How to Choose the Right Shade of Brown for Your Season
- May 17
- 9 min read
We’re all about embracing your natural features and hair color but let’s be honest, sometimes we might need a little refresh or want to experiment with our hair color and try different things, or just enhance our natural features with subtle highlights or a balayage.
In this article, we’ll look at the different shades of brunette and how you can find your best shades based on your color season. Whether that's a warm chestnut or a cool ash brown or subtle lowlights.
Below is a guide on how to choose the right shade of brown for your color season.
Brunette for Springs
Brunette Shades for Light Spring
The natural hair color of Light Springs typically sits in the levels 6-9 range and leans slightly warm. As a light season, you’ll want to stay in the light brown range and not go too dark. As a general rule, anything darker than a level 5 is probably too much. There are plenty of gorgeous shades in the level 5-6 range, though.
If you don’t want to go fully darker but want some more dimension, then lowlights can be a great option!
Some great brunette tones for Light Springs include:
Light golden brown
Golden brown
Caramel brown
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural.
Tip: Keep the color light and neutral-warm
Avoid: Anything darker than a level 5
*This is not to say that you cannot go darker, you absolutely can, but it just may not harmonise well with your coloring and can look a little gothic or off. But sometimes that might be the look we’re after.
Brunette Shades for True Spring
True Springs can handle a little more depth than Light Springs, but still nothing too extreme. The natural color of True Springs is typically in the levels 4-7 range, with natural warmth. As a general rule, stick to brunette shades that are between levels 4-6 and have a warm base.
If you’re just looking to spice up your natural color and add some more shine and warmth, then glosses are a great option. Pick a gloss around your natural level with a warm base.
Lowlights are a great option for those who want a little more dimension but don’t want to go fully darker.
Some shades of brunette that suit True Springs include:
Golden brown
Caramel brown
Toffee
Light Chestnut
Dark Honey
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural
Warm gloss around your natural level.
Tip: Always keep the tone warm and don’t go too dark.
Brunette Shades for Bright Spring
Bright Springs can handle a whole range of brunette tones as long as they are vibrant and glossy. The natural color of Bright Springs can range from a level 2 to a level 5, so anything in that range can work. Just make sure the color is vibrant and slightly warmer in tone. Stay away from all the dull brown tones.
Glosses can be great for Bright Springs since the can add more shine and vibrancy to the natural color. Pick a shade about the level of your natural base and choose an option that makes the color richer, shinier and more vibrant.
Bright Chestnut Brown
Bright Chocolate Brown
Mocha
Espresso Brown
Reddish Brown
A vibrant gloss around your natural level.
Tip: Avoid ashy browns, mousy browns and anything that is too dull
Learn more about the best hair colors for Springs here.
Brunette for Autumns
Brunette Shades for Soft Autumn
Soft Autumns look fantastic in colors that are in-between a true brunette and a true blonde, think of all the bronde shades. The natural hair color can range from a level 4-7, so when it comes to brunette, it’s best to choose colors around the 4-6 range, not going below a 3. The tones should be soft and blended.
Highlights and lowlights work really well on Soft Autumns. One option is just adding lowlights to your natural base to create more dimension. Another subtle option can be using a gloss around your natural level to add more warmth.
Some blonde tones that suit Soft Autumns include:
Soft Golden Brown
Soft Caramel Brown
Soft Light Brown
Soft lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than natural base
A soft gloss around your natural level.
Avoid:
Anything too harsh darker than a level 3
Colors that are too saturated and vibrant
Brunette Shades for True Autumn
True Autumns glow in rich and warm shades like Chestnut or Chocolate. All of the warm middle brunette shades were practically made for True Autumns.
The natural color is typically in the level 3-5 range with natural warmth.
Glosses can be a great way for True Autumns to add more warmth into their hair. Choose a gloss around your natural level with warm undertones to add more shine and glow.
If you want a little more dimension, then adding lowlights around 1-2 shades darker than your natural base can also be an option. Or adding streaks of auburn or mahogany for some extra warmth.
Caramel Brown
Dark Golden Brown
Chocolate brown
Chestnut
Reddish brown
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than natural base
A warm gloss around your natural level.
Avoid:
Colors that are too cool - anything in the ash family
Colors that are too stark like black
Brunette Tones for Deep Autumn
Deep Autumn truly shines in rich, saturated dark browns. This is the season for brunettes! Think of all the luscious, rich, dark brown shades. All of these were made for Deep Autumns.
The natural hair color is typically in the level 2-4 range with neutral-warm undertones.
If you want to add some more depth and vibrancy, then using a gloss or color about 1-2 shades darker than your natural can be a great option. If you just want some more dimension and to spice up your natural a bit, then lowlights about 1-2 shades darker can work or mahogany/deep auburn highlights/lowlights to add more warmth.
Shades that look stunning on you include
Deep Chestnut
Dark Chocolate
Espresso Brown
Dark Reddish Brown
Deep Mahogany
Deep Auburn
Mahogany/Auburn/Chocolate highlights / balayage
Lowlights 1-2 shades darker than your base
A gloss to add more depth and vibrancy.
Avoid:
Medium ashy browns (wash you out).
Light brown
Read more about all hair colors for Autumns here.
Brunette for Summers
Brunette Shades for Light Summer
Light Summers need lightness. The natural hair color for Light Summers typically sits around the levels 7-10 range, which is blonde. The darkest a Light Summer can truly go while still harmonising with their natural coloring, is about a level 6 light brown. That’s not to say that you cannot go darker as a Light Summer - you absolutely can - it just might look a little out of place or “gothic” but sometimes that might be what we want! (that’s a separate article though).
If you still want to remain within your coloring but want to add a little more dimension, the subtle lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your base can be an amazing option. Also, a subtle gloss to add more ash-y tones can be great.
Light Ash brown
Light Brown
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural
A gloss 1 shade darker than your natural.
Avoid:
Anything darker than a level 6
Brunette Shades for True Summer
True Summers thrive in the ash brown and medium cool brown territory like no other season! The natural color typically ranges from a level 3 to a level 6 and has cool, ashy qualities to it.
If you just want to add some dimension or coolness, then subtle lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural can work amazingly. Just keep the tone cool. Likewise, if you just want a bit of a refresh and to add some more coolness, then a gloss around your natural level with cool undertones can be a fantastic option!
Ash Brown
Cool Brown
Cool Medium Brown
Cool Dark Brown
Icy Mocha
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural
A gloss around your natural shade with cool undertones.
Avoid:
Warm browns like Chocolate brown, Chestnut, etc
Browns with strong red undertones like Mahogany, etc.
Brunette Shades for Soft Summer
Soft Summers, like Soft Autumns, come alive in that in-between territory, with colors that are in-between a true brunette and a true blonde. Think of all the bronde shades.
The natural hair color of Soft Summers is around a level 4-7 with neutral cool undertones. As a rule of thumb, it's best to stick to browns in the 4-6 range and to not go darker than a level 3.
If you just want to add some dimension to your natural base, then soft lowlights about 1-2 shades darker can be a great option. If you just want a refresh, then a gloss around your natural base or a shade darker can be fantastic. Just make sure the tones are soft and cool.
Some brunette shades that work for Soft Summers include
Soft Light Brown
Soft Ash Brown
Soft Medium Brown
Lowlights about 1-2 shades darker than your natural
A soft gloss around your natural shade or a shade darker with cool undertones.
Avoid:
Anything too dark, below a level 3 (too harsh)
Anything too warm like a chestnut brown, chocolate etc.
Learn more about the best hair colors for Summers here.
Brunette for Winters
Winters were made for those cool and deep brunette tones!
Brunette Shades for Deep Winter
Deep Winter thrives with the darkest browns and blacks. Think of colors like deep espresso, brown black, soft black and jet black (we’re including black in this article although it’s not technically “brunette”).
The natural hair color of Deep Winters usually falls into the level 1-3 range, so colors in that range work beautifully.
To add some more dimension to your natural tone, you can opt for lowlights a shade or too darker, or highlights a shade or two lighter (if your hair is naturally black, for example).
Another great option to refresh your tone and add some glossiness and vibrancy is using a gloss around your natural range. If your hair is naturally a level 2-3, then you can try a jetblack to add more contrast and depth, for example.
Dark Chocolate
Dark Mocha
Deep Espresso
Brown-black
Jetblack
Lowlights 1-2 shades darker
Highlights 1-2 shades lighter
A gloss adding more vibrancy and depth.
Avoid:
All light browns - they wash you out
All the golden and caramel browns - too light and warm
Brunette Shades for True Winter
True Winters were made for those cool and dark hair colors like deep cool brown, mocha, and espresso. The natural hair color of True Winter typically sits around the level 2-5 range, so anything around there should work well, as long as its cool-toned.
If you simply want to add some dimension, then lowlights about a shade or two darker can work well. If you want to enhance the cool tones in your hair, then using a gloss around your base level with extra cool-tones can be a fantastic option.
You can also try dying your hair a jet black if your natural is slightly lighter than that, to see how you look with the added contrast and depth.
Brunette shades for True Winters
Dark Chocolate
Dark Mocha
Dark Cool Brown
Brown-black
Jetblack
Lowlights 1-2 shades darker
A gloss adding more coolness, vibrancy and depth.
Avoid:
All light browns - they wash you out
All the golden and caramel browns - too light and warm
Brunette Shades for Bright Winter
Bright Winters need depth, contrast and vibrancy.
The natural hair color can range from a level 1-4, so anything in that range should work well, as long as it’s vibrant and cool.
If you want to add more glossiness and vibrancy to your hair and enhance its cool tones, then using a gloss around your base level with extra vibrancy and cool tones can be a fantastic option. For more dimension, try adding lowlights about a shade or two darker than your base.
You can also try dying your hair a jet black if your natural is slightly lighter than that, to see how you look with the added contrast and depth.
Vibrant Dark Chocolate
Vibrant Dark Mocha
Glossy Dark Cool Brown
Jetblack
Glossy Brown-black
Lowlights 1-2 shades darker
A gloss adding more vibrancy and depth.
Avoid:
All light browns - they wash you out
Ashy browns - too dull
Read more about all the hair colors for Winters here.
Tips for Choosing Your Brunette Tone
Regardless of your season, a few universal principles apply when venturing into the world of red:
1. Maintain Your Undertone: This is perhaps the most crucial rule. If you are a Spring or Autumn (warm seasons), stick to golden, caramel, chocolate or chestnut browns with either golden or reddish undertones. If you are a Summer or Winter (cool seasons), opt for cool-toned ashy browns with ash, charcoal or black undertones. Read more about temperature (cool vs warm) here.
2.Respect Your Depth and Contrast Level: As a rule of thumb, darker seasons need depth in their hair color to bring their features to life, whereas lighter seasons look more harmonious in lighter shades. Read more about depth/value.
Similarly, don't try to go against your natural contrast level. If you're high-contrast you'll want to stick with darker hair colors in order to keep that contrast alive. If you're low contrast, you'll want to keep your hair color in a similar range as your skin.
Not sure about your contrast level? Read more about how to determine your contrast level.
3.Chroma Matters: Your chroma, or the clarity/softness of your coloring, should also guide your choice. Bright seasons need vibrant and glossy brunette tones, while soft or muted seasons will look best in blended, soft and less intense shades. Read more about chroma.