Hair care

Best Highlights for Your Hair Color

From highlights to lowlights, find out which shades complement your hair color

July 27, 2011 | by Sharon J. Yi | 80 COMMENTS

If you have black hair ... Try chocolate brown, caramel highlights.

Highlights in black hair will help soften the harshness. Make sure the shade you choose has warm undertones (like Brenda Song's) that will work with your tone instead of against it. Rich copper or warm chocolate brown hues will help ebony hair look brighter, says Pelusi.

SEE NEXT PAGE: If you have auburn hair ...

8 of 10

leave a comment

View old comments

Nice tips

by EricaF123 Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 02:24PM Report as inappropriate

Thanks for the tips.

by Monique3 Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 09:14AM Report as inappropriate

very interesting!

by Chris213 Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 07:00AM Report as inappropriate

Reese's hair looks gorgeous.

by robyne00 Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 06:26PM Report as inappropriate

This aryicle is great.

by lharrell80 Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 11:36AM Report as inappropriate

Thanks for all the tips. Getting ready to have my hair colored and I never knew that in was especially unhealthy to use heat products to style colored hair! Duh, makes perfect sense!

by justteri Friday, August 17, 2012 at 06:20PM Report as inappropriate

Thank you for including something about black hair. Any hairdresser I went to for highlights used blonde colors. Now I know what to tell them to do. Also, it is critical to use color safe/retention products. I have never tried Shielo, but I am going to now. Great advice!

by Cheryl5752 Friday, August 17, 2012 at 12:40PM Report as inappropriate

I on;y liked Jessica Alba's hair, but it looks more like ombre, not highlights...

by venenumletalis Friday, August 17, 2012 at 11:30AM Report as inappropriate

They didn't put anything for red hair. There is a definite difference between red and auburn, and they just totally skipped red out. I'm disappointed.

by GingerDrink Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 07:29PM Report as inappropriate

Great article! Nice tips for those of us who may be a bit challenged with color selection!

by CCochran Friday, June 15, 2012 at 09:26AM Report as inappropriate

I get my highlights from the sun!

by robyne00 Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 03:25PM Report as inappropriate

Highlights do wonders, just get the right color

by TBjunkie Monday, April 30, 2012 at 01:40AM Report as inappropriate

My hair has been damaged from highlighting and I was growing tired of the time it took to comb out the tangled mess it became after shampooing and conditioning. It was stressful. I was seriously thinking of cutting my hair short to get rid of all the damage. Then my stylist recommended the Shielo Color Protect Shampoo & Conditioner. The Shielo Color Protect shampoo left my hair in such great condition that I went back to their website and bout their Antioxidant Hair Protectant. Last night I used the Shielo Antioxidant Protectant for the first time and just after shampooing it out, the comb ran right through the damaged strands. Plus, it smells great. I can not believe how much of an improvement I have seen already and I have not even had these products for a whole week.

by melissa_locks Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 02:16PM Report as inappropriate

I am worried about about getting brassy with dark brown hair.

by beautybody Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 10:33PM Report as inappropriate

interesting atrticle...confirmed that i was doing the right type of highlights : )

by olkrav319 Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 10:13PM Report as inappropriate

Great tips, I especially liked the one with Blake Lively's current color! I am also a natural blonde, trying to get back to it from red, so this was a great help to me!

by queeniemeanie Monday, March 26, 2012 at 04:57AM Report as inappropriate

Solid advice for someone who hasn't highlighted their hair before or is trying a completely new hair color. The article definitely confirmed what I already knew about high/low lights for my hair color. Wish they included some alternative options though. Either way, it wasn't bad.

by maic Friday, March 23, 2012 at 01:05PM Report as inappropriate

I love Jessica Alba, she's one of the most gorgeous women in the world, and has a hair to die for, so I adored my recommendation!!!

by hananoire Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 04:13PM Report as inappropriate

I Loooved Jessica alba's highlights ,I think im gonna try them . Super helpful (:

by AndreaHolguin Monday, March 19, 2012 at 05:19PM Report as inappropriate

Love #6

by Kary43 Sunday, March 18, 2012 at 08:53PM Report as inappropriate

No help at all. My natural hair color wasn't even in there.

by Toyvoo Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 05:23PM Report as inappropriate

really helpful, I've always wondered what kind of highlights/lowlights I should get

by sportimonki13 Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 01:39PM Report as inappropriate

J LO does not have light brown hair more a medium rich brown to begin with. Not loving the advice they give for light brown hair, ehh.

by vanessa_dulisse Friday, March 16, 2012 at 10:25PM Report as inappropriate

cool tips!

by voyager24 Friday, March 16, 2012 at 07:39PM Report as inappropriate

I color and highlight my hair. Would not be able to live without my highlights...

by kmlvr9 Friday, March 16, 2012 at 03:10PM Report as inappropriate

am itchin' to get some highlights now.....

by cuteAsAbutton Friday, March 16, 2012 at 02:30PM Report as inappropriate

The hair I have needs LOW lights! As I've become more gray my hair is too light. I want to add some darker lights to tame the too light blonde.

by LcL Friday, March 16, 2012 at 01:27PM Report as inappropriate

I wish I could get highlights but I am allergic. They do add a lot to the hair color!

by powerwoman033 Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 08:52PM Report as inappropriate

jennifer lopez actually has black hair

by gisellemarie Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 01:26PM Report as inappropriate

Blake Lively is a knock-out. The hair the body and a charming (on interviews, anyways) personality.

by Coffee_Black Friday, January 27, 2012 at 06:59AM Report as inappropriate

I need to get some highlights in my hair, maybe to hide the grays...

by Only1KimmieD Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 10:55AM Report as inappropriate

I've always liked Reese Witherspoon's highlights.

by TBjunkie Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 09:42PM Report as inappropriate

I really want to try this. I have dark brown hair and I have always wondered what color highlights would be the best. Caramel highlights would be beautiful. The rest of the suggestions sound and look really pretty as well.

by SummerOrchid Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 09:40AM Report as inappropriate

This makes me want highlights.

by kmb1129 Friday, December 9, 2011 at 01:04PM Report as inappropriate

I have dark red hair, and I have to say, I love putting deep red highlights. They blend better than you would think, and it gives it a natural edge that I love.

by oopylovesyou Friday, November 18, 2011 at 11:42AM Report as inappropriate

Copper? I JUST got the last traces of my faded red dye job snipped off, I think I'll stick to cooler tones for now

by MysticMeercat Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 09:37AM Report as inappropriate

I totally agree with this! I have brown hair and had caramel-toned highlights and the colors worked so well together!

by vfalkow Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 04:48PM Report as inappropriate

blake is so pretty!

by Bon_Bon Monday, August 15, 2011 at 12:21AM Report as inappropriate

This really makes me want to get some ashy blonde highlights! I haven't had highlights in years! :(

by ladyboarder9669 Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 01:08PM Report as inappropriate

Great tips I love Jessica Alba's haircolor, it goes so good with her olive tone.

by RoleModel Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 10:26PM Report as inappropriate

Not much new information here. I'm in my early 40's and my hair has really changed over the years. Without serious conditioning it is dry as dust, coarse, and has trouble holding any color/highlight. I'm naturally "dirty blonde" and prefer a lighter shade when I color. I have to color since I have quite a bit of gray. The problem is, the color can look flat and lifeless and after a few weeks turns brassy. I think this is a common issue for those of us over 40. Highlights just don't last in this type of hair. I wish the article had covered more about color-resistant hair. I use as many color-protectant products as I can find but still have issues :(

by shimmergurl Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 07:28PM Report as inappropriate

some highlights look terrible!

by venenumletalis Friday, July 29, 2011 at 04:09PM Report as inappropriate

makes me want to try some highlighs on my hair

by gaej19 Friday, July 29, 2011 at 03:33PM Report as inappropriate

Jennifer Lopez has medium-dark brown hair. Just take a look at her as a Fly Girl on Living Color and when she was with a dance troupe in New York.

by attagirl Friday, July 29, 2011 at 02:36PM Report as inappropriate

not sure about highlights on really dark brown hair

by selma Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:34AM Report as inappropriate

lovely tips

by volta Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 12:23PM Report as inappropriate

there really are some bad coloring jobs

by aguifra14 Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 05:53PM Report as inappropriate

Tyra's hair is ridiculous

by LittleBunny Monday, July 25, 2011 at 07:19PM Report as inappropriate

I thought Tyra wore a wig?!?!

by MissPurple Monday, July 18, 2011 at 02:05PM Report as inappropriate

Tyra buys her hair and as it sewn in, that is not her natural hair or color! Everone knows this

by odie Friday, July 15, 2011 at 06:58PM Report as inappropriate

um what about gray??

by ProudCurlyGirl Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 08:03AM Report as inappropriate

This makes me want to color my hair bad. Loved the pics!

by ladyboarder9669 Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 10:45AM Report as inappropriate

Lindsay Lohan look a mess :-\

by Aymee Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 08:35PM Report as inappropriate

Jennifer Anniston and Julia Roberts are always gorgeous. It pays to find a good colorist and stick with him or her.

by pookie8111 Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 05:15PM Report as inappropriate

Carmen Electra & Lindsay Lohan had the color of them all in my opinion.

by lindsey_m Monday, June 27, 2011 at 04:14AM Report as inappropriate

tyra has always done an awesome job with her hair

by naughtnone Friday, June 10, 2011 at 08:47AM Report as inappropriate

I prefer Julia with her classic chesnut haircolor. The blond doesn't suit her

by LittleBunny Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 12:07PM Report as inappropriate

Halle Berry looks ok to me. Jeniffer and Julia are always stunning.

by ebbsandtides Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 11:00AM Report as inappropriate

It makes me want highlights. I didn't know thats what made the celebs hair shine so nicely

by modinosaur Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 04:48PM Report as inappropriate

Some interesting examples.

by Jewelrydesigner Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 09:14AM Report as inappropriate

AWESOME gallery. I can't believe some of those celebs have such bad highlights--they have enough money to have someone do it well! I'm thinking of doing some at home highlights on my dark brown hair... and I'll keep this info in mind for sure.

by LipglossandSpandex Monday, April 11, 2011 at 08:46PM Report as inappropriate