Come warm weather, who doesn’t crave a little glow? We’ve learned better since our days sitting in the sizzling sun, slathering on baby oil, and spritzing lemon juice for naturally lightened locks. Luckily, you don’t need to be fresh from your morning surf to get enviably kissed-by-the-sun tresses.
Beach highlights have never been more attainable, thanks to balayage highlighting. The goal: sunny strokes of hair color that don’t look too perfect and that hit those ultra-flattering spots around your face, toward your ends, and arbitrarily throughout the rest of your mane. It’s not just for blondes, either. Brunettes can stick with warm shades not too far from their base color or go with sparse, piecey blonde highlights.
No matter your hair color or tone, there are beachy highlights made just for you. Here are 26 ideas to take to the salon.
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Dirty Blonde Sombré
Create a cascading blonde effect on brown-blonde hair by placing strokes of blonde where the sun naturally lightens hair: around the face and on the ends, with random strokes throughout the middle. The soft fade creates a flattering ombré look.
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Sunlit Honey Blonde
Go super warm-toned with a honey blonde color on a brown natural base. Balayage ensures it blends seamlessly.
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Sandy Brown
Soft blended blonde perfectly complements this rich warm brown, and we’re loving the bright pop of color it gives, especially around the face. If you want a sandier finish, start with a lighter brown base.
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Blonde Money Piece
If you’re a darker brunette who still wants to get in on the fun, ask for blonde face-framing pieces that are blended primarily into the frontside of your mane. It’s just enough to brighten the whole look without being high-maintenance.
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Face-Framing Honey
Keep your roots—and most of your hair—its natural brown for the most minimal upkeep. Add in major face-framing with blonde in a matching tone. In this case, a warm honey blonde complements a warm medium brown.
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Rose Brown Balayage
The hottest new hair color for brunettes this year is unarguably stunning rose brown. It takes the rose gold trend and turns it into a warmer rich shade that makes brown hair look almost metallic.
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Buttery Blonde on Caramel Curls
Nothing catches the light quite like sun-kissed spirals, and this curly angled lob’s warm brown base helps focus light buttery blonde close to the face.
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Dirty Blonde Bob
This bob couldn’t look more beachy if it tried. Blended warm blondes are mixed throughout to create the overall look that will only get more glowing with every moment in the sun.
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Caramel Balayage
Rich, warm shades of heavier balayage, like this golden caramel, can look beachy. Since the base is a dark chestnut, the caramel helps achieve a sun-kissed glow.
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Shadow Root Blonde
Even when staying more cool-toned, you can still get the look of beachy highlights. This cool brown base gets refreshed with cool blonde balayage.
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Caramel Pieces on Chestnut Brown
Go super subtle with these natural balayage highlights that look anything but straight from the salon. Tiny caramel pieces weave through a robust chestnut brown bob and look absolutely perfect for summer.
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Honey Caramel
Caramel and honey blonde are the perfect complements to a brunette base. Just ask these beautiful face-framing highlights.
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Dirty Blonde Color Melt
This oh-so-subtle take on beach blonde is just the ticket for those who don’t want to revisit the salon anytime soon.
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Sunflower Blonde
If you’re craving the naturally sun-kissed blonde from your youth, a cheery sunflower blonde more than fits the bill.
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Strawberry Bronde
This blonde-brown shade favors the popular rose brown trend, taking it a little lighter and adding a fun strawberry tint that’s perfect for sunny days.
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Cinnamon Blonde
A warm cinnamon brown gets a sunny makeover with some golden and caramel piecey highlights close to the face. The dynamic look isn’t subtle, but it definitely looks pecked by the sun.
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Baby Caramel Bronde
Give chocolate brown strands a subtle update with caramel bronde babylights throughout.
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Honey Blonde Balayage
This style integrates very similar warm honey shades throughout the hair for an all-over sun-kissed look.
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Apricot and Strawberry Blonde Balayage
Take your red hair to the beach with bright and bold balayage in a slew of warm red shades, ranging from copper to strawberry blonde.
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Caramel-Honey Ends
Add a sunny glow to dark chestnut brown hair with warm golden caramel color placed mainly on the ends. Venture higher in a few random spots to make it look natural. This rich wavy lob is a great way to go beachy on dark hair.
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Platinum Blonde Balayage
A neutral dirty blonde base gets an Icelandic transformation with heavy ultra-light platinum around the face and toward the ends.
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Chestnut Curls with Strawberry Blonde Ends
Stick with warm shades to get a striking, yet livable look that will grow out flawlessly. These curls get an awesome fiery blonde kick on the ends and near the face for maximum glow.
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Baby Stone Blonde
Meet the new platinum. It’s way less maintenance, so feel free to push back the touch-up appointment by a couple of weeks.
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Dark Ashy Brown with Beige Face-Framing
Keep the highlights looking laidback, despite being two very differing shades, by sticking with cool tones and using very sparse placement. Thin pieces frame the face, making it perfect for any season.
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Ash Blonde Ombré
An ashy bronde base gets an icy pop of blonde, giving a unique spring and summer look for neutral-to-cool-toned blondes. When the weather heats up, take your locks a little cooler.
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Lived-In Blunt Bob
This warm platinum short cut features bronde roots and a sandy middle section that makes the blonde ends look seamlessly blended.
