8 Ways to Wear This Low-Maintenance Hair Color Year-Round

Light brown hair is always in season.

Low Maintenance Brown Hair Color
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Just like the arbitrary style rules of not wearing white after Labor Day, or never wearing black and blue together, there are beauty rules that should be ignored as well. One example is switching up your hair color to match the current season. While there is something to be said for deep, rich brunette hair in the fall, light brown hair looks gorgeous year-round.

When it comes to finding your ideal light brown shade, Leland Olson, Style/Color.Master at Kevin.Murphy says there are a few factors to consider, such as your skin tone and undertone.

"Lighter eyes, like blue and pale brown, usually reveal cool undertones, while gold flecks in an eye color usually indicate warm undertones," Olson says. "Looking at the color of the veins on the inside of your wrist helps to determine what shade will suit you best. If you can’t tell if your veins are green or blue, you may have a neutral skin tone. If your veins appear green, you have a warm skin tone. If your veins appear blue or purple, you have a cool skin tone."

Warmer skin tones can look to natural and warm colors to make their eyes pop. Olson suggests "rich golds, radiant auburn coppers, and chocolate brunettes." For cool skin tones, blue-based or ashier brunette shades will help minimize the skin's natural redness. "Cooler skin tones should avoid black, orange/coppers and earth tones as they can wash you out and make you look paler," Olson says. Beige tones are a universal pick for all skin tones.

To avoid brunette hair from getting brassy or orange, Olson recommends an in-salon gloss like Kevin.Murphy's Color.Me Gloss. A gloss is demi-permanent color or a clear treatment will boost shine and moisturize to help repair the hair. Olson says to think of it like lip gloss for your hair.

At home, treat hair with a shine-boosting, neutralizing treatment that will cut out the unwanted orange and brassy tones. "Using a product like Cool.Angel from Kevin.Murphy will provide a color-enhancing shine treatment for your hair to maintain coolness in-between your hair color services in the salon," Olson shares. "The pigments in this product help to enhance existing tones, neutralize unwanted tones, and improve color longevity without build up on the hair

Since there's no right or wrong time of year to have light brown hair, we've rounded up our favorite celebrity takes on the color to inspire your next look.

01 of 08

Caramel Brown

Cara Delevingne at Paris Fashion Week

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Cara Delevingne's decadent caramel brown hair mades her blue eyes pop.

02 of 08

Auburn

Issa Rae at the 2021 BET Awards

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Issa Rae's rich auburn hair with subtly lighter ends enhances her warm complexion while giving off a less-is-more vibe.

03 of 08

Light Brown Ombré

Alexa Chung at the 2022 Met Gala

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Alexa Chung's dark-to-light ombré features cool-toned highlights. Her effortless undone waves show off the dimension in her color.

04 of 08

Light Brown With Golden Blonde Highlights

Halle Berry at the Los Angeles Premiere of Moonfall

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The actress' golden blonde highlights add warmth to her brunette base while her soft '70s curtain bangs play off her features. What's not to love about this combo?

05 of 08

Expensive Brunette

Now, this is one hair color that lives up to its name. "Expensive brunette refers to hair color that has incredible shine, a liquid like gloss finish, but has intentional lightening and dimension throughout the hair to look like the color cascades and shines with multi-dimensional reflect," Olson explains. "Whether it's a cooler or warmer tone, this trend focuses on having super healthy hair and rich hair color." Gigi Hadid's light brown hair is a prime example.

06 of 08

Copper Brown

Hailey Bieber at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscars Party

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Hailey Bieber's copper brown hair is super shiny and vibrant, and like the rest of her beauty looks, will inevitably become a bondafide TikTok trend

07 of 08

Honey Brown

Jennifer Lopez at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards

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No one does warm light brown hair like Jennifer Lopez. Here, the star demonstrates how gorgeous bronze highlights can be. The dimension created by the lighter strands creates a pretty honey brown finish.

08 of 08

Bronde

Not quite blonde, not quite brunette, Sofia Richie's in-between color is ideal for those who can't make up their mind.

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