If you are looking to update your hair and give yourself a stylish, modern, or edgy appearance, look no further. Blonde highlights are an excellent way to lighten and brighten your hair, and there are several shades to choose from. The highlights can be added to hair of all lengths, textures, and colors, looking natural on light base shades and creating a brilliant contrast on darker hair. There is also a variety of highlighting techniques to try, from delicate thin strands that create a subtle, sun-kissed appearance, to thick, chunky highlights that demand attention. For all the inspiration you need, keep reading to find out everything you need to know about these gorgeous highlight ideas we love, and you will too.
1. Brown Hair with Blonde Highlights
Brown hair looks gorgeous with blonde highlights and is a great way to lighten the hair and brighten the appearance. Wearing highlights over a darker base color can create a more natural effect and is less damaging than dyeing your entire head of hair. For the best results, choose a hue that is only two shades lighter. Or, if you want something more daring, opt for thick, chunky highlights and strategically place them in the hair so that they frame the face. This will draw attention to your features and can be incredibly flattering.
2. Black Hair with Blonde Highlights
It can be challenging to lighten black hair, but subtle highlights throughout are a great way to add depth and dimension to the hair. It will also lighten the hair and can make your hair texture and cut more noticeable. There will be a contrast with blonde on black hair, but you can experiment with the color. For a more natural finish, opt for warm hues like caramel or honey blondes, whereas icy and ash blondes will create a more striking finish.
3. Light Brown Hair with Blonde Highlights
Light brown hair is one of the most versatile hair colors and looks good on most people. It can easily be adapted to suit your preference, letting you lighten or darken the color to complement your skin tone. Light brown hair with blonde highlights will give your hair a bright finish. You can work with your hairstylist to determine the best approach to highlights. It could be subtle with babylights to create a sun-kissed finish, or you can opt for thicker highlights to create more contrast.
4. Red Hair with Blonde Highlights
Red hair is one of the rarest natural hair colors. This means that women with red hair often demand attention and it is a gorgeous hue that can be easily lightened with blonde highlights. You can experiment with how light you want the blonde to be, but the most natural results are often done with a medium blonde instead of a very light blonde. This option is also less maintenance. The blonde over the red will tone it down and can add depth and dimension to the hair.
5. Brown Hair With Blonde Highlights and Lowlights
Brown hair can be lightened or darkened with ease. To create a brilliant contrast in the hair and to update your appearance you can add blonde highlights and lowlights. Highlights are a coloring technique used to make the hair a color that is lighter than your base color, while lowlights are darker. This adds depth to the hair and can also give the illusion of volume. Lowlights blend better with your natural color, while highlights are made to stand out and are higher maintenance.
6. Dark Brown Hair with Blonde Highlights
Dark brown hair looks gorgeous when you add blonde highlights. This is an excellent way to give the hair depth and dimension with the contrast it creates. Darker hair can be more challenging to lighten, but highlights can be added to all hair colors and you can work with your hairstylist to determine the placement and how noticeable you want them to be. A great choice is to strategically place the highlights around your face, drawing attention to your features. This can be incredibly flattering. It is also a lower maintenance approach to color.
7. Dirty Blonde Hair with Highlights
Highlights can give your hair dimension but they can also create softness of highlight your hair texture. Dirty blonde hair is a shade of blonde that is medium to dark blonde with light brown undertones. It looks gorgeous on those with warm skin tones but can be easily adapted to suit your preference. It is also a color that suits most people and is easy to maintain because it is not too light. Adding highlights to the hair will create a subtle contrast, giving you a sunkissed appearance.
8. Medium Length Brown Hair with Blonde Highlights
Highlights can be added to hair of all lengths. The beauty of this coloring technique is its versatility. Medium-length hair is great because you have enough length to get creative with color and styling, but not so much that the hair is high maintenance of challenging to style. Brown hair with blonde highlights is a gorgeous way to lighten your hair and brighten your appearance. You can experiment with different color highlights, depending on your base color and how much contrast you wish to achieve. For the most natural results, try to opt for a hue that is only two shades lighter.
9. Ash Blonde Highlights
Ash blonde hair is a brilliant shade of cool blonde with silvery-blue tones. It is best suited to women with pale, pink skin tones but there is versatility with how you wear ash blonde. Adding highlights to the hair, either throughout or strategically placing them to create movement or focus the color around your face is a great way to update your hair and brighten your appearance. Highlights are created by adding color to the hair to lighten it and can be done in several ways, including foils.
10. Blonde Hair with Highlights and Lowlights
Blonde hair is an incredibly versatile color and there are various shades to choose from, from warm blondes to cool, icy colors. This makes it easy to find a shade that suits your preference and compliments your complexion. Whether you are naturally blonde or have dyed your hair blonde, you can benefit from adding highlights and lowlights to the hair. Highlights are colors added to the strands to lighten them. It can be done in several ways, including chunky highlights or foils. Lowlights are darker than your base color but will give your hair depth. The combination is an excellent way to enhance your texture but can also make your hair appear fuller and thicker.
11. Light Blonde Highlights
Light blonde is a light shade of blonde and adding it to the hair is a great way to lighten it. It can be added to darker blondes to give the hair a lift and lighten it, while also brightening your appearance. Or it can be added over darker hair to achieve a brilliant contrast that will give the hair depth and dimension. Work with your hairstylist to determine which approach to highlights will look the best on your hair and determine the level of maintenance.
12. Platinum Blonde Highlights
Platinum blonde is a light shade of blonde. It is high maintenance and challenging to care for, but it is a color that demands attention and is an excellent way to highlight your hair texture. The appeal of platinum is its visibility, and it looks great when added over a naturally light base color, creating a subtle contrast while lightening the hair and brightening your appearance. On darker hair, platinum can be tricky. You will need to bleach the strands first before coloring, which can be time-consuming and damaging. The contrast will also be very striking and is not appealing for those who want a color that is blended more seamlessly. A stylish alternative would be to focus the highlights around the face only, which can frame it and draw attention to your features.
13. Honey Blonde Highlights
Honey blonde is a warm shade of dark blonde and brown colors with light brown undertones. It is gorgeous on those with medium skin tones and dark hair but can be added to the hair in various ways, including highlights, making it easy to find a look that is best suited to you. Honey blonde can brighten darker colors like brown and dark blonde, and create depth and dimension. It can also be added to very pale blondes to give the hair more contrast. The warmth of this hue makes it a popular choice.
14. Strawberry Blonde Highlights
Strawberry blonde is a brilliant mix of blonde, pink, golden, and reddish tones. It looks gorgeous on those with light eyes and fair skin tones and is a very warm color. It is great as a base color with blonde highlights which will create subtle contrast and achieve depth and dimension. The highlights can also make the hair appear thicker and more voluminous. Alternatively, you can add strawberry blonde to very light hair to give it more contrast and make it darker, or to brown hair to give it warmth.
15. Brunette With Blonde Highlights
Brunette hair is stunning with blonde highlights. The highlights can be created in several shades of blonde, depending on how much contrast you wish to achieve and how natural you want the finished result to be. The highlights are an excellent way to highlight your hair texture and will draw attention. Ask your hairstylist to strategically place the color to create volume and depth on thin and fine hair, or to give the hair movement. You can also place it around the face to draw attention to your features and complement them.
16. Blonde Hair with Pink Highlights
Pink hair is a fun and expressive color. Adding pink highlights is a great way to show off your playful side and this is a color associated with love and femininity. There are various shades of pink to choose from, depending on your preference. This includes soft colors like pastel pink or saturated, vibrant hues like hot pink. Regardless of your chosen hue, blonde is an excellent base color for showing it off. The lightness of the blonde will mean you do not need to bleach your hair beforehand, and the pink will pop against it.
17. Blonde Hair with Purple Highlights
Purple is a color associated with luxury and royalty, and adding it to your hair will let you unleash your inner queen. This is an excellent way to have fun with your hair and create a unique and fun look. Purple hair highlights are gorgeous against a blonde base color and will stand out. It will also create contrast which can highlight your hair texture and create depth and volume. You can subtly add the purple by focusing it around the face or opting for thin, delicate strands. Or you can go bold with thick, chunky streaks.
18. Caramel Blonde Highlights on Brown Hair
Caramel hair is one of the most beautiful colors. It is a warm hue that is often golden in appearance but there are variations of the color which can be lighter or darker, depending on your preference. Adding caramel blonde highlights to brown hair is an excellent way to create subtle contrast and will brighten your base color. The hue can give the hair depth and dimension when added with traditional foils. Or you could opt for a more subtle approach, adding thin, delicate strands of color for a natural finish.
19. Blonde Highlights and Lowlights
Highlights and lowlights can be added to the hair together to both lighten it and give it dimension. Highlights are a color that is lighter than your base color, while lowlights are closer to your natural color but darker, and often creates a more seamless blend. Adding both is an excellent way to get creative with color but is also beneficial for making your hair look fuller, thicker, and more voluminous. This is an especially appealing look for those with thin or fine hair.
20. Blonde Highlights Curly Hair
Highlights look gorgeous on all hair textures, including curly hair. Curly hair is sought-after because it can be styled in various ways, worn long or short, and demands attention. It is also excellent for softening the features and creating a beautiful, feminine finish. Highlights on curly hair will enhance your texture while lightening the hair and brightening your appearance. It is a great way to update your hair to create a subtle contrast.
21. Blonde Highlights Short Hair
Highlights are a great way to give the hair a boost of color and look amazing on short hair. This is an excellent way to give the hair depth and dimension. The right highlights can also create the illusion of volume and thicker strands. Blonde can be added to hair of all colors, textures, and lengths, but the most natural results are created when the color is only a few shades lighter than your base color. This will create a more seamless blend while still lightening the hair.
22. Caramel Blonde Highlights
For those who to brighten their hair and give it a subtle contrast, caramel blonde, which has a gorgeous golden appearance, is an excellent choice. Caramel is a warm color that can be added to the hair in various ways, including highlights to. The color best suits those with warm and neutral skin tones and dark eyes but can be easily adapted to suit your preference. It is a better color for darker hair as it will blend more seamlessly than adding platinum or icy blonde hues. Caramel is also incredibly versatile and is flattering on most women. It is also less maintenance than lighter blondes.
23. Chunky Blonde Highlights
Chunky highlights are ideal for those who want to create a visible contrast. This way of highlighting adds color to the hair in thick stripes, covering large sections of the hair. The contrast is more visible on darker hair and can be quite striking. The look can take some confidence to pull off and is not as natural as other highlighting techniques, but it is a great way to show your individuality while also giving your hair depth and dimension. One of the most popular ways to try chunky highlights is to focus them around the face, like the money piece, which will draw attention to your features.
24. Dark Blonde Highlights
Dark blonde hair can be in a range of colors, including blondes with brown tones like chocolate blonde. This hair color can be incredibly flattering on everyone, including those with fair skin and with medium and darker complexions. You can lighten dark hair with dark blonde highlights for a more subtle and natural finish than opting for a lighter blonde shade. Or you can add it as lowlights to very light hair, giving the hair depth.
25. Natural Blonde Highlights
Natural blonde is a shade that looks natural and undyed. The key is to mix highlights and lowlights and stick to colors that are not too bright or high maintenance. You want the change to your hair to be as subtle as possible. For lighter skin tones, light blonde colors can be very flattering, while darker, deeper blondes look great on those with dark complexions.
26. Balayage Blonde Highlights
Balayage is a coloring technique that lightens the hair. Instead of opting for traditional foils, the color is painted directly onto the hair which creates a sweeping effect and gives you a gorgeous, natural finish. Balayage is appealing to those who want to lighten their hair but prefer a sun-kissed effect to thick, chunky highlights. This is an incredibly versatile way to color the hair and is often less damaging. It is also great for darker base colors and will create less contrast.
27. Blonde Hair with Blue Highlights
Blue is a color associated with calm and tranquility, and adding it to your hair can be a way to channel these things. It is also the perfect opportunity to show off your playful side and show that you are not afraid to take risks with your hair. Blue hair highlights are a more subtle way to experiment with the color instead of dyeing all of your hair in your favorite shade, and it looks great against a blonde base color. The blue pops against the light background. The combination will create a contrast which can also give the hair depth and dimension.
28. Icy Blonde Highlights
Icy blonde is a very pale shade of blonde. Similar in appearance to platinum blonde but has cool undertones of purple and blue. It is incredibly high-maintenance, but the appeal of icy blonde is that it is a color that will draw attention to your face. It will also make your hair shimmer. The color is best suited to those with fair skin tones but can also be adapted to look good on darker skin tones. A more subtle approach to dyeing your whole head would be to add the color with highlights, which can give your hair a modern update and transform you into a blonde bombshell.
29. Blonde with Gold Highlights
Blonde hair is incredibly versatile and can be added to the hair in various ways. If you have naturally blonde hair but want to change it up and give it dimension, this can be achieved with highlights. There are many shades of blonde to choose from, making it easy to find the right match. Golden blonde is a multi-tonal color that is warm and natural-looking. You can add it to the hair with balayage highlights for a sun-kissed effect, or focus it around the face for a framing effect which can be very flattering.
30. Blonde Highlights with Ginger Hair
Ginger hair color is bright and bold. It is an orangey-red hue and is very noticeable. It is also surprisingly versatile and can be worn in various ways. To tone down the color, you can add blonde highlights, which can lighten the hair and brighten it. It can also make it easier to try off such a vibrant hue. Ginger is best suited to those with cool skin tones because it is a warm color.
Blond Highlights FAQs
What are the different types of blonde highlights?
There are several types of highlights to choose from depending on your preference. These could be traditional foils, chunky pieces, dimensional highlights, balayage, babylights, and foil-ayage.
What color blonde highlights should I get?
The color blonde you choose to add to your hair should depend on your base color and how much contrast you want to achieve. For a natural result, it should be a blonde that is only one or two shades lighter than your hair color. For a striking finish that demands attention, you can use a medium blonde on dark hair to give it depth and dimension.
Can you go fully blonde with highlights?
It is possible to go blonde with highlights but this approach to coloring will cover only sections of hair at a time. If you want to go fully blonde with highlights it will be a more time-consuming process and will require several sessions.
How to tone down blonde highlights?
To tone down blonde highlights you can use a purple shampoo. This will remove the yellow, orange, and brassy tones from your hair. You can also use a dry shampoo over your highlights for a more subtle finish.
Can you get blonde highlights while pregnant?
The research into what is safe for women when pregnant is limited. Some studies have said that it is OK to color the hair with highlights when pregnant, other research has shown that the chemicals in hair dyes can be harmful. When making this decision you should speak to a medical professional and always err on the side of caution.
How to fix blonde highlights that look grey?
It is possible that blonde highlights can look grey because they have absorbed your base color. To correct this, you can use a color-correcting shampoo, like a purple shampoo, which will neutralize the grey. If you are unsure what to do, you can head back to the salon and ask for advice.
Cailyn Cox holds a degree in journalism and has been working with The Trend Spotter as a writer for over ten years. She has worked with some of the most prestigious women’s and men's lifestyle publications. For her, writing is not just a job; it’s a passion, which is why each article she writes is approached with such enthusiasm and dedication. She has extensive knowledge of hairstyles, tattoos, and beauty and has made a career out of creating informative articles that appeal to women and men of all ages.
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