Ahhh, sweet, sweet caramel hair. That heady blend of brown and blonde that’s all sun-kissed, beachy, alluring and lustrous. The toasted blonde, light brown look has got our heads in a spin. From catwalk to sidewalk, it’s everywhere we look right now. But which is the best caramel hair dye you need to get the look at home?
Here’s everything you need to know about how to get your own captivating golden tresses.
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Contents
- 1 What is caramel hair?
- 2 Can I dye my hair caramel at home?
- 3 Which is the best caramel hair dye?
- 4 Best caramel hair dyes at a glance.
- 5 TOP PICK!
- 6 L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
- 7 #1 Schwarzkopf Colour Expert Omegaplex Hair Dye, Medium Caramel Blonde
- 8 #2 L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
- 9 #3 Clairol Nice’n Easy Semi-Permanent Hair Dye, Light Caramel Brown
- 10 #4 Garnier Nutrisse Brown Hair Dye Permanent, Golden Light Brown
- 11 #5 L’Oreal Paris Excellence Age Perfect Dark Beige Blonde
- 12 #6 Garnier Olia Golden Dark Blonde Hair Dye Permanent.
- 13 TOP PICK!
- 14 L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
- 15 How to dye your hair at home.
- 16 Buyer’s guide: How to choose the right hair dye for you.
- 17 Parting words.
What is caramel hair?
This golden colour is a creamy mix of light brown and blonde. It’s multi-dimensional tones make your skin shine and your eyes pop.
It’s a warm colour because of its golden notes, so will suit those with warm undertones.
Its many shades also work amazingly as a base for other on-trend styles such as ombre, balayage and highlights.
And it blends fabulously well with dark roots for a grown out root style.
Check out the latest looks for ideas and inspiration.
Can I dye my hair caramel at home?
You certainly can!
This is a great colour to DIY at home. The colour results you’ll achieve all depends on what colour you hair is now.
If your hair is light brown to dark – try blending lighter shades with your darker hair to add depth and texture. Ombre and balayage looks will be perfect for you.
If you want to go all over caramel, you may need your hair pre-lightened first to achieve the gorgeous golden effect.
If your hair is light blonde and lighter – you can dye your hair all-over or you can add subtle rich lowlights or babylights.
Experiment with darker tones and lighter hues for multi-dimensional fabulousness.
Which is the best caramel hair dye?
If you’re ready to sweeten up your hair at home, here are the best caramel hair dyes you can buy today!
Best caramel hair dyes at a glance.
| Hair dye | Looks like | Best for | Buy it now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schwarzkopf Colour Expert Omegaplex Hair Dye, Medium Caramel Blonde |   | Cool, dark caramel hair colour. | |
| L'Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde |   | Long-lasting caramel hair colour. | |
| Clairol Nice'n Easy Semi-Permanent Hair Dye, Light Caramel Brown |   | Caramel-chocolate brown. | |
| Garnier Nutrisse Brown Hair Dye Permanent, Golden Light Brown |   | Soft and shiny caramel hair. | |
| L'Oreal Paris Excellence Age Perfect Dark Beige Blonde |   | Soft caramel coverage. | |
| Garnier Olia Golden Dark Blonde Hair Dye Permanent. |   | Natural caramel colour. |
TOP PICK!
L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
Best for: Long-lasting colour.
We loved that this dye comes with a ph-friendly shampoo in the box and a comb applicator to apply the dye with ease.
It does make a difference. There’s also a pre-dye serum and a lightweight nourishing mask which left our hair feeling so smooth and soft.
Colour-wise, it’s really on the golden side and a lovely rich toffee tone that gave our mid-blonde hair real depth.
It lasted well too with minimal fade. Go for this for long-lasting results.
#1 Schwarzkopf Colour Expert Omegaplex Hair Dye, Medium Caramel Blonde
They say:
- Natural-looking rich and long lasting hair colour performance.
- Intensely nourishes and protects for up to 8 weeks.
- The after colour conditioner is enriched with 4 oils.
- For silky, shiny and stronger hair with less breakage.
Reviewers say:
“I love this hair dye, so easy and nice to use. It’s gentle on my skin and my hair, and doesn’t stain my forehead when it drips on my skin.”
“This is a great colour with easy application. It has a bit of a smell when being applied but doesn’t last long. It also turns your hair a bit darker than it is. So I wouldn’t leave it on as long next time.”
“My hair is just below shoulder length and there was more than enough dye to cover it all evenly. I left on for the maximum time it said to cover my greys and it did the job. All over even colour and no greys. The colour came out as stated in the box which is fab! It’s perfect.”
We say:
This is a super lush colour with gorgeous multi-dimensional tones.
We tried it on mid-brown hair to give it some richness and the colour came out darker, but a lovely cool iced light brown. Go for this for cool, dark tones.
Best for: Cool, dark caramel hair colour.
#2 L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
They say:
- A permanent hair dye that gives you a luscious colour in under 30 minutes.
- Enriches your hair and visibly improves its look and feel.
- Contains Pro-Keratin and Ceramide to leave your hair looking smoother and feeling stronger.
Reviewers say:
“The hair dye itself as a colour is lovely, it doesn’t look too flat or monotone like other dyes I’ve used in the past. It’s really reflective in the light and makes my hair look really healthy from root to ends.”
“I used this to cover up some old blonde highlights and found they covered really well. They didn’t end up being too warm and they haven’t faded either within the weeks after dyeing. I would definitely recommend it.”
“I hadn’t coloured my hair in a while, so this was a good test for covering more grey than usual. The result is better hair quality than before. It’s soft and shiny. The colour is holding up well and gets better with further washes. Its quite a modern hue.”
We say:
We loved that this dye comes with a ph-friendly shampoo in the box and a comb applicator to apply the dye with ease. It does make a difference.
There’s also a pre-dye serum and a lightweight nourishing mask which left our hair feeling so smooth and soft.
Colour-wise, it’s really on the golden side and a lovely rich toffee tone that gave our mid-blonde hair real depth. It lasted well too with minimal fade. Go for this for long-lasting results.
Best for: Long-lasting colour.
#3 Clairol Nice’n Easy Semi-Permanent Hair Dye, Light Caramel Brown
They say:
- Drip-free creme.
- Simply shampoo-in, leave for 45 minutes for rich conditioning and colour and shiny hair.
- The built-in conditioners travel with the colour deep inside the hair.
- Leaves hair soft and silky with radiant shine.
Reviewers say:
“I’ve been using this colour for a few months and I love it! My hair feels so healthy and is so shiny!”
“I used this colour for the first time and it came out exactly the shade on the box – lovely dark caramel hair.”
“I felt like a change from my normal light brown hair so tried this one. It’s a lovely colour. My roots are brown and the rest of my hair has got a nice golden hint to it.”
We say:
Cover your surfaces for this one as it went everywhere! We used this shade on light brown hair to add some golden tones and the result was a lustrous, warm chocolatey colour.
It’s more medium brown than it is light brown and has shimmering tones that catch the light. Go for this for a warm brown look.
Best for: Caramel-chocolate brown colour.
#4 Garnier Nutrisse Brown Hair Dye Permanent, Golden Light Brown
They say:
- Permanent nourishing hair colourant.
- 100% grey hair coverage.
- With Nutrisse nourished hair means better colour.
- The after colour hair conditioner is enriched with avocado oil, olive oil and blackcurrant oil, as well as Shea Butter and nourishes hair even after colouring.
Reviewers say:
“The colour was exactly as on the box (that never happens!!) for once it didn’t come out darker than shown! Also my hair was super soft and shiny…even before applying the conditioner my hair felt soother.”
“I quite messy, but this didn’t drip once and was so easy to apply. The colour is a smidge darker than I hoped for, but I think it’s because of my previous colour.”
“My hair was rather damaged before use, but it feels really good right now.”
We say:
We used this on light brown hair to add a golden sheen.
It’s all over coverage is fabulous and the result was a light brown colour with tons of shine. It fades a touch quicker than some of the others on the list but it soothed and restored our damaged hair a treat.
Best for: Soft and shiny caramel hair.
#5 L’Oreal Paris Excellence Age Perfect Dark Beige Blonde
They say:
- Flattering, luminous colour, full of highlights
- Up to 100% grey coverage, less visible re-growth
- Replenished hair, full of body & shine
- Root re-growth is less visible and elegantly blended.
- Enriched with Pro-Collagen and Pro-Ceramide.
Reviewers say
“The colour is really, really beautiful. It’s produced more than one shade of blonde but in a soft natural way and looks only marginally different to my salon’s efforts.!”
“The product was easy to use with little mess and the final result was a colour I could be proud of. My hair felt in good condition and looked shiny/healthy. My scalp was unaffected and my greys had disappeared.”
“The finished result was fab – multi tonal colour thanks to the layered tone technology, and the colour blended exceptionally. My hair felt super soft and very manageable to style.”
We say:
Age perfect is all about the grey coverage so we used this on blonde hair with lots of grey to cover.
It was easy to apply and we left it a good 10 minutes more than advised to make sure the stubborn greys around our temples were fully covered.
And they were! The result is a soft colour blonde that has kept the natural lights in our hair. Go for this if you need subtle coverage.
Best for: Soft caramel coverage.
#6 Garnier Olia Golden Dark Blonde Hair Dye Permanent.
They say:
- Olia’s permanent hair dye formula with oil maximises the colour result.
- No ammonia for a pleasant scent.
- Powered by 60% oils which visibly improves your hair.
- Maximum colour performance for lavish, vivid and long-lasting colour.
Reviewers say:
“Loved this hair dye, covered all my grey hair and left it feeling soft and nourished. While developing it didn’t smell strong or burn my eyes like some.”
“This was easy to use, didn’t drip or go everywhere. The result was a lovely colour that looked really natural and left my hair soft and healthy feeling. Very happy!”
“This colour is absolutely amazing and matched my current colour very well. Colour was very easy to mix and apply.”
We say:
This is a gorgeous shade that we tried on pre-lightened hair.
It’s dark blonde so not quite brown and has warm red undertones so be careful if your hair draws red. We love Olia hair dye for always making our hair feel so soft.
Go for this one for a great all over natural multidimensional tones.
Best for: Natural caramel colour.
TOP PICK!
L’Oreal Excellence, Natural Dark Caramel Blonde
Best for: Long-lasting colour.
We loved that this dye comes with a ph-friendly shampoo in the box and a comb applicator to apply the dye with ease. It does make a difference.
There’s also a pre-dye serum and a lightweight nourishing mask which left our hair feeling so smooth and soft.
Colour-wise, it’s really on the golden side and a lovely rich toffee tone colour that gave our mid-blonde hair real depth.
It lasted well too with minimal fade. Go for this for long-lasting results.
How to dye your hair at home.
Buyer’s guide: How to choose the right hair dye for you.
Whether you’re trying out something daring or just looking for a subtle change, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which hair color is right for you.
We’ve got your back (or hair!). Read on to learn how to choose the perfect hair dye that will give you the look of your dreams.
Consider your hair type & texture
Let’s start with the basics. Different dyes work better on different types of hair.
Porous hair, for example, tends to absorb more dye than non-porous hair.
Thick and coarse hair will take longer to process the dye than thin hair.
Knowing your own type of hair and texture will help you choose the right dye and make sure it sticks around longer.
Check your skin tone
Hair color that complements your skin tone is key to finding the perfect shade for you.
It might seem counterintuitive at first but knowing which colors look good on warm or cool skin tones is essential when selecting a dye.
For warm tones, try warmer caramel shades or golden blonde colors; if you have cool undertones, opt for deeper colors like caramel brown or chocolate mocha.
You can also consult a professional stylist who can advise which colors suit your skin tone best!
Permanent vs Semi-Permanent Permanent dye
The next step in choosing the right dye is choosing between permanent and semi-permanent options.
If you want something more long-term then permanent color is probably what you need.
If a temporary change is what you’re after, or you’re not sure if caramel hair will suit you, then semi-permanent may be better for you.
Permanent color often lasts longer and also gives more intense vibrancy compared to its semi-permanent counterpart so keep this in mind when making your decision.
Base color & strand test
Finally, when choosing any type of hair dye – whether it be permanent or semi-permanent – try and keep within two shades lighter or darker than your base color.
This will make sure it looks natural and suits you and helps with root regrowth too. Don’t forget to match your hair color level to the chart on the side of the box dye and ALWAYS do a strand test before you start!
Parting words.
So, which is the best caramel hair dye to get that sun-kissed look?
It really depends on your natural colour and how light you want it to be.
If you have dark brown or black hair, go for a warmer shade like rose gold, chestnut or amber.
But if you have light brown or blonde hair, you can go for a cooler shade like ash blond or pearl.
No matter what colour your hair is, always do a strand test first to make sure the dye doesn’t leave your locks looking brassy or orange.
With these tips in mind, achieving beautiful caramel hair is easy! What are you waiting for?