‘Expensive Brunette’ Hair Is the Prettiest Color of the Season

For the past year or so, it seemed like everyone was rushing to the salon to get the so-called “cowboy copper hair.” It was all over social media, and for good reason — the warm shade of -copper looked good on pretty much everyone who tried it. Now, there’s a new hair color trend blowing up online, and it might be even easier to achieve: expensive brunette.

“Expensive brunette” hair seems to be everywhere, just as “cowboy copper” was last season. A quick TikTok search yields more than 40 million videos of the color, and it’s been spotted on celebs including Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner. To get to the bottom of it, we asked Tiffanie Richards, hair colorist at the Louise O’Conner Salon in New York City, to break down the trend.

What Is “Expensive Brunette” Hair Color?

Despite what its name might suggest, it’s not about the price of your hair color or how much money is in your bank account. Instead, the “expensive brunette” trend is more about the idea of a wealthy lifestyle — someone who goes to the best hair colorist and spends the most amount of time in the salon chair. She doesn’t work, so she has nothing else to do but perfect her hair. Think rich, ultra-shiny, healthy-looking color, like on Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner. But the kicker is, you can get this look even on a noncelebrity budget.

“Expensive brunette is a mix of tone on tones,” Richards says. “Typically, [the colors are] in the richer family; think chocolates, mochas, deep caramels all mixed together to create a multidimensional look.” 

Who Is Expensive Brunette Good For?

Getting a multidimensional brunette look at the salon is a great way for those with brown hair to spice up their typical color. It’ll still complement your skin tone, but it’ll be just a tad more adventurous. Richards agrees, and adds, “This gives natural brunettes the option of playing with a little bit of lightness without compromising their natural rich brunette. It’s extremely low maintenance and can potentially get even better in the sun.”

Of course, those with black, blond, or red hair can still get in on this brunette hair color trend, too. It just might take a bit longer in the salon to create the highlights and lowlights, and it’ll likely be a bigger hit to your wallet. 

What To Ask for at the Salon

Although there are tons of hair colorists online sharing the formulas they mix for their clients to get a perfect expensive brunette color, your stylist should  create their own formula that’s suited to you. It should be based on how light or dark you want to go, what undertones look best on your skin, and how much money you want to spend on the initial transformation and upkeep. 

To make sure you’ll leave with a color you love, Richards recommends “having the [shade] you’re looking for in mind and telling your colorist that you would like tone-on-tone highlights or lowlights.” Save pictures in your phone so you can show exactly what you mean and ensure you’re both on the same page. Expensive brunette “can be achieved with off-root highlights, baby lights, or face-frame highlights,” she says. There are many ways to get the look and many iterations of the trend. The point is to have fun with your basic brunette and feel all the more confident in the process.