‘Expensive Brunette’ Is the Brown Hair Trend You’ll Be Seeing Everywhere This Fall

A new spin on brown hair is here: expensive brunette.

“Expensive brunette is all about giving deeper hair energy, dimension and detail,” says celebrity hairstylist and European creative director for Evo Hair, Tom Smith. “It’s all too easy when going for a darker shade of hair color to apply one tone all over, a similar result to using a box dye at home. I’m of the opinion that it’s professional hair colorists’ responsibility to give our clients something they could never get at home, and so expensive brunette is all about adding detail and interest with multiple deeper shades to make the result more dimensional and ‘expensive’- looking.” 

Celebrities like Bella Hadid have been making brown hair part of their look for years—but now we’re even seeing famous blondes, like Hailey Bieber, go darker. Explains Smith, “In the celebrity world, it’s often ‘the bolder the better,’ hence why so many celebrities are blonde or choose obviously artificial shades for their own hair or use wigs. Now that a brunette can look equally as ‘expensive’ and ‘designed’ as brighter or bolder shades, it makes sense that many celebrities are interested in the deeper tones.”

If you’re interested in trying out expensive brunette, Smith says it’s important to use some specific language at the salon: “The key element to discuss with your hairstylist is that you don’t want one ‘flat’ color all over. Expensive brunette is all about depth and dimension, and so you and your colorist should agree on the deepest shade and the lightest shade you want to see in your hair and then allow the colorist to place shades between in a way they see fit to enhance your hair cut. 

Smith continues, “It’s key to make sure your colorist knows you want to be seen as an ‘exciting brunette,’ not edging towards being seen as a blonde. It’s also worth discussing whether warmer or cooler tones suit your skin, as this decision can be taken independently of how light or dark you want to be. Warmer shades would present as coffee, caramel, copper and gold, while cooler tones would present as iced chocolate, ash, taupe, silver and ice.”

As far as products, Smith recommends Evo’s new hue-verse demi-permanent gloss for a low-commitment look. However, as always, check with your local experts to figure out what works for your budget, schedule, and texture.