Ah, the ever-stunning ash brown.
Reader, say hello to the ringleader of the cool-toned hair color movement that has taken over salons (and TikTok) of late.
Its popularity is in no way a coincidence. Want a solid color with little fuss? That is ash brown’s forte. Feeling a bit more explorative and would like to spruce up your brunette hair with highlights or full-on balayage? Ash brown hair dye doesn’t mind doing the honors.
In this blog, we’ve prepared more than enough inspo to get you falling head over heels in love with ash brown hair color. Granted.
First Things First, What Color is Ash Brown?
If you’re familiar with warm brown or dark chocolate brown hair color, then ash brown is their gray-leaning sister that will bring out the cool tones in your hair.
Darker or cooler colors reflect light pretty well compared to their warmer counterparts. This explains why ash brown hair has a shiny, silvery texture that demands attention from afar.
Ash Brown Hair Color: A Quick Guide
- Suitable for: Fair complexion and warm skin tones.
- Toning options: Semi-permanent direct dye.
- Looks good with: Dark berry or oxblood lipstick and bronze eyeshadow.
- Maintenance: You want to keep it cool-toned and brass-free, so include a purple or silver shampoo and conditioner in your touch-up routine.
50 Drool-Worthy Styles Featuring Ash Brown Hair Color to Inspire Your Next Refresh
Let’s see how this stunningly beautiful hair shade works in the real world.
1) Seamless Ash Brown Balayage
When we say we want perfect ash brown hair, this is what we mean. That flawless blend, those banging waves, the oh-so-dreamy cool tone—we’re lost for words.
2) Ash Brown Bob
What we like about this lovely bob, aside from its impressive dimension, is the masterfully done root melting. WE’RE HOOKED!
3) Ash Brown Babylights
So deep that it is almost black, this brunette base color serves as an accommodating backdrop for the soft ashy brown babylights to surface. The result is dreamy, flowy hair that’ll have necks craning for days on end.
4) Sparkly Ash Brown Highlights
Who wouldn’t want to recreate such stunning ash brown hair? Those exquisite pearly strands are a key detail, so make sure your colorist doesn’t miss out on them.
5) Dark Ash Brown Hair
Did someone say Milky Way? This style is giving us major intergalactic vibes; it’s the perfect multi-dimensional shade to rock all year round.
6) Smokey Ash Brown Hair
You may have believed that something like beige would only work for blonde hair, but that could not be further from the truth—and we’re very thankful. This gorgeous blend of cool-toned brunette and beige brown ombre makes for a striking combination.
7) Trendy Mushroom Brown Hair
Nature inspired and touchable, this look combines a classic brunette with a series of lowlights and highlights. The outcome is an eye-catching blend of gray and brown shades.
8) Titanium Brunette Hairstyle
Here, we see gorgeous ash and titanium shades on long hair. The marvellous play of contrasts was created with highlights, teasylights, and lowlights.
9) Ash Bronde Hairstyle
This perfectly blended earth shade captures the ash brown color with its fully cool-toned look. The root melt makes it all the more alluring.
10) Dusky Ash Brown Hair
If you prefer your hair a bit laid-back, or perhaps it’s your first time trying the ash brown hair color, then this may be the style for you. The dusky shade of ash brown highlights adds dimension and lustre to your light brown mane in the most spectacular way.
11) Ash Brown Color Melt
Subtle and soft are the calling cards of this gossip-worthy mane. It uses various medium ashy shades to get that earthy hue; the hairstyle is made even trendier with a perfectly layered medium-length cut. SENSATIONAL!
12) Mesmerizing Ash Brown Waves
Featuring a remarkably uninterrupted flow of bronze and ash brown shades, this soft balayage brings tons of dimension to the long, layered strands. WE APPROVE!
13) Sun-Kissed Ash Brown Hair
This picture proves that balayage highlights in ash brown color can be a good fit for dark brown hair, adding an enviable sun-kissed glow. And, oh, these highlights are incredibly easy to maintain too (yay!).
14) Natural Ashy Brown Hair
Yes, it’s possible to land totally natural ashy brown hair; all it takes is a good ash brown hair dye. Apply it from root to tip to give your mane a light, earthy feel that might be mistaken for the real thing.
15) Flawless Thick Ash Brown Hairstyle
Can’t go wrong with subtle ash brown balayage on a black base; the dimension is to die for! Opting for a soft ash brown shade is a surefire way to refresh and bolster your naturally dark hair.
16) Brunette Hair With Ash Brown Money Piece
Girls with warm undertones can easily bring out a healthy glow in their skin by placing ash brown highlights around the face. Compliments, guaranteed!
17) Ash Brown Ombre
This ombre shade strikes the ash note without being wildly high maintenance. Love, love, love!
18) Ash Brown on Medium-Length Cut
If we were to pick just one standout perk about ash brown hair color, it would be the fact that it fits any length to perfection. This gorgeous medium hairstyle is testament enough.
19) Volume-Boosting Ash Brown Color
WHAT A STUNNER! The carefully placed ash brown streaks contrast beautifully with the mushroom base to turn the volume up a notch; as for the flow, it’s nothing short of mesmeric.
20) Ash Brown Hair With Gray and Silver Undertones
Light ash brown hair boasts a nice blend of cool undertones that flatter most skin tones (read: no more looking washed-out). Throw in a tinge of brown like this beauty, and you can rest assured the silver won’t overwhelm your natural hair color. Double win, no?
21) Deep Ash Brown Hair Color
This beautifully polished mane has a secret ingredient in its formula–a deep, deep shade of ash brown. Girls with cool skin tones can start rejoicing because this color will give their complexion maximum zing, we guarantee it.
22) Ash Brown Highlights On Feathery Lob
This gorgeous 70s-inspired mid-length cut vibe didn’t come to play. Talk about a brown base, it has that. What about a generous mix of ash brown tones? It has tons of that, too. And for that reason, it’s right up there on our list of the best hair trends to try out this year.
23) Perfect Ashy Curls
This balayage boasts ribbons of ashy bronde, which makes for tons of dimension that’s rivaled only by that dreamy curl pattern.
24) Ashy Ombre With Violet Accents
Apart from adding flair to the wavy mane, the hazy lilac accents work great to correct the yellow undertones in the girl’s skin.
25) Long Layered Ashy Mane
This long hair amped up with layers gives us an excellent chance to observe a fascinating interplay of silver, beige blonde, and mahogany brown. The perfect fall transitional style is here, ladies.
26) Streaky Ash Brown Hair
We simply can’t get enough of how dreamy this inverted bob looks. It seamlessly brings together silver, dark ash brown, and light brown highlights for a dimensional streaky hairstyle full of shimmer and movement.
27) Subtle Ash Brown Highlights
You will hardly be able to drag your eyes away from these zingy splashes of mushroom brown masterfully inserted into the dark brown base.
28) All-Over Dark Ash Brown Hair Color
If you’re looking for a rich brunette shade that happens to flatter warm skin tones while bringing out hazel eyes, this killer ash tone will gladly take care of business. Thank us later.
29) Chocolate Brown Brunette With Ashy Reflections
Here is one more way to play with silver and light ash browns–by creating a dimensional warm-toned color with lots of glossy balayage highlights. WE CAN’T STOP STARING!
30) Ash Tones On Extra Long Hair
Blended mushroom brown hair with silver undertones is celestially beautiful; and it isn’t for twenty-something gals alone, nope. If anything, ash hair lends the super -trendy edgy vibe women of all ages can’t seem to get enough of.
31) Metallic Ash Brown Hair on a Brown Base
Who can possibly say no to a hue that glows and shimmers this hard? Certainly not us. The smooth transition from dark roots also lets you live your ash life fuss-free.
32) Ash Brown, Bronze and Beige Balayage Hair
Thanks to the variety of shades, you can choose not one but several hues of ash brown to create a cool multidimensional feel for your balayage. What’s not to love?
33) Ash Brown Balayage Hair
The only thing faster than light is the immense pull of this ash brown balayage look.
34) Mauve Ash Brown Hair Color
Think you’ll never be spellbound? We dare you to stare at this fascinating silver-brown blend for no longer than a minute; the dimension it oozes is the stuff of dreams.
35) Ash Brown Balayage for Short Hair
It might be the most natural-looking coloring out there, but it certainly isn’t boring–no wonder it’s attracted many short hair lovers the world over. The best part? This balayage looks fantastic with both cool and warm color types.
36) Super Creative Ash Brown Hair
Cool and stunning, this beige-leaning ashy hair with the subtlest hints of rose gold is easy on the eyes and a perfect fashion statement for any party. You don’t even need to style it in a special way (crossover strands, anyone?) because the color is enough of a head-turner.
37) Long Wavy Hair With Ash Brown Highlights
If gorgeous hair had a particular hair color, it’d be ash brown dyed hair. A mix of beige and brunette colors like in the picture below give a certain glitzy feel to the wavy hair; to create a drool-worthy contrast, leave your roots their natural dark shade.
38) Medium Bob With Barely-There Ash Brown Highlights
Care-free meets maximum chicness on this breathtaking textured bob. Endeavor to use a purple shampoo to wash your ash brown bob; it’ll help to maintain the beauty and brightness of your shaggy locks for a long time.
39) Ash Brown Hair With Dark Roots
It’s a hair hack as old as time itself: leave your roots darker, and you’ll cut your salon trips in half, all while enjoying a stunningly fresh hairstyle at some point down the road. Goodbye constant re-dying (read: money wastage).
40) Ash Brown Hair Color With Lowlights
To make your ash brown color more dimensional, add some natural lowlights so that your hair can catch more light and gain depth.
41) Ash Brown Hair With Blonde Highlights
Soft and sultry, this easy-to-maintain hairstyle will effortlessly breathe some life into your hair. Style it with cascading waves for a truly romantic feel.
42) Ash Brown Sombre
Did someone say teddy bear brunette? Below is a truly gaze-worthy look with natural roots, multi-length layers, and an ash brown shade that gets pronounced towards the tips; so much cosiness in one photo!
43) Peekaboo Purple Ash Brown Balayage
Add something special to your mushroom brown hair with carefully-placed lilac streaks that will undoubtedly spice up the look.
44) Brunette Hair With Ash Brown Foilyage
A nice blend of ash brown and silver highlights with your natural dark browns gives a multidimensional beachy feel.
45) Ash Brown Shadow Root
We don’t know what we love more: how the ash brown shadow root is flawlessly faded into the ash blonde for a mesmerizing finish, or the fact that this is arguably the most low-maintenance look in the entire lineup. Either way, we’re in love!
46) Ash Brown Chestnut
Possibly the warmest ash brown shade on the spectrum, this ashen chestnut looks insanely flattering on cool-toned skin types. Pair it with off-center parting and choppy ends, and you’re instantly the coolest girl in the room.
47) Low-Maintenance Ash Brown Hair
Since we know that browns tend to fade out quickly, staying closer to the ashy/gray end of the ash brown spectrum promises a longer life to your brunette balayage.
48) “Almost Blonde” Ash Brown
Not ready to buy a one-way ticket to cool brown territory? This baby ash bronde is the perfect way to ease into the trend; ask for subtle balayage that focuses around the face and on the ends.
49) Ashy Hair With Pops of Color
This fun hairstyle embraces the whole ashy-brown color palette and allows the browns and grays to pop up here and there.
50) Ash Brown Hair With Mocha Sheen
When you get a fabulous long hairstyle, the next thing to do is to dye it in an alluring color that perfectly complements the cut’s beauty. The ash brown hair with soft warm shades does a good job of making this (cough) predictable cut the center of attention. ABSOLUTELY DREAM-WORTHY!