Highlights for Black Hair: Gorgeous Looks to Inspire You!

Rock black hair with highlights by trying out these hair color ideas!

Want to color your dark hair without drastically changing your look? Get highlights for black hair. It’s like dipping your toe in the world of hair color and taking a peek at what it can do to your look. Shades of brown are popular choices for highlights because they’re flattering for almost any skin tone. But if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try unconventional colors like green and purple.

Check out these pegs for black hair with highlights, pick your favorite look, and go for it in your next makeover.

Must-Try Highlights for Black Hair

1. Brown-Black Hair With Highlights

Asian woman with black hair with highlights
Nail this look with dark brown highlights on black hair. Credit: Dennie Ramon

This look is called an expensive brunette. It consists of barely-there highlights that are a shade or two lighter than your original hair color. These highlights add dimension to your black hair while keeping the look as natural as possible.

2. Golden Brown Highlights for Black Hair

Asian woman with golden brown highlights for dark hair wearing a white top
Golden brown highlights are flattering for morenas. Credit: Miggy Rivera from Pexels

Bring out your morena skin’s natural warmth by adding golden brown highlights to your black hair. It helps give your face a sun-kissed glow, as though you just came from the beach!

3. Black Hair With Caramel Highlights

Asian woman with caramel highlights for dark hair wearing a denim jacket
Caramel highlights help make your layers pop. Credit: Natasha Estelle

This medium brown color also adds warmth to your skin tone. It gives your hair more dimension, especially when you complement it with a messy, layered ‘do.

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo

Editor’s tip: Keep your hair color vibrant for twice longer by using TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo. It has anti-fade technology, which works by coating your hair with a waterproof film to protect the hair surface and seal the color. It also has jojoba oil to make your hair moisturized and shiny. 

TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Conditioner

Pair TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo with TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Conditioner for best results.

4. Purple Highlights for Black Hair

Highlights for dark hair: Closeup shot of an Asian woman with bob with purple highlights wearing a spaghetti-strapped top indoors
Don’t be afraid to try unconventional hair colors. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results. Credit: Shutterstock

Break away from the mold and try this bold color. Purple has a wide range of light, medium, and dark shades that you can try. Light shades like lavender and lilac create a quirky contrast with your naturally dark hair. Meanwhile, if you want a rich, sophisticated color that blends seamlessly with your dark hair, go for eggplant or plum hues.

5. Black Hair With Mulberry Highlights

Back shot of an Asian woman with black hair with mulberry highlights
Who knew dark purple highlights on black hair can look this good? Credit: Shutterstock

Speaking of dark purple shades, here’s one you can try: mulberry. It’s a deep purple color with red undertones. Try this if you want a sophisticated, dark hair color but want to try other colors aside from shades of brown for your highlights.

6. Teal Highlights for Dark Hair

Highlights for dark hair: Closeup shot of a woman with short black hair and teal high lights wearing a red printed dress outdoors
Ooze with style and confidence by getting teal highlights. Credit: indigitalimages.com

Make black hair look luminescent with teal highlights. Teal suits those with a cool undertone. To know this, take a look at the veins in your inner arm under natural light. If the veins are bluish or purple, you got a cool undertone. When you get teal highlights, you might want to get a bob with blunt bangs as well—an edgy haircut to go with your equally edgy hair color.

7. Black Hair With Dark Green Highlights

Asian woman with black hair with deep green highlights
Dark green highlights help bring out the shape of your waves. Credit: Bin Thi U from Unsplash

Try the forestcore aesthetic hair trend by getting deep green highlights. Add these to long, wavy hair to create an ethereal and whimsical look.

8. Face-Framing Highlights

Asian woman with short hair with blonde face-framing highlights
Face-framing highlights are popular among Korean celebrities. Credit: Cottonbro from Pexels

Also called money piece, face-framing highlights consist of two sections of hair near your face dyed a different color from the rest of your hair. Make your money piece pop against your hair’s naturally dark hue by choosing a light hair color like blonde.

9. Deep Chocolate

Asian woman with short hair wearing a brown jacket
If you don’t want a drastic change, try deep chocolate highlights. Credit: Medium Photoclub from Pexels

These subtle highlights for dark hair are a good choice if you want a low-key makeover. They look classy and sophisticated especially when worn with shiny hair.

10. Coffee Brown Highlights for Black Hair

Asian woman with coffee brown highlights for black hair
Coffee brown hair color is flattering for any skin tone. Credit: Hong Son from Pexels

Coffee brown hair color is darker than golden brown but lighter than chocolate brown, cappuccino, and other dark brown shades. It’s a chic, rich brown hue that can jazz up dark hair of any length.

Cream Silk Triple Keratin Rescue Ultimate Color Revive Ultra Conditioner

Editor’s tip: Give your colored hair the benefits of three keratin products in one with Cream Silk Triple Keratin Rescue Ultimate Color Revive Ultra Conditioner. It has keratin relaxers to tame frizz, keratin serum to revive hair from intense damage, and keratin essence to restore shine to dull hair. 

11. Auburn Highlights

Asian woman with shoulder-length hair smiling
Update your ‘do by adding auburn highlights. Credit: Natasha Estelle

Auburn is a brown hair color with red tones. These highlights for black hair give you a fresh look that won’t easily go out of style.

Bottle of Dove Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Intense Repair Shampoo

Editor’s tip: Is your hair extremely damaged because of frequent coloring and bleaching? Nurse it back to its healthy-looking state with Dove Intense Repair Keratin Tri-Silk Serum Shampoo. It has keratin, fiber actives, and serum ingredients to repair damage, nourish and protect your hair deeply, and leave it extra beautiful. It also has Keratin Repair Actives to repair and nourish damaged hair from the core to the surface.

Tube of Dove Keratin Repair Conditioner

After shampooing, use Dove Keratin Repair 1 Minute Serum Conditioner. It has keratin-infused serum capsules that go deep into your hair to repair damage from within. It leaves your hair recovered, beautiful, and resilient in just one minute. 

12. Honey Brown

Asian woman with short curly hair with honey brown highlights
Try honey brown highlights to help bring out your gorgeous curls. Credit: Garvin St. Villier from Pexels

This hair color also gives you a sun-kissed glow. These highlights also suit kulot hair, as they help bring out the shape of your curls.

13. Chestnut Brown

Asian woman with a textured short hairstyle smiling
These gorgeous chestnut brown highlights complement a textured French bob. Credit: Natasha Estelle

This hair color is a cross between chocolate and brownish-red, and it seamlessly blends with naturally dark hair. Whether you go for a sleek and polished hairstyle or a textured, messy-chic one, chestnut brown highlights help bring out your best look.

14. Ash Gray Highlights for Black Hair

Asian woman with ash gray highlights on her hair
Not sure if ash gray is for you? Start with highlights. Credit: Natasha Estelle

Put these sparingly on small sections of your hair to create a youthful and edgy look. Start with face-framing highlights before applying this color to other parts of your hair.

15. Dusty Black Hair With Highlights

Asian woman with long black hair with highlights
Dusty highlights on black hair give you an edgy, monochromatic look. Credit: Bach Tran from Unsplash

Add dimension to your jet black hair with medium gray highlights. The result is a dusty look that’s flattering for layers and soft waves.

16. Brown and Blonde Highlights for Black Hair

Back shot of an Asian woman with brown and blonde highlights for black hair
Create big waves to showcase your brown and blonde highlights. Credit: Shutterstock

Make your highlights look more exciting by putting blonde and brown together on sections of your hair. The combination of light and dark colors creates a striking ‘do that’s full of depth and dimension.

17. Warm Blonde Highlights

Back of a woman with long dark hair with blonde-colored sections
Create a lived-in look with blonde balayage highlights. Credit: Autri Taheri from Unsplash

Combine the richness of dark hair with the sun-kissed effect of warm blonde hues. Put blonde in small doses in the mid-lengths of your hair and go all out at the tips. You can even put light blonde money piece highlights to jazz up your look.

18. Subtle Balayage Black Hair with Highlights

Back of a woman with dark hair in a subtle balayage look
Not sure if balayage is for you? Try this subtle version. Credit: Shutterstock

This look consists of bronde or honey brown highlights on fine sections of your dark hair. The color blends naturally with your dark hair, creating a natural look. It’s simple yet timeless.

19. Playground Highlights

Woman with dark shoulder-length locks with caramel strands
Jazz up your dark hair with playground highlights. Credit: Philip Justin Mamelic from Pexels

Another way to create a natural look with new hair colors is to add playground highlights. These mimic the color your hair turns to when hit by sunlight. Choose warm hues that are a shade or two lighter than your natural hair color to nail this look.

20. Milk Tea Highlights for Black Hair

Back of a woman with long dark locks
Rock milk tea hair color as highlights for your dark hair. Credit: Shutterstock

Milk tea hair color is one of the popular hues in Asia. If you want to jump on this trend but you don’t want to dye your hair entire hair, get this color as highlights. The ashy, golden tones will surely give your look a revamp.

Add drama to your tresses with these highlights for dark hair. Sometimes, a bit of color is all you need to revamp your look.