Get The Most Luxurious Chocolate Hair With The Glossy Liquid Brunette Trend
Luxurious and relatively low-maintenance, liquid brunette is the refined hair color to try at your next salon appointment. Similar to expensive brunette, liquid brunette hair is rich, with subtle deep tones. It uses highlights and lowlights to create a dimensional chocolate brunette color that is simple but exudes elegance. Where liquid brunette differs from other brunette styles is that it amps up the shine factor, aiming for an ultra glossy appearance that looks extra healthy — it can be so glossy that it almost looks wet. This type of shine is all the more stunning on dark hair, which tends to capture a sleek and lustrous look better than blond. When done right, the finished brunette has dimension and an almost glass-like shine.
Best of all, if you're a natural brunette, you can work with your natural hair to create a liquid brunette look (hence the low-maintenance reputation). The trick to dimensional liquid brunette hair is to stay away from one flat color while also not going overboard with highlights. Think movie stars with brunette hair, like Angelina Jolie, Zoe Saldana, and Anne Hathaway, for instance. Even if it's a common color, they tend to achieve a richer look with several subtle tones. To maintain the high-gloss look, you'll need to keep your hair healthy and moisturized (dry hair and shine don't tend to go together). As an important finishing touch, styling with smoothing hair serums and oils will help you get the finished liquid look.
Rock a classic middle part with straight hair
Styling liquid brunette hair down and extra straight is one of the best ways to show off how lush and smooth this hairstyle can be. When styled slick and straight, it has a glass-like shine that makes it look so healthy. A high-quality hair straightener can help you achieve a similar look, since this styling tool focuses more on gloss than volume. Finish with a smoothing serum or oil to tame flyaways and add extra shine.
Big curls capture the shine
If you don't love straight hair, it doesn't mean curls are out of the picture. In fact, curled liquid brunette hair can look even healthier than curled hair in other lighter colors because of that gorgeous gloss — dark hair tends to reflect light better than light hair, so it's easier to achieve a shinier appearance. Use a wide curling iron barrel to get bigger, bouncier curls, which contributes to a voluminous look.
Extra long liquid brunette hair is so stunning
When it comes to liquid brunette hair, the more surface area, the more space to show off its enviable sheen. You can really see this effect at play with extra long, straight liquid brunette hair, which shines from scalp to ends. To grow hair this long and have it suitable for a liquid brunette look, you need to focus on hair health. Sparse ends just won't have the same aesthetic! Use hair strengthening and moisturizing products, and get frequent trims to help your hair grow while maintaining more thickness at the ends.
Go for a sleek liquid brunette lob
Whether it's from heat styling, general breakage, or stress, sometimes our hair just won't grow that long — so a shorter style is in order! The good news is, a lob is almost always fashionable, and the chic style looks even more luxe in a liquid brunette color. This shorter hair length looks so healthy, especially when it has a dose of shine. If your hair needs a break from blond dye or long lengths, then a liquid brunette lob is a good way to chop off some dead ends and restore some of your hair's health.
Liquid brunette curls and curtain bangs are glam
Curtain bangs look good on pretty much any hairstyle, including a liquid brunette cut. Swooped curtain bangs and barrel curls will give your hair stunning volume. Use a large curling barrel to create bouncy curls, and don't brush them out too much (if you need to, you can go through lightly with a wide-tooth comb or your fingers). This keeps the curls in their bouncy spiral shape, which gives liquid brunette locks extra dimension.
Liquid brunette looks lovely on natural curls
We've shown heat-styled curls on this list, but liquid brunette looks just as gorgeous on natural tresses. On any hair texture, subtle highlights and lowlights can make your brunette all the more rich. Curly hair can sometimes lack moisture, which is a must for a glossy look, so to get the liquid brunette shine, it's important to use products that lock moisture in.
Add some loose face-framing waves
Straight hair isn't boring, but on some days, it can feel a bit plain. If you want to add a little something extra, try some loose face-framing waves. It takes less time than curling your entire head of hair, but it still gives you that illusion of movement in the front. Just make sure to keep the waves extra loose (use a wide curling barrel and brush the curls out a bit after curling) so that it blends in well with the rest of your hair.
A liquid brunette French bob looks extra chic
French bobs have that cool girl vibe, and you can elevate that vibe even more by focusing on your hair's shine. A liquid brunette French bob combines the classiness of a bob and the elegance of liquid brunette perfectly — the finished style is hair that looks healthy, chic, and distinctive.
Face-framing braids are cool
Face-framing braids also have a certain cool factor. When added to straightened liquid brunette hair, they bring a bit of edginess that's perfect for a Y2K-inspired look. Choose mini rubber hair elastics in dark brown to tie them off. This will keep them looking smooth (a chunky hair elastic will take away from the clean lines). Also, to keep the braids looking as sleek as the rest of your hair, tame any flyaways with hairspray or oil.
Bronde undertones can lighten up liquid brunette hair
While liquid brunette is dimensional, if you want even more brightness, try an underlayer color. A light brown or blond-ish brown (aka bronde) undertone can make a liquid brunette style look lighter overall, while skipping the allover highlights. Your hair will keep the liquid brunette appearance, until you see peeks of the underlayer. It's best to opt for an underlayer color that's a few shades lighter or darker than your brunette tone — this will keep the style looking somewhat natural, which is a key component to liquid brunette hair.
Half-up, half-down styles can look extra slick
Half-up, half-down hair is timeless. It's beautiful and practical for when you want to pull your hair out of your face. This hairstyle in a liquid brunette color looks look extra sleek. It allows you to have the flowy look of keeping your hair down, along with the pulled-up look of a half-ponytail. When slicked back with hair gel, liquid brunette hair looks even more shiny.
Play up red undertones
Many natural brunettes have reddish undertones, especially when touched by the sun. If you love a more ginger hair tone but don't want to commit to full-on red, ask your stylist to err on the side of red highlights in your liquid brunette look. This style still has all the gloss and shine of a liquid brunette style, just with a bit more warmth added in.
Give dimension and gloss to long curls
Long natural curls already look stunning in their own right, but if you want them to be even more eye-catching, try a liquid brunette shade. With careful coloring, this style uses different tones of brown to give a head of curls a more dimensional and layered look, without losing any length. A high-gloss finish is the cherry on top.
Chocolate brown is always beautiful
There's no way blonds have more fun when chocolate brown looks this delectable. This warm hair tone is timeless, and it looks even more healthy with a shiny liquid brunette finish. It sticks to a true chocolate brown with a very subtle reddish tone that gives it a rich feel. An ultra shiny finish makes this classic brown stand out.
Side-parted with gentle waves
There's a certain understated glamour to liquid brunette hair (there's a reason why many celebrities have rocked it at one time or another!). Really lean into the glam by styling your hair with a deep side part and red carpet-worthy waves. Loose waves give your liquid brunette locks more chance to catch the light and really show off their shine.