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Honey Blonde Hair is Summer’s Hottest Blonde Trend

If you want to refresh your ‘do and keep your blonde current, look no further than honey blonde hair color. We’re breaking down everything you need to know to achieve the shade for yourself.

Maybe it’s our newly tanned skin, or perhaps the nostalgia of how the sun turned our strands golden in childhood—there’s simply something about summer that makes us want to experiment with a new hair color. While platinum, icy blonde hues are great for complementing paler skin in the cooler months, warm-toned shades are just what you need to match the gilded undertones of your summer skin. What better way to do it than with honey blonde?


Like a drizzle of honey in your morning tea, a honey blonde hue can be the instant touch of warmth that your mane and skin crave. Read on to learn more about honey blonde hair color, how to care for it, and 17 of our favorite ways to try the shade.

Good hair day by @carlosyeugenio

What hair color is honey blonde?

Honey blonde hair is a warm-toned shade with gold, brown, and red undertones.


Redken

Acidic Bonding Concentrate Intensive Treatment

An intensive acidic rinse-off treatment that helps reinforce weak hair bonds and repair damaged hair.


How do you get honey blonde hair?

To achieve honey blonde hair, your colorist will likely need to use bleach to lift your current color and create a blank canvas before applying your nectar-inspired hue. After all, your colorist will need to craft a customized honey blonde shade with varying amounts of gold, brown, or red, depending on the look you want to achieve.

It’s important to note that bleach will always cause some damage, but a seasoned colorist will help improve the look and feel of your strands before leaving the salon. A good at-home routine can also maintain the health of your hair between visits. Always include a bond-strengthening treatment like Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Intensive Treatment in your product roundup. Part of the Acidic Bonding Concentrate family, this acidic rinse-off treatment helps reinforce weak hair bonds and repair damaged hair that can result from stressors like hair color and lightening.

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What is the difference between honey blonde and golden blonde?

While golden blonde and honey are similar hues, honey blonde hair color features more red and brown undertones to make it rich-looking and multidimensional.


What skin tone looks good with honey blonde?

Like actual jarred honey you might find at a farmer’s market, this trend runs the gamut of shades from deep amber to light, sweet gold—so it’s easy to find a shade that works for every skin tone.



How do you care for honey blonde hair?

Keep your honey blonde hue toned and vibrant by maintaining a regular salon schedule and upgrading your at-home color care routine. Start by swapping out your regular shampoo and conditioner for a system formulated for color-treated hair. We recommend Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner. This creamy and hydrating system revitalizes, softens, and nourishes dry, color-treated hair.

There’s a fine line between warmth and brass. To keep your honey hue toned between appointments, invest in a purple shampoo and conditioner. We suggest swapping out your regular system for one like Redken’s Color Extend Blondage Shampoo and Conditioner Duo once a week. This system contains ultra violet pigments and the brand’s Triple Acid Protein Complex to tone, strengthen, and brighten your blonde.

Your strands may feel more dry and damaged than usual if your colorist used bleach to create your honey blonde shade. Consider incorporating a weekly hair mask like L'Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Absolut Repair Instant Resurfacing Masque into your routine. This mask is infused with gold quinoa and protein, which helps to restore damaged hair instantly, leaving it softer and shinier. Click here to see how this hair mask works on three different hair types.

If you’re ready to try honey blonde hair for yourself, keep scrolling for 17 of our favorite ways to wear the shade.

The 17 Best Honey Blonde Hair Ideas to Try Now

Good hair day by @studiolioness

Light Honey Blonde

Oh, light honey blonde, there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you! This dreamy, super pale take on the honey trend is best for experienced blonde lovers whose hair may already be a few levels away from platinum or ice.

Good hair day by @jessicascotthair

Honey Blonde Balayage

OK, brunettes, here’s one for you: honey blonde balayage on a dark base. Because your stylist will only lift your color from a few choice strands to create a statement, you’ll experience way less damage and much easier maintenance than what a full head of blonde might bring you. If you have virgin hair, this is your perfect first step into hair color!

Good hair day by @morellosalvatore

Dark Honey Blonde Reverse Balayage

During a reverse balayage service, your colorist will paint lowlights near the roots, bringing depth to your hue. Ask about a reverse balayage with dark honey to sweeten up your ‘do without going overboard.

Good hair day by @kjb_hair

Honey Bronde

Bronde is another great option for brunettes that want to edge into blonde without committing to all-over color. Ask your colorist to create your bronde look with a honey blonde shade to keep your hue rich and warm-toned.

If you’re lightening your brunette base, we recommend picking up a blue toning system to counteract brassiness, like Matrix Total Results Brass Off Shampoo and Conditioner. Then, follow it up with the line’s All-In-One Toning Leave-In Spray. This conditioning leave-in spray uses blue dye color-depositing technology to neutralize those pesky brassy and orange tones that plague lightened brunettes and dark blonde hair.

Good hair day by @stylelushsalon

Honey Blonde With Subtle Auburn Highlights

If you’ve been scrolling through hair color trends, you’ve probably seen auburn at the top of every list. It’s a staple shade pairs beautifully with honey blonde. Ask your colorist to incorporate subtle auburn highlights throughout a honey blonde base.

Good hair day by @mygirlyinnin

Honey Blonde Curls

Certain shades really stand out on curly hair, and sugary honey blonde is one of them. The ringlets' texture helps show off the hue's depth and dimension.

Good hair day by @jennaleecorteshair

Honey Blonde With Lowlights

Give your honey blonde look extra depth by adding lowlights throughout your mane. Pro tip: Adding texture to your hair can help accentuate your color's dimension. Try applying a few spritzes of texturizing spray like Matrix Vavoom Extra Full Freezing Spray throughout your hair.

Good hair day by @dariachebanov

Honey-Roasted Blonde

If a quiet Sunday morning over coffee in a Parisian cafe could be distilled down into one hair color, it would be honey-roasted blonde. Tip-toeing right on the edge of light brown, this shade incorporates notes of honey with copper reflects. Excuse us while we save this one to our phones!

Good hair day by @chelseahaircutters

Sandy Honey Blonde

This sandy honey blonde color is perfect for you if you're a beach babe at heart. This shade incorporates honey and beige blonde hues to create a dimensional color that resembles a sandy beach.

Keep the ocean vibes going with some scrunched texture. After washing your mane, work a curl-enhancing cream into damp hair and lightly scrunch strands up toward your scalp, then let strands air dry. One of our must-have creams is Kérastase’s Curl Manifesto Gelee Curl Contour Gel-Cream. This formula combines the hydrating properties of a cream and the hold of a gel (without the crunch) to provide 24-hour frizz control and nourish all curl patterns.

Good hair day by @moderndesignfrisor

Neutral Honey Blonde

When in doubt, subtlety is the motto. We love the way this honey shade could almost have grown out of this model’s scalp—which is a cool-girl hair color dream.

Good hair day by @hairbyamybee

Neutral Honey Blonde Highlights

Highlights are another easy way to lean into a neutral honey shade without abandoning your base color.

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Pale Honey Blonde Ombre

Treat your hair (and your self-confidence) to a gorgeous ombre that’ll let you try honey alongside your typical shade without committing to any color near your roots—which means fewer touch-ups.

Good hair day by @nurzh8n

Glossy Honey Blonde

Give your honey hue a high-shine finish with a hair oil like Shu Uemura Art Of Hair Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Hair Oil. This formula rebalances the hair's moisture level from mid-lengths to ends while providing shine and intense nutrition.

Good hair day by @hairbykatied

Copper Honey

These copper-honey highlights are ideal for those who don’t want to go too light but still like the idea of adding an element of warmth to locks.

Good hair day by @ccatherinee.g

Honey Blonde Money Piece

A money piece is exactly how it sounds: strategic placement of lighter color around the face to make your hue look instantly expensive. When juxtaposed with amber hair, we can guarantee that a honey blonde money piece will make you look like a million bucks.

Good hair day by @hairbyisobelsophie_x

Platinum Money Piece on Honey Blonde Hair

If your hair is already a deep honey blonde shade and you just want more brightness around your face, a platinum face-framing streak is ideal for making your features pop.

Good hair day by @dezarai.stylist

Half Honey Blonde

If there’s anything these past few years have taught us, we crave flexibility. So why limit ourselves to a single hair color when we can have fun with two? This half-and-half honey blonde and black duo will turn heads in the best way.

Interested in trying honey blonde hair? Hair.com has you covered with all the products that professionals rely on to keep it warm and healthy.

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