Top 20 Caramel Balayage Styles for 2023
Caramel balayage is a popular colouring technique achieved by adding lighter, blonde balayage highlights to brown hair to achieve a gorgeous sun-kissed effect.
When paired with brunette hair, this hue adds a gorgeous warmth to your tresses, giving them that pretty summer glow you’ve always longed for.
Still not convinced? Well, what if we told you that some of the hottest A-list celebrities are already championing this beautiful highlighting technique? Keep scrolling through our gallery above for some celebrity hair inspiration and why we love each A-list look.
Subtle Caramel Blend on Brown Hair
Make like actress Naomie Harris and overlay your dark brown hair with some subtle caramel balayage. Adding caramel tones is the best way to warm up dark brown locks, helping to give a brighter, more luminous feel to the style.
Come on, just look at the way the light bounces off her loosely curled, super-glossy tresses!
Golden Brown Highlights on Dark Hair
Shay has been hair goals for the All Things Hair team ever since her role in Pretty Little Liars. Always on top of the latest hair trends, Shay wears her long caramel balayage in a side braid here, which perfectly shows off this dreamy colour combination.
Editor’s tip: Want to know the secret to fuller-looking braids? It’s all about plumping products… Our fave is TRESemmé Volume and Lift Mousse. Simply massage it into your hair before you style your braid and gently tug to separate the strands for a fuller-looking style.
Face-Framing Caramel Highlights
All hail Eva Longoria! If you ask us, when it comes to the hair-styling stakes, she can do no wrong. Over the years, she’s sported numerous shades of brown, as well as blonde highlights – and nailed every single look.
She stepped out at the premiere of her show Devious Maids with some stunning face-framing balayage highlights. Her wavy, mid-length hair featured lots of ultrafine balayage strands peppered into the front, helping to brighten up her complexion in the most flattering way.
Natural-Looking Caramel Blend
To strike a balance with your naturally dark hair, opt for a caramel tone that isn’t too light (just like Nicole Scherzinger) – this will help you avoid a streaky finish.
Whenever in doubt, ask for your stylist’s advice as they’ll be able to help you find the most natural-looking tone for your locks.
Brown Hair with Honey Highlights
A rich, chocolate brown hue makes the perfect base for a gorgeous, warm caramel balayage – and Mila Kunis shows us exactly how to work this colour combination with success.
Editor’s tip: Whichever balayage option you go for, try and use a shampoo and conditioner specially formulated for colour-treated hair like TRESemmé Revitalise Colour Shampoo and TRESemmé Revitalise Colour Conditioner.
Cinnamon Caramel Highlights on Brown Hair
Caramel balayage isn’t limited to long hair: it also works a treat when worn with a fashionable lob or even a fringe – as proven by one of our personal favourite Oscar-winning actresses, Halle Berry.
To get the look, take a leaf out of her book and opt for sunkissed caramel balayage highlights. We love that her highly textured hairstyle has been given even more depth and definition, all thanks to her strategically placed highlights!
Sunkissed Caramel Balayage on Dark Brown Hair
Being a Victoria’s Secret angel, it’s no surprise that model Lily Aldridge has some of the most luscious-looking locks in all the land. We especially love her mid-brown hair when it’s combined with a light caramel balayage.
Not only does the caramel shade help to bring out the natural glow of her skin, but the clever placement of the balayage around her face really makes her eyes pop, too. Well, if this hair hue is good enough for a Victoria’s Secret model, it’s good enough for us!
Dark Caramel with Waves
You can’t go wrong mixing chocolate and caramel and, no, we’re not talking about food! The lighter highlights perfectly complement darker hair, creating a luxurious hue to show off all year round.
Caramel-Toned Money Piece
If you haven’t heard about the latest TikTok trend, we got you! The Money Piece consists of face-framing highlights that contrast with the rest of your hair. However, you don’t have to go too crazy to achieve the result: a fairer shade, like in the picture above, already looks stunning.
Honey Caramel Balayage
Give your balayage an extra glow with some honey highlights. This solution is perfect if you’re naturally blonde but want to try… the dark side!
Caramel Ombré
Melting dark chocolate roots and caramel ends, how does that sound? This style is perfect for transitioning into your new caramel colour while making the most of your natural hair. Simply stunning!
Sticky Toffee Balayage
Whether you love the dessert or not, you can’t deny that this colour is just gorgeous. It’s the dream halfway between blonde and brunette – need we say any more?
Copper + Caramel
Combine the two hottest hues right now and you’ll get this head-turning copper caramel balayage. We’re sure it will be trending soon, so remember you heard it here first!
Mahogany Caramel Balayage
We love the rose-brown shade of mahogany and adding caramel accents will only enhance this unique colour, giving depth and volume to your mane. Mahogany requires a bit more maintenance so don’t skip your salon appointments.
Beige Balayage
Combining blonde and caramel strands, this caramel balayage look is easy to achieve. The natural-looking hue is a perfect day-to-day look, that’s also chic and elegant.
Warm Caramel Balayage
Looking for a new hair colour for autumn? We got you! This warm balayage is ideal if you want a sophisticated makeover. Keep the caramel highlights in big chunks to give volume and texture to your strands.
Face-Framing Caramel Balayage
Give dark hair a twist with some face-framing caramel highlights. Lighter hues instantly draw more attention to your face shape and spice up your natural colour without being too risky.
Editor’s tip: Need some help managing frizz? Try TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Shine Oil for up to 72-hours of frizz control and gorgeously smooth hair like the model above.
Caramel Bob
If you’ve decided to go for the big chop, take your bob cut to the next level with a caramel balayage. The lighter ends will enhance the blunt cut and look super sleek.
Creamy Caramel Tones
Give your dull brunette hair a total makeover with this dreamy caramel balayage. The combination of darker roots and glowy ends is just perfect.
Caramel Gemini Hair
Can’t pick a colour? Gemini hair lets you keep both! This TikTok trend consists of keeping two hues either on each side of your head or playing peekaboo like in this picture. Fun and stylish!
