Black hair is undeniably gorgeous, but those with dark strands may wonder if their blonde-haired friends really do have more fun. The high-contrast hair color trend featuring both black and blonde hair is the perfect way to lighten up without straying too far from your roots. It's a way to have the best of both worlds.
Here are several black and blonde hair color ideas, from bold color blocking to subtle highlights, catering to various preferences and hair types.
For a seriously bold mane, the half and half hair color trend involves leaving one side of your hair a stark black (or dyeing it, if needed) and bleaching the other platinum blonde.
If you want to keep your lightened strands around your face, blonde face-framing highlights are another stylish way to rock black-blonde hair. For a slightly subtler take on the color, opt for warm, honey face-framing highlights.
Instead of having to keep up with constant root touch-ups, blonde hair with dark roots-and specifically, black roots-is trending. This look involves coloring your entire mane blonde, aside from your roots. There, your hairdresser will use a smudging technique to blend your highlights with your natural black hair color, so you have a seamless transition of shades as your roots start to grow.
Read also: Enhance Black Hair Color
Ombré on black hair is a low-maintenance option for lightening a dark mane. If minimal upkeep is something you look for in a new hair color, allow us to point you in the direction of a black-to-blonde ombré hair color.
For those that have box braids, cornrows, or another braided protective hairstyle, you can spice things up by incorporating black and blonde into the look. These two opposing shades complement each other beautifully when weaved together. Also notable, with this protective hairstyle option, you won’t have to worry about damaging your natural hair with bleach in order to get your desired blonde shade.
Black hair with highlights, particularly black hair with blonde highlights, may be as simple as it gets, but that doesn’t make it any less of a beautiful option. While you can totally go for traditional foil highlights if you want an all-over lighter look, blonde balayage on black hair, thanks to its low-maintenance upkeep, works well.
The colors may be on opposite ends of the spectrum, but they form the ultimate dream team when you find the right shades and placement for each head of hair.
Before you pick up the tint brush, keep these tips in mind:
Read also: Mastering French Braids
Check How Dark Your Client Wants Their Hair: If you’re already working with a black mane, you may not need to color your client’s base. However, if they have a base they want to take deeper, check how dark they want to go. An ultra dark brown or ebony hue can still give plenty of depth and contrast, but may be softer and easier to tailor to skin tones than a pure, jet black.
Discuss How Many Sessions are Required: For clients who want to team black or very dark brown hair with a high contrast blonde, a number of lightening and coloring sessions may be needed. Talk this through during consultation, so you can set realistic expectations for your client. As always, patience is crucial for transformative lightening, but it’s always worth the time and effort for that masterpiece in the end.
Use a Bond-Strengthening Hair Lightener to Lift Locks: When it comes to creating black hair with blonde highlights, the lightener you choose makes all the difference. BlondorPlex is our product of choice for intense lightening, as it gives you up to nine levels of lift. It’s also infused with our bond-strengthening WellaPlex ingredient, so your client’s tresses are supported through the lifting process, with up to 97% less hair breakage.
Absolutely. Black hair with blonde highlights is certainly a statement look, but just because the colors are near opposites doesn’t mean they can’t work together flawlessly. Simply talk to your client about the type of finish they want. If soft and seamless is their goal, you may want to go for deeper shades of blonde, such as a caramel, golden or bronde (brown blonde) tone. Applying their highlights with a balayage technique is another great way to get a beautifully blended result - plus the off-root application allows for subtler regrowth than root-to-tip ribbons. But if contrast is key, try the Wella Color Blocking hair service, choosing brighter shades of blonde (think platinum, ash or silver) to apply to a deepest brown or jet black base. Combine with statement-making placement; a chunky face frame, root-to-tip ribbons or a dip-dye effect are all guaranteed to turn heads.
Chunky Highlights for Curly Hair: Chunky highlights are perfect for curly hair, as they shine the spotlight on the shape and texture of those beautiful ringlets. To get the look, lift locks with BlondorPlex first, then tone with Color Touch 9/03 + 1.9%. Here, you’re seeing BlondorPlex for the highlights, demi-permanent Color Touch 4/0 applied as a root touch-up, and 7/97 + 8/73 used to whip up a caramel glow that shimmers through the lengths and ends.
Read also: Easy Braided Hairstyles
Halo Highlights: Adding a dazzling halo of luminosity, it’s warm without being too warm, striking the perfect balance of gold and neutral tones. If your client has a short, black bob, and wants blonde highlights that won’t take over their full head of hair, isolating the brightness through the front is a great way to dip a toe into sun-kissed locks. So what’s the formula? Create the look with BlondorPlex + 6% through the front section, and paint BlondorPlex + 3% in small balayage sections at the back. Then, tone with Koleston Perfect 9/73; a light golden blonde that serves up all the shine and intensity your client craves.
Rooted and Toned Highlights: To recreate the look, first paint the root with Color Touch 3/68 + 4/0 + 1.9%, while using Blondor Freelights to lift the mid-lengths and ends. Then, when the lightener has developed and been rinsed out, tone with 7/89 + 8/81 through the top of the mid-lengths, and 7/03 + 7/7 + 8/71 through the bottom of the mid-lengths to the very ends of hair. Flawless.
Special Blonde Highlights: First up, Koleston Perfect Special Blonde 12/22 was applied for those highlights, which is a high lift hair color that reliably lightens and tones the hair in a single step. Then, after that formula had been rinsed and neutralized, locks were treated to a Shinefinity Color Glaze with the shades 07/34 + 08/34 - two warm, spicy blondes with a hint of red.
Bronde Foilyage: It’s not as contrasting as blonde, but it still boasts a boost of brightness you don’t get with brown highlights. In the case of this bronde creation, we recommend foilyage to recreate the look. This means you’ll get the painterly effect of balayage, but the accelerated lift that comes from wrapping BlondorPlex lightener in foils. Then, tone hair with Shinefinity Color Glaze 09/13, which will add richness and vibrancy to those perfectly lifted pieces.
Icy Blonde Highlights with Color Blocking: The trend is surprisingly versatile, and the look you’re seeing here is just one of the ways you can work it, featuring black hair with icy blonde highlights. If your client loves this monochromatic blocking service as much as we do, statement placement in tones of cool charcoal and crisp alpine blonde are key. Try it by first deepening the base with Color Touch 3/0, before reaching for the Blondor Toners in the shades Pale Platinum and Pale Silver + 1.9%. Wella Passionista Danielle Warren , who created the look, shared this crucial tip for a stand-out face frame: “Make sure to use fine subsections and good saturation for even lift… Using a lower developer with your lightener not only helps maintain the integrity of your hair, but also allows plenty of time to apply base color while foils are processing.”
Toning for Blonde Highlights: Whether your client’s highlights have lifted too bright in the sun, or they were always meant to be on the lighter side, a color-depositing treatment like the Color Fresh Mask will tone any brassiness down. Try the shade Chocolate Touch if the existing highlights are super blonde and you want locks to be bronde (as seen here), or Golden Gloss if a golden blonde is the goal. All you have to do is apply it to clean, damp hair, let it absorb for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly to reveal revived color.
Platinum Blonde Highlights: Combining black hair with platinum blonde highlights, this look is all about chunky ribbons, high contrast and major lift. If you love it as much as we do, recreate it by applying Koleston Perfect 5/2 + 7/18 + 1.9% for the base, alongside weighty sweeps of BlondorPlex + 6% to lighten. Then, when both formulas have developed and been rinsed, carry out a Koleston Perfect Pure Glossing Service to give those blonde pieces a touch of radiance. Mix 10/96 + 9/81 at a 1:1:1 ratio with the Post Color Treatment and 1.9% for a glowing gloss like no other.
Dark Blonde Face Frame: This is a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ blonde; a tone so perfectly blended that it peek-a-boos through the face frame for the most natural-looking effect. If you want to try it on your client, create chunky face-framing highlights through the very front of the hair, using BlondorPlex + 6% to lift. Then, when that face frame has developed, reach for a cool blonde toner, such as Shinefinity Color Glaze 09/13 or 07/13.
Luminous Tones: Then, to get that positively luminous tone throughout, the natural black base was enhanced with 5/ + 5/7 + 1.9%, while those sparkling ribbons were treated to a final toning session with 9/43 + 8/37 + 1.9%. Hello, glow.
Gray Blonde Highlights: Combining black with silver blonde highlights, he’s revealed a new take on monochrome hair that feels fun, fresh and modern. First up, he used BlondorPlex + 1.9% to paint a high volume of highlights through the full top layer of hair, while toning the base color with Koleston Perfect 5/2 + 2/0 + 1.9% Welloxon Perfect. Then, to achieve that silvery glow, lightened sections were treated to a blend of 10/16 + 1.9%.
Here are some additional ideas for black and blonde hair color combinations:
Icy Blonde with Black Peekaboo Highlights: By adding contrast with two complementary colors, black and blonde are great for women wanting a bold style.
Cookies and Cream Color Blocking: This edgy color choice creates a striking contrast with jet black and bright white sections. The black-and-white color-blocking trend is perfect for those who want a high-impact look that is modern and fashion-forward. This color combination works best for individuals with fair to medium skin tones, as the contrast enhances the overall visual impact.
Black Hair with Blonde Underlights: Blending lighter tones like honey blonde with a rich black base gives your hair beautiful depth. This style enhances natural features, especially those with warmer skin tones, adding a radiant glow. To make the blonde underlights pop, ask your stylist to lift your hair to level 6 or higher.
Half Black & Half White: Any person of any age can apply this color technique. It comes in many color mixes. Keep in mind, the block color option will need more time at the salon. Give your hair some extra care with a good hydrating mask once a week at home.
Short Blonde Hair with Black Tips: The dark black tips create a bold statement against a lighter base color, such as blonde or light brown. It works well for women with all skin tones, as the contrast can complement a variety of complexions. To achieve this style, consult with a professional colorist. They can determine the best shade of black and the best technique for your specific needs, to evenly apply the color.
Short Black and Blonde Hairstyle: There’s a heavy foiling pattern throughout the top of the crown to give it maximum blonde.
Black and Platinum Blonde: Achieve this black and platinum blonde color by utilizing a foilayage technique, which creates a high contrast dark to light hair finish with no brassy transition shade.
White-Blonde Streaks on Dark Hair: Ask for freelights when looking to lighten your dark hair through a color melt.
Textured Black Hair with Blonde Ombre Highlights for African-American Ladies: Adding warm blonde highlights is for women with curly hair texture to add more definition and dimension to the curls.
Black and Burgundy Blonde: Have your stylist apply burgundy lowlights for dimension. Style it with curls to show off the multi-tonal hues.
Icy Blonde Highlights with Black Hair: Invest in products specifically for blonde tresses to keep hair from looking brassy as the toner fades.
Black-Rooted Strawberry Blonde: To get this color, ask your colorist for a balayage with solid ends and a deep shadow root.
Honey Blonde Highlights on Black Hair: For a better dimension, ask for a brighter pop of color!
Medium-Length Blonde Hair with Black Highlights: Blondes that feature a warmer tone like this suit olive and golden skin complexions.
Short Black Hair with Blonde Highlights: This black hair with blonde highlights also works for a modern sleek style.
Long Black and Blonde Hair: This black and blonde two-toned balayage job mimicked natural growth so well.
Black and Gray Ash Blonde Ombre: Gray hair tones neutralize everything and add to the depth of the black blonde ombre.
Blonde Hair Weave for Pretty Black Women: Gorgeous black women will love such full highlights on black hair wigs, for sure!
Blonde and Black Box Braids: With box braids using hair extensions, you can now rock blonde hair with black roots without damaging your hair.
Black and Blonde Faux Locs for Natural Hair: Combine sandy-ebony hues for that icing on top. This hair gem will flatter ladies with dark skin tones.
Caramel Color on a Black to Dark Brown Base: What’s great about this dyed hair color is it’s guaranteed to look awesome on a natural dark brown base, too!
Black and Blonde Ombre-Dyed Hair: It’s great for growing out long hair or making a statement with short hair.
Blonde Hair with Black Underneath: The combination of colors boosts a fresh, sleek layered bob cut.
Black and Blonde Balayage: The streaks of warm blonde hue plus a wavy texture are sure to add a stunning dimension to darker hair.
Half Black, Half Blonde Hair: Having creative freedom is a must when it comes to achieving a half blonde, half black hair dye like this!
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