'Expensive brunette' is one of the top hair trends of 2024 (2024)

“I want my hair to look expensive,” I said to my stylist as I settled into her chair.

Without a moment’s pause, Melissa Voje, a Metro Vancouver-based hair professional, got to work on my dark brunette strands.

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“Expensive brunette” has been dubbed a top-trending hair colour of 2024. Encompassing a wide array of brunette shades — from warm hazelnut to deep, dark chocolate — the underlying emphasis of the trend is a high-gloss finish and overall hair health.

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The hair colour trend, Voje points out, is also blissfully budget friendly.

“Even though the name has the word ‘expensive’ in it, it actually isn’t,” Voje says. Unlike blonde, which requires meticulous regrowth maintenance, and red, which requires a regular refresh, brown tones can be pleasantly low maintenance. “It’s designed to create a beautiful hair statement on a budget. The tones themselves express warmth, comfort and luxury.”

A rich brunette tone, Voje says, is both “comfortable and chic,” with an effortless vibe that signals to others that you did, perhaps, just wake up like this.

“The hair gives the illusion of minimalist effort,” Voje says.

But achieving an expensive brunette look isn’t entirely without effort. Often enhanced with lowlights and even ombre embellishments — to say nothing of the glossing treatments and strand-boosting services such as keratin masks that are available in salons — Voje says creating a dimensioned, non-blocky brunette colour like the ones seen on celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez and Zendaya does take skill.

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“There is so much effort that goes into creating it,” Voje says. “All the dimensions of the pigment dance off each other, creating the richness that we want to see in our brunettes.”

To help at-home colourists, hair colour brand Clairol has released a collection of brunette shades that aim to deliver dimensional brunette colour without any guesswork. Dubbed the Nice’n Easy Pure Brunettes collection ($17.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart and Amazon.ca), the range includes six permanent hair colour shades powered by a unique Detox+Pure Tone system that promises to purify strands, ensuring a truer colour application.

“The Pure Brunettes product gives pure tones, and it has a three-step regime of three products with several different chelating (bonding) agents, that all act like a ‘purifier/detox’ for the hair,” Aideen Ripley, director of product development at Clairol, explains. “By preventing the uptake of metal, it purifies hair from metal buildup, protecting the hair from impurities and creates a shield against metals to create and preserve those pure brunette tones.”

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The three-step process — detox, dye and treat — starts with a pre-colour detox serum, a no-rinse formula that is applied to the hair before colouring, from roots to ends. The colour application and an intense conditioner complete the at-home dye experience.

Aimed at addressing classic brunette colour concerns such as brassiness, oxidation, dullness and damage, the new range is positioned as offering a luxe, salon-like brunette colour outcome without taking a trip to the salon.

“The Brunettes collection has a triple-defence effect, with the chelant technologies found in the product,” Ripley says of the “detox” treatment that promises to block metals like calcium and magnesium from the hair. “This technology works in all conditions, but if you live in an area with very hard water — therefore with a higher percentage of copper and metal ions — then the formulas work even harder to help prevent the uptake of unhealthy substances such as free radicals.”

The outcome, Ripley says, is hair colour that’s more vibrant and less damaged.

With tones ranging from caramel balayage (think: soft, hand-painted highlights on a golden brunette base) to cherry cola, to so-called latte hair, there’s a colour category that allows most hair colour tones to embrace expensive brunette vibes. But Voje says there are a few considerations to keep in mind before diving into the brunette trend?

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“Colour reflection can vary depending on the canvas that it is placed upon. So I definitely believe in the power of a colour consultation — picking the correct pigments in your hair colour that will compliment your skin tone, Voje says. “Brunettes seem ‘easier’ but you still need to maintain those in-between toning appointments.”

As with any hair colour, at-home maintenance of the hair is also vital to ensuring colour longevity.

“I typically suggest my clients take home a hair mask that has colour protection,” Voje recommends. After colouring, the hair professional says hair should “rest” for 48 hours — ahem, that means no washing — in order to avoid premature fading of the colour.

Hair oils, a trending product category at the moment, should be clear, Voje says rather than amber or yellow toned.

“Non pigmented oils are great,” she says. “They will not alter the hair colour with deposit from pigmented oil.”

Avoid high-heat styling tools — “no higher than 350, minimal heat is best!” Voje stresses, to also improve hair health and minimize colour fading.

“Sleeping with a silk bonnet also helps prevent frizz and roughing of the hair,” Voje advises. “Frizz can alter the colour appearance making it look dull.”

With “expensive brunettes” a top-trending hue, Voje predicts warmer hair tones are here to stay.

“Colours with warmth and depth. Cooler tones have ruled for several years now, and I think it’s awesome that we are starting to embrace warmth,” Voje says. “It’s going to be colours that we can associate to comfort. Think: velvet and melt-in-your-mouth vibes. Velvety espresso with a hint of cherry. Dark chocolates with a caramel kiss. Chai latte vibes for our blondes wanting to add depth.

“Everything just sounds so delicious and fun!”

Aharris@postmedia.com

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