“Chocolate Cake” Is the Delicious New Hair Color Trend for Brunettes

With so many celebrities going brunette recently, it's clear that brown hair is having a long-overdue moment. Perhaps it's because people are finally figuring out that while it's very common, it's not the least bit boring, and there are plenty of ways to personalize it so it doesn't look like everyone else's shade. One way to achieve an especially delicious version of the brunette trend is a rich, dimensional look colorists are calling "chocolate cake" hair.

According to Arizona-based colorist Liz Cook, "chocolate cake" hair is deep, vibrant, and relies on balayage highlights to emphasize the face and add brightness to the deep brown tones. "The highlights are what will really set the color apart from other brunettes," Cook tells Allure. "Traditional brunette is a more neutral and slightly ashy color. This spring, however, it’s all about vibrancy and richness."

And as for why Cook gave it such a yummy name? "I named it chocolate cake because the highlights almost remind you of the gooey frosting in-between the dark chocolate layers." She's not wrong.

It seems other colorists using the #chocolatecakehair hashtag are on the same page as Cook, showing rich, warm brown shades with variations via highlights that bring out depth and vibrancy.

If you're understandably tempted to try the "chocolate cake" look, Cook advises requesting a brunette shade that isn't too neutral. "This means adding copper and red undertones to your color to give you the richness in tone. I like using Faction8 by Pulp Riot to take my colors to the next level," she tells Allure. "Ask your stylist for balayage highlights framing your face and gradually getting bolder on your ends to bring out the tones."

More hair-color trends to check out:

• The 7 Prettiest Hair-Color Trends to Try This Spring
• The “Color Cloud” Hair at Mary Katrantzou Is Our Favorite New Way to Wear the Pastel Hair Trend
• Mustard Hair Is Basically the Opposite of Platinum, and It's Perfect

Now check out 100 years of hair color:

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