30 Ways to Wear the Bronze Hair Color Trend

Silky Waves

Natural brunettes, take note: A simple bronze balayage is an amazing way to brighten up your entire face. (And we certainly can’t complain about these gorgeous silky waves).

According to Leake, natural brunettes lend beautifully to a burnt caramel bronze. “Bronze adds warmth to brunettes and allows the natural root to come in and melt beautifully with the bronze color,” he says. “Blondes can make a smooth transition to tawny bronze, and natural redheads can brighten up by going a more coppery shade of bronze.”

Pop of Cinnamon

You can embrace your natural hair color while simply enhancing it for maximum impact. These bronze highlights don’t hide her natural hue underneath—and the shades complement each other perfectly.

Lightened-Up Layers

Take your layered look up a notch with strategically placed warm highlights. The face-framing pieces—and tawny copper tones—take the cake.

All-over Warmth

Rather than balayage or highlights, opt for a bronze hue all-over for next-level warmth and richness. (The golden-hour lighting here doesn’t hurt, either).

Copper Combo

Combine the tawny undertones of bronze with the reddish ones of copper for an allover heat-filled look.

Prominent Face-Framing Highlights

Pep up a piecey, layered bob with some warm bronze highlights. This one is even sweeter with prominent face-framing pieces.

Natural Roots

A subtle bronze balayage combined with natural roots is the perfect low-maintenance look (that’s still high-impact, of course).

Super Subtle

Like we said, the great thing about bronze is that it’s an easy, transitional shade—you don’t have to go too dark or too light with it. Ease into it with super subtle highlights that still warm up your entire look. Leake agrees, saying that bronze is a relatively low-maintenance look, as it deposits color instead of lifting it.

“Complement the beautiful color contrasts and dimensions by adding a shine spray, such as Color Wow Dream Coat ($27). Your hair will thank you. Plus, one application of dream coat lasts up to three shampoos,” he says.

Warm Micro-Twists

If you’re a braid lover, consider micro-twists in a lighter hue (like this honey bronze). Get all our braid tips right here.

Bronze Highlights

Feeling subtle? Warm up raven-hued curls with just a sprinkle of bronze highlights throughout, as seen here on digital creator Taylor Winbush. (Also, if you’re getting volume envy from this pic, find our best volume-boosting tips for curly hair here).

For those with natural hair, it’s important to pick a shade that works not only with your natural hair but also with your natural skin tone.

“Make sure to ask your stylist to stay away from cool tones and focus on blending in the warmer tones of bronze,” says Leake. “For upkeep between visits, be sure to use products that keep your hair hydrated, healthy, and vibrant with color.”

Slightly Sun-Kissed

Look like you just spent a week in St. Tropez with a tawny sun-kissed color and silky beach waves.

Tawny Tendrils

Spice up your strands with a stunning honey-bronze hue. We love the dimension here with darker pieces beneath.

Bronze Ombré

Go from dark to light with a bronze ombré so seamless, you won’t have to worry about frequent root touch-ups. If you find yourself wanting to do a bit of at-home maintenance, Bryant recommends tinted conditioners as her go-to for vibrancy hold in between salon visits.

“It’s a more non-committal, affordable way to deposit a bit of color safely at home and without chemicals of actual hair color that I’ve seen great results with,” she says. “I like Christophe Robin Chic Copper Shade Variation Hair Mask ($53) for lighter more strawberry blondes. It’s a lighter version of copper pigment deposit and is good for all textures to smooth and hydrate but not weigh the hair down for consistent and natural-looking color maintenance.”

Golden Curls

Gorgeous curls can be made even more gorgeous (if that’s even possible) by warming them up with honey bronze-hued highlights combined with tawny brown lowlights.

“Purple shampoos are important to incorporate for blondes, but may lift your bronze too much, making it look less coppery and more ashy,” he says. “I recommend Color Wow Color Security Shampoo ($24) to keep your bronze hair fresh without over-lightening.”

Copper Balayage

Go a little red with a bronze balayage and coppery tint. The touchable waves here are the cherry on top.

“Bronze is all about warmth, so I love to style the hair down around the face to compliment skin tone. Loose waves are gorgeous on the bronze look as they reveal the different hues of gold and copper working together,” says Leake on styling hair.

A Little Warmth

Just adding a touch of all-over warmth with bronze highlights and coppery pieces framing your face can brighten up a look.

Major Dimension

Using hair painting and both highlight and lowlight techniques, this bronze ‘do is taken to another dimension (no pun intended). The shades of brown, blonde, and bronze strewn together feel super cohesive—and that braid is goals.

Blunt Balayage

Embrace a naturally fine texture with a gorgeous blunt bob combined with a bronze balayage (that’ll add major depth to your hair).

Blunt Bangs

They’re not easy to execute properly, but when you’re in the hands of a capable stylist, we love a short blunt-bang moment. Combine them with a dark-to-light bronze balayage for maximum impact.

Rich & Vibrant

A pigmented, ultra-saturated tone is perfect for the beauty risk-takers out there. This coppery bronze tone complements the client’s healthy, shiny curls perfectly.

Warm & Layered

A layered, voluminous style gets even more dimension and depth with piecey highlights. This bronze hue (combined with natural roots) is truly stunning.

“I love these hues with texture and movement, such as a good afro or big set of curls with coppery shades,” says Bryant. “There’s never not somewhere to look as the color can bounce the light and sunshine off the hair, which can make the hair look thick and healthy-looking from these warmer shades.”

Piecey Bob

Give a layered, piecey bob a fresh update with a warm bronze balayage. (Get our tips for hair this touchable here).

Golden Bronze Ombré

It’s almost blonde—but not quite. We love the look of a silky bronze ombré with roots kept natural.

Bronze Braids

Spice up your knotless braids with a wearable bronze hue (complemented by natural roots and an enviable ponytail).

Curly Balayage

We’re obsessed with the dimension these natural curls are bringing. Want the same? A bronze balayage might be exactly what you’re looking for.