summer nears.

(More Like This)

Michelle Pfeiffer Got A Major New Haircut & Her Stylist Has Tips For Recreating It

By Catherine Santino

Tracee Ellis Ross & Michelle Obama Just Ignited *Multiple* Beauty Trends In One Night

By Catherine Santino

Issa Rae’s Natural Hairstyles Are Self-Expression At Its Finest

By Catherine Santino

Lily Collins' Soft Brown Glam Solidifies Hot Cocoa-Chic Makeup As This Winter’s Biggest Beauty Trend

By Catherine Santino

(Stay Up To Date)

Become A Style Insider

Join The Zoe Report’s exclusive email list for the latest trends, shopping guides, celebrity style, and more.

For those with dark-brown hair with highlights, you might think a blonde or lighter brown are your only highlight choices. 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.

By Mallony Farias

Previous1/50Next style

For those with dark-brown hair with highlights, you might think a blonde or lighter brown are your only highlight choices. 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.

By Mallony Farias

2. Face-Framing Highlights. Highlights for dark hair are great for freshening up your look. 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 highlights here and there.

By Ricardo

3. Caramel Balayage. Balayage on dark brown hair 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.

By Melissa Maloney

4. Highlights and Lowlights for Brunettes. Brown hair with highlights and natural lowlights gains 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.

By thathairmagic

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!

By Caitlin

6. Dark Brown Highlighted Layers. Layered highlights on long hair are stunning.

By Courtney Yau

7. Caramel Highlights. Take your color from drab to fab with a little highlighting on waves. Keep most of the highlights underneath the hair and as framing for the face for that “just enough” look.

By Rafael Bertolucci

8. Copper Highlights for Dark Hair. The dark brown hair with copper highlights 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!

By wevertoncavalcantte

9. Ombre in Chocolate Shades. Dark 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!

By Daphni Baxter

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

By Nathi Vega

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.

By Marina

12. Cinnamon Highlights on Dark Brown Hair. 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.

By pipsyhair_

13. Flamboyage Highlights. 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!

By themaneartistry

14. Peek-a-Boo Highlights. Dark brown hair with highlights doesn’t have to be bright and high-contrast. For instance, you can get partial peek-a-boo highlights that will deliver a dimensional, sun-kissed look.

By Tabetha

15. Glossy Caramel Highlights. Dark brown hair with caramel highlights and a glossy finish is 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.

By Jessica Vershowske

16. Piecey Hair with Honey-Brown Highlights. Take your short dark-brown hair and add a lighter shade of highlights for just that little extra beauty. Honey-colored highlights also help to bring warmth to the face, which is especially helpful for those of us who might be paler.

By Shane Craig

17. Subtle Brown Highlights on Medium Hair. Low-key highlights on dark brown hair will intensify the natural glow of your locks 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.

By balayagedbybelle

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

By Kaan Sayar

19. Warm Brown Contouring. Dark brown hair with blonde highlights is a great idea that has earned its place among the classics. If you choose to lighten up only the front strands, you can be sure that your face will be highlighted beautifully.

By Joah Mendes

20. Peek-a-Boo Highlights for Dark Hair. Dark hair with highlights 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.

By Tatiane Santos

21. Rich Auburn Highlights. Auburn highlights on dark hair 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.

By Jessica Vershowske

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

By petermenezes

23. Contrasting Highlights. The dark brown hair with highlights looks 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.

By daymakerschair

24. Delicate Bronze Highlights. Dark brown hair with blonde highlights 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.

By Lauren

25. Cinnamon Hair. Balayage-style highlights in cinnamon make for a beautiful choice.

By Cristen Smith

26. Peek-a-Boo Highlights. Place your highlights in random areas of the hair for an element of surprise for your audience.

By Patricia Nikole

27. Mahogany Highlights. For long dark-brown hair, a rich mahogany shines in the light.

By Studio Lioness

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

By Schneider Studio

29. Caramel Brown Highlights with Black Roots. First of all, having your roots untouched automatically gives 10 points to your low-maintenance style. Secondly, brunette highlights all over your head totally turn each updo into a masterpiece.

By Ellie Toia

30. Light Chocolate Highlights for Black Hair. Liven up your dark brown locks. Dark hair with blonde highlights is another sort of sexy. Not only are the money pieces utterly seductive, but the definition is immaculate.

By hairbymickk

31. Cinnamon Highlights. Varying shades of light-brown (cinnamon) highlights quickly add beautiful dimension.

By Prissy Hippie

32. Beige Highlights for Short Hair. Short dark-brown hair with highlights is an easy way to go from drab to fab.

By Amy Malarchik

33. Caramel Bronde Money Piece Highlights. When the right hair color meets the right highlighting technique, a gorgeous hairstyle is born. Your dark brown hair can look like a million dollars with money pieces in an amazing hue like dark caramel blonde.

By Melissa Maloney

34. Cute Money Pieces and Highlights on Black Base. The delicate money pieces are cute for several reasons. They work as a flattering accent, highlight your face, and enhance the eyes. You can either wear them in a natural shade or in something funkier.

By Rafael Bertolucci

35. Thin Highlights for Brown Hair. Look at it from whatever angle or perspective, and you’ll still see the same thing – adorable dark brown hair with highlights. The waves bring the zing to her hair.

By Kacie Nguyen

36. Face-Framing Highlights. Use gorgeous golden highlights to frame the face in a flattering way.

By Tauni Dawson

37. Ash Brown Highlights for Long Dark Hair. Try out an ashy shade before you commit to it entirely. Having a head full of hair allows you to experiment with literally anything, for example, give a chance to brown hair with highlights in a mushroom shade.

By nuritunbulofficial

38. Barely There Chocolate Highlights. Wanting to ease into highlighting? Try this style.

By Ashlee Allen

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

By Brittany Banda

40. Brunette Hair with Caramel and Golden Highlights. 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!

By Brittany Banda

41. Black Lob with Auburn and Golden Babylights. Sometimes even the sexiest dark brown hair can feel boring. Change it up with some bright babylights for a distinct dimension. Brown hair color with highlights attracts more attention than plain colors.

By Brittany Banda

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

By balayage.by.kass

43. Cinnamon Brown Highlights for 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 brown highlights into your brunette locks and curl them into loose ringlets. Your runway look is served.

By coloredbycaitlin

44. Shiny Brown Balayage for Fall. Imagine transferring the warmth of autumn days over to your hair. Then show the stylist this picture with a cozy balayage featuring money pieces and lowlights and enjoy your dreams coming to life.

By Nuri Tunbul

45. Black Hair Balayage Transformation. 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.

By Jayme Williams

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.

By Peter

47. Russet Patches. Auburn highlights you can barely see are perfect if you want just a smidge of color.

By Nabi Salon

48. Caramel Macchiato Hair Coloring. Bleaching some strands of your dark brown hair 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.

By brigitteeliahairartist

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

By Kali Rahder

50. Chocolate Salted Caramel. You don’t have to go for full-on colored highlights; a light cool-brown shade does wonders.

By Habit Salon

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 dark-brown hair with highlights? Have fun experimenting.

by Serena Piper

Serena graduated from the University of Oregon where she majored in magazine journalism. She is a published writer both in print and online. She currently lives in Daytona Beach where she works at the Early Learning Coalition, an organization supporting children of low-income families. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, reading, country music concerts, exploring Florida, and of course, the beach.

What highlights go with brown curly hair?

What kind of highlights look good on curly hair?

Does curly hair look better with highlights?

What shade is caramel highlights?