The Best Brunette Shades for Every Skin Tone

By Erin Lukas
Updated Jun 08, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Brown hair is anything but boring. Whether you’re going over to the dark side for the first time, or you’re a natural brunette that wants to enhance your color, there’s a myriad of shade possibilities. Choosing to go dark is the first step, but finding the most flattering shade for your complexion can be harder than the decision to take the plunge and test out a rich caramel, chocolate brown, or multidimensional golden tone, to name a few.  That’s why we turned to Nick Arrojo, founder of Arrojo Studio in New York to create a complete guide on which brunette shades work best for every skin tone.  Once you’re enjoying your new brown shade, Arrojo stresses the importance of preserving your hue by using shampoo and conditioner tailored for colored hair, and treating strands to a weekly treatment such as Arrojo Whipped Treatment ($26; arrojoproduct.com) to maintain its vibrancy.

Now, who said blondes have more fun? Keep scrolling to find out the best brunette shade to compliment your skin tone. 

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Fair With Cool Undertones 

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Dakota Johnson's warm, chestnut shade with red and golden undertones will brighten up fair complexions that err on the cool side without looking too harsh. 

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Fair With Warm Undertones

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The best way to flatter a fair complexion with warm undertones: Lily Aldridge's deep caramel color. "Keep the caramel cool for a nice contrast," says Arrojo. 

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Medium With Cool Undertones 

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Arrojo says that a neutral brunette shade like Bella Hadid's charcoal toned brown pairs well with a medium complexion with cool undertones. 

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Medium With Warm Undertones 

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If you have a medium complexion that leans on the warm side, Arrojo says that a light chocolate brown shade such as Katie Holmes, is the perfect balance for your skin tone. 

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Olive

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For olive complexions like Selena Gomez, Arrojo suggests opting for a dark chocolate brown that will create a striking contrast with your complexion. 

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Dark With Cool Undertones 

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Arrojo says that multidimmensional like Beyoncé's ribbons of color add softness and warmth to dark skin tones with cool undertones. 

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Dark With Warm Undertones

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To enhance the natural warmth of this skin tone, Arrojo recommends a rich, dark coppery brown shade like model Jourdan Dunn's tousled strands

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By Erin Lukas