How To Get (And Maintain) Bronde Hair Color

If you’re a brunette considering going brighter or a blonde pondering going darker, bronde might just be your sweet spot. Bronde hair is something of a halfway point between dark blonde and light brown. The dimensional hue is deeper than bombshell blonde yet lighter than chocolatey brown. It’s an ultra-wearable shade that’s versatile, easy to achieve, and flattering on a wide range of complexions.

Now that your interest is piqued, we’re here with everything you need to know about going bronde, from how to achieve the color to which hair care products to use to care for your color-treated hair. We’ve also rounded up 26 of our favorite bronde hair ideas to pin to your vision board (or bring to your stylist). Once you go bronde, you might never go back to plain ol’ blonde.

What Is Bronde Hair?

Bronde hair color is neither blonde nor brunette, but rather, a color that sits somewhere in between these different hues. Interestingly, there isn’t a distinct hue that universally defines the trend. Bronde hair can be warm-toned or cool-toned, all one color or woven through with highlights—it all depends on your personal preference. This flexibility is one of the main reasons why bronde is such a universally flattering hair color. With this wearable hue, you get the best of both worlds (a major plus if you struggle to commit to just one hair color).

Who Does Bronde Hair Look Best On?

Since bronde hair is so customizable, the versatile hue can suit just about anyone. Golden, amber, and honey variations look stunning on those with warm, olive-to-deep skin, while ashier shades are particularly flattering against cool, fair-to-light skin. If you love all the colors we just mentioned, narrow down your best options by tailoring them to your own skin tone and undertones.

As a quick refresher, your skin tone refers to the shade of your skin at any given time. Your skin tone can fluctuate from sunburn or tanning, so some find their skin tone is slightly lighter in the winter than in the summer. Undertones, on the other hand, are the pigments that lie beneath your skin’s surface and never change. Undertones can be cool (bluish or pinkish), warm (yellowish or greenish), or neutral. Knowing what your undertones are can be helpful when determining which hair color is best for you. Oftentimes, matching like-with-like (cool bronde hair with cool-toned skin and warm bronde hair with warm-toned skin) will yield the most complementary results, though this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Endless adaptations of bronde exist; it’s all about finding the one that makes you feel the most empowered.

How To Get Bronde Hair

There are two ways to achieve bronde hair: in the salon or at home. If you choose the former route, ask your colorist to paint highlights and lowlights within two levels of your base color throughout your hair. This can help give you a dimensional yet low-maintenance look that doesn’t stray too far from your natural color. We recommend bringing photo inspiration to your appointment so your stylist can better understand the vibe you’re going for.

If your budget or schedule prevents you from visiting the salon, rest assured there are ways to achieve a gorgeously blended look at home. L’Oréal Paris has tons of salon-inspired dye kits that can help you recreate popular iterations of bronde in your own bathroom. (You’ll find some of our go-to's in our inspo roundup ahead.)

Keep in mind that a bronde dye job is often easier to achieve on light to medium-brown hair as it requires less bleach. However, those with super dark or light hair can still get in on the fun—it just might take a bit more time to reach your desired result. Going slow and steady with your bleaching sessions can help you prevent excessive hair damage. Your initial look may skew slightly darker than anticipated, but with a little bit of patience, the outcome will be worth the wait.

Is Bronde Hair High Maintenance?

The maintenance requirements for bronde hair color depend on your hair coloring technique and how light you choose to go. For instance, an all-over color might require more frequent root touch-ups to ensure a fresh, seamless blend, while blended highlights and ombré tend to be more forgiving. We recommend opting for balayage or babylights if you’re looking for a lower-maintenance way to lean into the bronde hair trend.

As mentioned, your hair’s tone also factors into its upkeep. Lightening your hair multiple levels (like when opting for cool, ashy tones) can cause your hair to turn brassy more quickly. Your mane might need some extra TLC to help keep it bright and free of unwanted warmth. Warm bronde hair, meanwhile, may be less affected by slight brassiness. With this in mind, you can select a bronde look that fits your lifestyle (and budget).

Here are a few more tips to keep top of mind when caring for bronde tresses.

Invest in color care systems

All color-treated hair requires some amount of maintenance, even if it’s just making small tweaks to your haircare routine. As such, we recommend picking up a color-safe shampoo and conditioner to keep your bronde hair looking vibrant well after your coloring session ends. Try a duo like the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Moisture Shampoo and the coordinating Conditioner to replenish dry hair with twice as much moisture and keep color pure for up to four weeks.

Use a toning shampoo

A purple shampoo can help neutralize unwanted warmth in your bronde ‘do. Once a week, rotate your regular shampoo with a toning one like L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Purple Shampoo. This violet-tinted formula helps correct brassy tones on blonde and highlighted brown hair. Follow it up with L'Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Purple Conditioner to amplify the brass-busting results.

Dial down the heat

Exposure to high temperatures—like from your hot tools—can cause your color to dull faster than it otherwise would. Instead of blasting your hair with a blow dryer every day, consider embracing your natural texture by letting it air dry.

If hot tools are an absolute must, be sure to turn them to their lowest temperature setting and prep your hair with a heat protectant. We love L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Heat Slayer Leave-In, which helps protect hair from temperatures up to 450^oF.

26 Bronde Hair Ideas To Try Now

Now that you’ve learned the basics of bronde hair, it’s time to explore the wonders of this natural-looking hue. Here are 26 ways to rock a dimensional bronde hair color.

1. Dark bronde

There’s no need to abandon your rich brunette base when toying with bronde: Dark bronde hair can satisfy the urge without overhauling your signature look. This low-key option adds a hint of brightness while still retaining the depth of your brunette base color.

2. Medium bronde

If you find yourself stuck between a moody, dark shade and a sunny, bright one, bridge the gap with a medium bronde hair color. It’s a dimensional hue that easily flatters a range of complexions, and can be tweaked down the line with highlights or lowlights for a new spin on the simple-yet-chic look.

3. Light bronde

If dark or medium bronde hasn’t struck your fancy, you might be in the market for a light bronde hair color. We’re especially fond of how this cooler-leaning shade pops against a fair skin tone. Just remember, you might need to spend a few extra hours in the salon chair (or with your boxed dye) to achieve your preferred level of lightness.

When going for a lighter shade, we recommend adding a deep conditioning mask into your routine to help address any resulting hair damage. We’re partial to the L’Oréal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Simply Clean Elastic Fiber Masque, which envelops color-treated hair in essential moisture for renewed softness and shine.

4. Bronde shadow roots

Make your bronde grow out seamless by opting for shadow roots. This hair coloring method involves “blurring” the line where your natural roots meet your dyed hair color, typically using a similar-hued hair toner or gloss. The color blending effect can help keep a telltale line of regrowth at bay so that you can go longer between touch-ups.

5. Bronde balayage

If you want to dip your toes into cool bronde hair but are unsure how it’ll mesh with your complexion, consider a bronde balayage. This hand-painted highlighting technique gradually lightens the ends of your hair and can be customized to leave the roots of your hair untouched.

A kit like L’Oréal Paris Superior Preference Balayage At-Home Highlighting Kit in Light to Dark Blonde can help you get the look at home. It includes all the necessary tools to create luminous, salon-inspired balayage highlights—without the hefty price tag.

15. Dark ash blonde

This dark blonde shade (sometimes referred to as “dirty blonde”) is a great low-maintenance pick for those who want to experiment with lighter hair. If you want to cut down on upkeep even more, consider asking your colorist for a root smudge—it’ll help ensure a seamless growout.

16. Strawberry blonde

Strawberry blonde is the perfect marriage of blonde and red. Opt for a shade with silvery undertones, like L'Oréal Paris Féria Multi-Faceted Shimmering Permanent Hair Color in Strawberry Blonde, to complement your cool complexion.

7. Bronde sombré

Soft ombré, subtle ombré—whatever you prefer to call it, sombré bronde hair is ideal for those wanting to play with two colors in a more subdued way. This understated hue blends dark blonde and light brown highlights throughout a deeper brown base for a touch of brightness that won’t overpower your base shade.

8. Bronde ribbon highlights

Whereas a balayage or ombré concentrates bronde on the ends of the hair, ribbon highlights are woven throughout for all-over dimension. The result is a multi-faceted hue that looks especially great on wavy and curly hair.

9. Ashy bronde

In addition to the standard mix of blonde and brunette, ashy bronde hair boasts cool gray tones throughout. This cool-toned hair color is especially flattering on those with fair, cool-toned complexions. Get a similar look at home with the L’Oréal Paris Superior Preference Fade-Defying Shine Permanent Hair Color in Medium Ash Blonde.

10. Caramel bronde

If you favor warmer hair colors, consider caramel bronde balayage. All base colors can pull off the luxe look, but light to dark brunettes are the ideal canvas for creating that much-needed pop of contrast. Learn more about achieving the technique in our article, Why You Should Warm Up Your Monotone Mane With Caramel Balayage.

11. Strawberry bronde

Strawberry bronde hair is a hybrid hue that seamlessly melds coppery red, medium blonde, and dark brown tones into one flattering color. If you want to try your hand at DIY-ing this tonal color, we recommend picking up L’Oréal Paris Excellence Créme Permanent Triple Protection Hair Color in Medium Reddish Blonde.

12. Sandy bronde

Serve up some beachy flair with a sandy bronde hair color. Featuring a mix of deep beige and gray tones, this neutral-leaning hair color lends depth and sophistication to a classically beachy hair color.

13. Honey bronde

Elevate your mane by weaving glossy honey highlights throughout a medium bronde base. This sumptuous shade serves up tons of warm dimension that sparkles in and out of the sun.

Keep your golden hue luminous with a hair gloss like L’Oréal Paris Le Color Gloss One Step In-Shower Toning Gloss in Honey Blonde. This in-shower formula helps correct brassy, faded tones and leaves hair with a glass-like shine. Use it once a week or as needed to help keep your color looking vibrant on your own schedule.

14. Ash bronde highlights

These smoky highlights are proof that it’s totally possible to sport an ashy bronde on dark brown hair. What we love most about this look is how subtle it is for hair dye newbies: The blended, warm-meets-cool shade helps brighten your complexion without a full-on color job.

15. Chunky bronde highlights

These aren’t the streaky highlights you proudly rocked in middle school. The modern version of Y2K chunky highlights are strategically placed to add visual interest to your locks without looking too stripy.

16. Beige bronde babylights

If natural-looking hair color is at the top of your wishlist, consider it done with beige blonde babylights. This beachy hair color features ultra-fine light bronde highlights woven throughout a medium bronde base. The result is a natural-looking sunkissed color—without the sun damage.

Try your hand at a similar babylight effect with a kit like L’Oréal Paris Frost & Design At-Home Hair Coloring in Champagne. The unique pull-through cap lets you select the exact strands you want lightened for a delectable swirl of creamy highlights.

17. Dark bronde lowlights

If you’re looking to turn up the heat on a lighter blonde base color, consider opting for dark bronde lowlights. Lowlighting is a foolproof technique for adding dimension to lighter strands—and it requires far less maintenance than a full color job.

18. Bronde hair with rose gold underlights

Add an unexpected element to your strands with a touch of rose gold underlights. This peekaboo hair color technique involves placing a punchy color on the bottommost layers of hair where it can easily be hidden. We love that this trend allows you to experiment with fantasy color without the lasting commitment. If you already have a bronde base, pick up the L’Oréal Paris Colorista Hair Makeup Temporary 1-Day Hair Color Spray in Rose Gold to give the playful look a try.

19. Rose bronde hair

For those seeking an all-over rosy glow, we recommend rose bronde hair. This flirty and feminine hue features pale, pinkish-blonde highlights woven throughout a medium bronde base. The barely-there hue reads blonde in low lighting, but you’ll notice the pinkish tones shine through in the sunlight.

20. Bronde hair with wheat highlights

Embrace contrast by pairing a deep brown base color with reflective, wheat-toned highlights. Keep in mind that since the bronde tones in this unique hue lean cool, you’ll definitely want to keep a purple shampoo on hand to keep brass at bay.

21. Hazelnut bronde

Take inspiration from your favorite Sunday morning breakfast spread with a hazelnut bronde hair color. This tonal hue expertly melds medium blonde, dark brown, and light gold tones to add instant depth and dimension to your look.

22. Auburn bronde

Calling all redheads: If you want to try the bronde trend without saying goodbye to your natural base, auburn bronde hair will be your saving grace. It’s a brighter take on the bronde trend that weaves tints of brown and blonde throughout your mane for a warm and vibrant finish. This hair color looks especially flattering on those with pale complexions, though anyone can slay the style.

23. Copper bronde

Jump on the metallic hair bandwagon with copper bronde hair. This reflective hue features a blended mix of copper, blonde, and light brown hair colors, resulting in an ultra-dimensional hue with tons of inviting warmth. While reddish hair colors can sometimes fade quickly, you can use the L’Oréal Paris Le Color Gloss One Step In-Shower Toning Gloss in Copper to refresh your fiery hue between touch-ups.

24. Bronde with bronze ends

While we’re gushing over metallic hair colors, it’s only right that we put bronde hair with bronze-dipped ends on your radar. This hair color allows you to step outside the box and blend two hair trends into one for a glitzy hue that stuns against medium complexions.

25. Bronde money piece

It’s called a money piece for a reason: This brightening, face-framing highlight can instantly make your bronde hair dye appear even more expensive. The technique involves hand painting a chunky streak around your face in a balayage-like manner to create a bright, lived-in look.

26. Toasted coconut bronde

Toasted coconut hair features dark, neutral-toned roots that gradually lighten into bright platinum ends. Put a softer spin on the two-tone look by opting for light bronde (rather than pure platinum) streaks.

Next Up: How To Manage Brassy Orange Tones on Lightened Hair