Once fall starts, you see more people going darker with their hair. Someone who was blonde all summer suddenly has a richer brown, then you see another brunette transformation, then a cherry-brown one. You save a couple on Pinterest or Instagram and after a while you start thinking, I kind of want to do that too.
Then you look at your own hair.
If you already have highlights or lighter pieces around your face, they are probably still there because you like them. So going fully brunette means some of those pieces are going to disappear too.
Table of Contents : darker hair for fall
The blonde you already like
Look at your hair before looking at another brunette photo.
Maybe the brightness around your face still looks good. Maybe the ends are fine and it is really the top that has started feeling too blonde. Or maybe you still like being blonde, just not this blonde anymore. That makes a difference.
Go back to the photo you saved and forget the shade name underneath it for a second. What did you actually like? The darker root? The richer colour through the middle? The way two lighter pieces show up around the face?
Sometimes the photo looks brunette because most of the hair is darker, but the contrast is what makes the whole thing look good. Cover every lighter piece and you can end up removing part of the look that made you save the photo in the first place.
This is where a second photo helps too. Keep the one you love, but save one that feels too dark. If deep espresso starts looking almost black to you, or a flat one-colour brown feels heavy, show that as well.
It is much easier to say, “I like this depth, but I do not want to go this dark,” when both photos are sitting there.
A little darker can already change a lot
Say the pieces around your face still look good and the ends are not bothering you. It is mainly those very bright highlights through the top that suddenly feel a bit much now.
You can put some depth back into that hair without covering everything.
A few lowlights add darker pieces between the lighter ones. A little more depth around the roots can change how dark the whole colour looks too. And if the lighter pieces around your face are still the part you like most, leave them there.
If it were my hair, I would do that before wiping out every bit of blonde I had spent months keeping. Then wear it for a while.
You may look in the mirror and think, yes, this is what I meant. The hair looks richer, the blonde is not shouting as much, and it still feels like your hair. Or you may keep looking at those lighter pieces and wishing there were fewer of them. Fine. Now you know.
When you keep wanting more
If you can picture the blonde gone and you are not already thinking about which piece you would miss, a fuller brunette change probably will not feel as scary.
This is where all the mocha, chocolate and espresso photos start coming back into the conversation.
I would not get too attached to the names, though. One salon’s chocolate can be warmer or deeper than another salon’s chocolate. Look at how dark the actual hair is in the photo, where the warmth sits and whether there is still any light around the face.
Cherry-brown is the same. Sometimes you really do love that red. Sometimes the photo just looks glossy and deep and that is what caught your eye. If the red is what you want, remember that red-based colour normally needs more refreshing as it fades.
If your hair has already been very light
Heavily highlighted or bleached hair is worth mentioning before the colourist starts mixing anything.
Lightening removes a lot of the pigment that was in the hair before. If you are going much darker, the colourist may need to put some warm pigment back first so the brunette does not end up looking hollow or fading strangely.
Tell them about old highlights, bleach and previous colour. Even if most of it looks grown out to you, it is better for them to know what has been on the hair.
The same brown you saved on Pinterest is not starting from the same place on untouched brunette hair and hair that has been blonde for two years.
And then there is spring
If you know yourself and every March you start missing blonde again, mention that now.
You may still go dark. I just would not keep that part to myself during the appointment.
Very dark permanent colour can take time to lift back out later, especially when the hair underneath was already lightened. So if brighter pieces or balayage are probably coming back in a few months, the colourist should know that before taking you much deeper.
You can literally say, “I want it richer and darker now, but I still want some light around my face and I may want to go lighter again in spring.”
If you are completely over the blonde for a while, say that instead.
Once the colour is done, keep the rest boring for a minute. Check the shampoo you already own before buying a new routine. If it is not made for colour-treated hair, Biolage Color Last Shampoo is one option. One shampoo makes more sense to me than coming home from one appointment with six new bottles.
Then just wear your hair normally.
Look at it in daylight. Put it up. Wear it down. Do your makeup the way you always do. After a few days, you will probably notice whether there is something you keep missing.
If it is that one lighter piece around your face, you know what to ask for next time. If you stop thinking about the blonde completely, you probably went dark enough.
And if fall has you changing how you wear your hair too, I have a separate guide to fall hairstyles that work better with sweaters and coats.
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