Self, Health And Wellness

40 Ombre Hair Color Ideas To Give You The Ultimate #HairGoals

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ombre hair

Creating an ombre hair look can become an opportunity to try out a hair color you may never feel like you can pull off. Many refer to the ombre effect as the baseline (or gateway) for overall, complete hair dying — roots and all.

This eventually can lead to full-head highlighting and even a full process hair-color change. Ombre highlighting is the two-toned hair style that's traditionally darker on the top and lighter on the bottom.

Many start off their ombre look by using their natural hair as the base and lightening the ends. Once the practice becomes a routine, it's common for the ombre hair to evolve into a base coat dye with one or even two lighter colors.

When walking into the salon for your first ombre highlight session, it’s common to be asked a series of questions pending upon what you want. Below we’ve featured a few that may be asked during your next trip to the salon. By knowing these, you’ll be able to articulate what you’re hoping to get from your new look and be pleasantly happy with the results.


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1. Do you want foils or balayage?

This simply means, do you want the look to even and symmetrical (foils), or do you want hand drawn and personalized coloring (balayage). There are pros and cons to both:

  • Pro of foils: Overall even coloring and color will not be diverse in streak or coverage.
  • Con of foils: You can look synthetic and not necessarily natural, as it’s too perfect.
  • Pro of balayage: You’re given a personalized touch that completed by the hair artist. This look can look sunkissed and natural if done right.
  • Con of balayage: If not done correctly, the coloring can be uneven and chunky with a few missing sections.

2. Are you sure this is the color you want?

The big unknown for most people getting their hair dyed is that you’re able to get the color you see on a celebrity or model. The truth is, your hair color is completely based upon your DNA.

As color is lifted and added, the true base is the color you chose to produce. So if you’re naturally warm toned, going for a cool color may not work for you. If your colorist is asking you this question, it’s more than likely she doesn’t believe it will work or look good. Have a conversation with your colorist and see what option fits you and your hair.

With the basic logistics down, it's time to get to the fun stuff. To inspire some ombre hair color ideas, we've outlined 40 of our favorite ombre hair styles. See if any inspire your next coloring!

1. Loreal's Havana Brown Base with Carmel Ombre Highlighting 

2. Loreal's Espresso Base with Sunflower Blonde Ombre Highlighting 

3. Light Cool Brown Base with Light Ash Blonde Ombre Highlights

4. Medium Ash Brown Base with Light Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

5. Medium Natural Brown (or Truffle) Base with Dark Golden Blonde

6. Soft Black (or Sweet Cola) Base with True Red (or Pomegranate) Ombre Highlights

7. Light Ash Brown Base with Light Beige Blonde (or Chardonnay) Ombre Highlights

8. Light Natural Brown Base with Light Golden Brown and Medium Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights 

9. Dark Golden Brown Base with Light Natural Brown Highlights  

10. Medium Golden Mahogany Brown Base with Dark Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights

11. Dark Brown Base with Light Golden Brown Ombre Highlights

12. Medium Mahogany Brown Base with Dark Natural Blonde and Light Beige Blonde Ombre Highlights

13. Light Ash Brown Base with Dark Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights 

14. Black Licorice Base with Dark Brown and Dark Reddish Brown Ombre Highlights

15. Light Ash Brown Base with Medium Ash Blonde Ombre Highlights

16. Black Base with Light Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

17. Loreal's French Roast Base with Hot-Toffee and Sunflower Blonde Ombre Highlights

18. Light Golden Brown Base with Light Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

19. Light Natural Brown Base with Light Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Юлия Штомпиль (@shtompil_j) on Nov 8, 2018 at 1:10pm PST

20. Medium Ash Blonde Base with Light Beige Blonde Ombre Highlights


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21. Dark Beige Blonde Base with Extra Light Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights

22. Medium Golden Brown Base with Dark Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights 

23. Medium Natural Blonde Base with Intense Auburn Ombre Highlights 

24. Light Auburn Base with Medium Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights

25. Soft Black Base with Light Golden Brown Ombre Highlights

26. Loreal's Leather Black Base with Pure Diamond Blonde Ombre Highlights

27. Loreal's Espresso Base with Copper Shimmer Ombre Highlights

28. Loreal's Leather Black Base with Amber and Light Ash Ombre Highlights 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by J É S S Y T R I N D A D E (@donnabonitasalon) on Dec 3, 2018 at 8:19am PST

29. Loreal's Hot-Toffee Base with Sunflower Blonde Ombre Highlights 

30. Clairol's Chocolate Brown Base with Reddish Blonde Ombre Highlights

31. Dark Beige Base with Medium Natural Blonde Ombre Highlights

32. Medium Golden Brown Base with Light Reddish Blonde Ombre Highlights

33. Dark Brown Base with Dark Reddish Brown Ombre Highlights

34. Light Ash Brown Base with Light Ash Blonde Ombre Highlights

35. Medium Golden Brown Base with Dark Golden Blonde and Medium Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

36. Light Ash Blonde Base with Rich Auburn Blonde Ombre Highlights

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Nele van Velthoven (@nelevanvelthoven) on Dec 3, 2018 at 8:34am PST

37. Dark Beige Blonde with Medium Natural Blonde

38. Dark Golden Brown Base with Dark Reddish Brown and Light Golden Brown Ombre Highlights

39. Light Natural Brown Base with Medium Golden Blonde Ombre Highlights

40. Holographic Unicorn Ombre Hair 


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Elizabeth Blasi is a New Yorker. A lifestyle & travel writer, who is often seen with a suitcase in hand jetsetting to her next location. But as a true Digital Nomad, her love of writing and romance novels means her laptop is always beside her.