As luxe as light brown can be, it can be plain all by itself. But the best thing about this brunette shade is that it’s basically a neutral, meaning it looks great with almost any color.
Highlights don’t always have to be blonde, either. Because of its subdued nature, there’s a vast spectrum of highlights for light brown hair to instantly transform your flat brown base and create any kind of aesthetic. From natural sunkissed blonde highlights to vibrant pops of fun colors, here are 53 brilliant highlight ideas for brown hair that prove this brunette shade is the perfect canvas to do highlights your way.
#1. Sunkissed Chestnut Swirls
Sunkissed chestnut swirls are a subtle yet stunning summer-ready upgrade for your natural light brown base. The sunkissed chestnut tones bring natural illumination and dimension to any hair type. However, the swirl technique is exceptionally ideal for thick and wavy hair that needs boosted movement.
#2. Honeyed Hazelnut Layers
Sweeten up your light brown layers with honeyed hazelnut highlights. These soft and smooth highlights are perfectly toned for a flawless blend that enhances your layers with soft depth and definition. All in all, a deliciously delightful style!
#3. Warm Cinnamon Ribbons on Light Brown
Spice up your style with warm cinnamon ribbons on light brown hair. The low-key look of these warm cinnamon tones brings a subtle multi-tonal contrast that gives a dash of depth to make thinner hair look fuller and thicker, all while bringing an irresistible earthy vibe.
#4. Burnished Bronze Streaks on Brown Bob
A light brown bob with burnished bronze streaks is the perfect trio of chic, edgy, and rustic charm. This look starts with a trendy light brown bob to set the tone and create a flattering frame that puts your best features forward. Then, the metallic burnished bronze gives your hair a glossier and slightly more defined look with a modern edge.
#5. Amber Glazed Brown Curls
Looking to upgrade your light brown curls with something warm and cozy? You need an amber glaze! The rich tones of the amber glaze give the brown a sweet sun-touched style with warmth and brightness to enhance your natural texture, making your curls bigger, brighter, and more beautiful. Plus, it gives a subdued, sunny glow to any skin tone!
#6. Walnut Whisper Highlights
Want a soft, subtle lift for your light brown? Go for walnut whisper highlights. These understated highlights create a delicate blend, bringing gentle depth and dimension to any hair type, but are especially effective on finer hair. Best of all, these highlights give your skin a delightful sunny glow.
#7. Maple Syrup Drizzled Waves
Maple syrup drizzles are indulgent, irresistible highlights perfectly toned to give your light brown lock a touch of rich, warm illumination for a hint of brightness to give your hair a little more dimension. Plus, the drizzling technique is perfect for waves, defining and maximizing their movement, all while giving your light brown a sweet, glossy aesthetic.
#8. Golden Mocha Highlights on Kinky Twists
If you’re all about the snappy and sparky styles, you’ve got to try golden mocha highlights on kinky twists. This style blends luxurious golden mocha highlights with super-trendy kinky twists for a captivating and creative look with just a splash of contemporary charm from the slight metallic sheen of the golden mocha tones.
#9. Light Brown Hair with Creamy Blonde Streaks
Get a cool-toned, contemporary take on the sunkissed vibe with creamy blonde streaks on your light brown hair. It may be a higher contrast, but it blends as smooth as butter, creating definition and movement for even the flattest, finest hair.
#10. Tawny Accents on Wavy Bob
You don’t need to go big and bold with highlights. Level up your light brown wavy bob with some charming tawny accents for a subtle lift that brings your waves new life. These tiny tawny tones bring natural definition, giving your waves a little more energy and a hushed, warm, and sunny vibe.
#11. Almond Toffee Sprinkles
Almond toffee sprinkles are a delicious upgrade for your light brown that brings a classic highlighted look without going nuts with blonde tones. Almond toffee is the perfect blend of tones to give light brown a multidimensional look that packs your hair full of definition, dimension, and depth to any hair type.
#12. Copper Sheen on Straight Hair
Fiery, flashy, and fabulous. That’s how we describe how a copper sheen looks on straight, light brown hair. This eye-catching copper tone engulfs your light brown for a highly defined style perfect for pin-straight hair that needs some light and life. Plus, it gives a wonderful warm glow to fair and cool skin tones.
#13. Iced Latte Dusting
Give your light brown an energy boost with a delicious iced latte dusting. This style revived your cool-toned light brown with a bright, ashy blonde, a touch of dimension, and the look of more volume. Plus, this is a complementary color combo for cooler skin tones.
#14. Smoky Quartz Infusion
A smoky quartz infusion is a beautiful, subtle upgrade for any hair type. This style features a low-key but high-fashion blend of smoky quartz blonde highlights and light brown, bringing you a deep, mysterious look with a side of smokeshow vibes.
#15. Glistening Ginger Touches
Want a style that lets you dip into that retro redhead look? You need glistening ginger touches! These pops of spicy color add vibrancy and rich warmth to your light brown locks, all while giving a fresh-faced glow to fair and cooler skin tones.
#16. Soft Beige Blonde Tips
Go for a low-key take on the sunny look with soft beige-blonde tips. These neutral and natural blonde highlights blend seamlessly with light brown, giving delicate definition to give any hair type a little more life without going too crazy. Plus, the placement of the tips lets your light brown bring more depth for thicker-looking roots.
#17. Lustrous Pearl Highlights on Light Brown
Get an elegant style that really shines with lustrous pearl highlights on dark brown hair. This brilliant pearl blonde creates a subtle yet striking contrast with your light brown base for something luminous, luxurious, and lively. As a bonus, the pearl highlights catch all kinds of lighting for that extra dash of sparkle.
#18. Rustic Auburn Hues
Love those fall-inspired color combos? You need some rustic auburn hues! This earthy, warm auburn gives your light brown base natural depth and definition while offsetting it with something rich and radiant. Best of all, this combo gives a cozy glow to any skin tone.
#19. Champagne Shimmer on a Mid-Length Cut
Want something bright and bubbly? Look no further than a champagne shimmer on a mid-length cut. This look pairs a stunning blonde color with a versatile cut for a glowing, luxurious style that is ideal for giving great fine and thin hair that needs a touch of depth for fuller-looking hair– no layering needed.
#20. Espresso and Caramel Mix
Luxury meets natural, with an espresso and caramel mix. This style blends your light brown with a mix of rich caramel and smooth espresso for decadent depth and dimension and a multi-tonal look that refreshes any hair type but is incredibly flattering on curls and waves.
#21. Rosewood Gloss on Layered Hair
Looking for a trendy and tasteful way to play with pink? Add a rosewood gloss to your light brown layers! The rose tones add a fun flair with an unexpected touch of warmth and multi-tonal dimension to enhance the definition and movement of the layers. Even better, it brings a rosy glow to any skin tone!
#22. Silky Ash Brown Highlights
Love those sleek and chic understated looks? You need some silky ash-brown highlights! The silky ash brown creates a quiet contrast with your light brown for just a touch of life, with a silky smooth glossy finish for a soft and sophisticated aesthetic.
#23. Butterscotch Ribbons on Loose Curls
Indulgent and illuminated. That’s how we describe butterscotch ribbons on loose curls. These sweet, golden-toned ribbons are the perfect level-up for your light brown loose curls. The contrast makes your curls look better than ever, with the golden butterscotch blonde and ribbon technique working together to pack your ringlets full of radiant definition and a warm, sunny glow for your skin.
#24. Molten Gold Waves
Need an upscale upgrade for your light brown locks? Go for molten gold waves! These liquid gold highlights melt into your light brown for a fluid blend that brings light definition and maximizes the movement of your natural waves, giving them an effortless and luxurious flow.
#25. Chocolate Cherry Bliss
Looking for something fun and fabulous? Add chocolate cherry bliss to your light brown locks! This vibrant pop of cool-toned red and chocolate brown brings a delightfully unique definition to your light brown while adding the ultimate playful flair to your style.
#26. Light Brown with Whispering Silver Streaks
Whispering silver streaks bring the ultimate balance of edgy and elegant to light brown hair. These quiet hints of silver bring soft dimension to give fine hair a much-needed boost, a slight modern flair. Even better, this style lets you try out the silver hair trend or grow your grays with confidence and class.
#27. Sunkissed Cappuccino Highlights
Get a summery style that has it all with sunkissed cappuccino highlights! These golden highlights are just light enough to give your light brown hair some life, dimension, and definition, with a little warmth for a vibrant, sunny glow.
#28. Dark Honey Spirals
Give your spiral curls some sparkle with dark honey highlights. These soft and sweet tones bring a much more natural contrast for a pinch of light and depth that fills your natural texture with definition, instantly reviving your curls. You can intensify this look with curl definer and shine serum.
#29. Cinnamon Sugar Dust for Straight Hair
Energize your look with a sweet and spicy style like cinnamon sugar dust for straight hair. This multi-tonal blend of cinnamon and sugary blonde tones creates a stunning smooth blend, especially for pin-straight hair that needs a little more zest.
#30. Warm Taupe Twirls
Going for a natural glam aesthetic? Add some warm taupe twirls to your light brown! These hushed, warm taupe highlights bring a delicately defined best for curls and waves and add a tiny earthy glow.
#31. Light Brown with Icy Blonde Strokes
Give your light brown a bolder, brighter refresh with beautiful icy blonde strokes. These thicker highlights immediately brighten up your look, with your light brown locks taking a back seat, adding some depth to the dimension of trendy icy blonde.
#32. Soft Peach Glow on Light Brown
Adding a soft peach glow to your light brown hair brings an instant, youthful, and fun vibe to your look. This popular color pairs soft orange, pink, and beige hues for a multi-tonal marvel that brings a touch of definition with the perfect mix of spring and summer vibes for a peachy-keen look.
#33. Glimmering Gold Dust Accents
Want a high-profile hairstyle that takes your light brown to the top? You need glimmering gold dust accents! These gorgeous hints of old dust bring luminous dimension to any hair type for instant glamour with just a flicker of warmth for a slight sunny vibe.
#34. Espresso Brown with Fiery Red Highlights
If you’re all about those eye-catching looks, you’ve got to try espresso brown with fiery red highlights! The decadent espresso tones are blazed with fiery red highlights for a bold, modern contrast that is more than just a pretty face. The offset of these two opposite tones creates the ultimate depth and definition for any hair type.
#35. Shimmering Sapphire Undertones
Are you looking for something cool, confident, and edgy? Bedazzle your light brown with shimmering sapphire undertones! This contemporary jewel-toned blue brings unexpected dimension and illumination to a cooler light brown. Plus, it’s a great way to blend your natural grays and browns with something fun and age-defying.
#36. Amber Sunrise on Long Hair
An amber sunrise color blend on long light brown hair is a jaw-dropping style as breathtaking as a summer sunrise. Golden blonde tones bring an organic yet outstanding tone that mostly overtakes your light brown, leaving only enough for a touch of depth and definition for a lighter, airier look, especially on long, flowing locks.
#37. Moonlit Pearl on Chestnut Waves
Bring your look a luminous lunar glow with moonlit pearls on chestnut waves. Paired with the warm chestnut brown, this style creates a lively multidimensional look for any hair type, especially waves, immediately enhancing natural movement and giving a soft glam vibe.
#38. Frosted Rose Gold Tints
Rose gold is alluring enough, but frosted gold is lighter and brighter for a bigger statement with pure girly bliss. This subdued shade brings a unique and youthful charm to your light brown, instantly adding a fab and feminine flair. And this shade is also a great way to experiment with vibrant colors.
#39. Smoldering Copper Layers
Smoldering copper layers are all things bright and beautiful. This dazzling style features dynamic layers to enhance volume and texture, while the depth from your base light brown magnifies them, and the copper tones bring red-hot radiance.
#40. Glossy Raven Black Flicks
Moody, dramatic, yet effortlessly elegant. That’s the aesthetic flicks of glossy raven black give light brown hair. This ultra-dark glossy black brings a bold contrast with light brown that suits any hair type, particularly straight hair, for a sleek and chic look.
#41. Oceanic Teal Streaks on Light Brown
Dive into an adventurous and alluring style, like oceanic teal streaks on light brown hair. These cool, coastal-inspired streaks offer an incredible, vibrant contrast with light sandy brown for all those mesmerizing mermaid vibes.
#42. Subtle Lavender Sheen
Bring a fairytale flair to your light brown hair with a subtle lavender sheen. This whimsical pastel lavender sheen is a fun yet gentle pop of color, with your light brown adding soft depth to make your hair look a little fuller, creating an enchanting aesthetic.
#43. Bronze Glow on a Shoulder-Length Cut
Looking for something radiant and refined? You need a bronze glow on a shoulder-length cut! The light brown shoulder-length cut sets an elegant tone, and the bronze glow brings a brilliant warmth that instantly makes your hairstyle look more lively while looking effortlessly natural.
#44. Vivid Violet Highlights on Light Brown Tresses
Feeling bold? Go for vivid violet highlights on your light brown tresses. These eye-catching violet highlights bring unique, unexpected depth and multidimensional effect with an undeniable enchanted vibe.
#45. Sunlit Sandalwood Strands
Are you going for those earthy goddess vibes with a side of old-school glam? Add some sunlit sandalwood strands to your light brown! This naturally radiant beige-blonde gives a slight contrast for soft dimension, giving your light brown base life and light, but it keeps things simple and subtle.
#46. Midnight Blue Accents on Chestnut Hair
Midnight blue accents on chestnut hair are a stylish double-offset of light and dark, warm and cool. This striking pop of mystical and moody blue transitions into a stylish reverse ombre effect to give your brunette locks some magnetic mystery.
#47. Silken Graphite Gleam
If you’re looking for something refined but with an undoubted fun flair, you need to try a silken graphite gleam. The trendy, transitional blend from the neutral tones of light brown to the futuristic metallic blue hues of silken graphite brings a contemporary look in a reverse ombre style. It’s the perfect way to experiment with a cool metallic color without going all the way.
#48. Fiery Sunset Streaks on Light Brown Waves
Give your aesthetic a style as vibrant and magnetizing as a summer sunset by adding fiery sunset streaks to your light brown waves. These fiery sunset orange and red tones give light brown hair a warm and energetic flavor, instantly intensifying the look of your natural waves. Get some golden blonde for an even brighter blend.
#49. Cool Emerald Sparkles
Looking to transform your plain old light brown into something drop-dead gorgeous? You need to try cool emerald sparkles! These trendy jewel-toned sparkles bring a vibrant and lush offset to light brown with a slightly enhanced vibe. And who knows? It may even give you luck!
#50. Rich Plum Reflections
Rich plum reflections are a high-profile and absolutely showstopping upgrade for light brown. The combination of undertones in the plum hues works for warm or cool light browns, bringing a dramatic, sultry, and luxe look to light brown. Plus, this balance of undertones glows on any skin tone. And it shines even brighter in the sun!
#51. Crystal Ice Highlights on Tawny Brown
If you’re looking for low-key luxury, you need to try crystal ice highlights on tawny brown hair. This illuminated contrast is just a touch above natural, so it stands out and elegantly defines any hair type but isn’t overwhelming to the tawny brown base.
#52. Misty Grey Whispers on Light Brown Locks
Contemporary meets classy with misty grey whispers on light brown locks. These minimal grey highlights are a super-subtle way to try the gray hair trend or age gracefully and stylishly, bringing cool and neutral light browns just a pinch of dimension and a seamless blend.
#53. Vibrant Turquoise Twists on Chestnut Waves
Attention Boho-babes! This one’s for you! Beachy doesn’t have to be blonde! Get a fun summer look with vibrant turquoise twists on chestnut waves. This splash of vivacious and trendy turquoise gives your chestnut waves a tsunami of bold and beautiful style with flowing movement from the twists, giving waves an intense flow.