What color is auburn hair? 65+ shades for all skin tones

Auburn hair has consistently remained popular in recent years. Jen Hair will provide comprehensive information on selecting the ideal hue of auburn hair color, including insights on how your colorist can tailor the shade to suit your skin tone and tips for maintaining your new auburn look at home. 65+ auburn hair color ideas to bring to your salon appointment.

What Color Is Auburn Hair?

Auburn Haird encompasses a spectrum of red hues, each featuring brown and ginger undertones, varying from light to dark shades. If you’re curious about the rarity of auburn hair, it’s important to note that only one to two percent of the world’s population possesses natural auburn hair. This makes it one of the most sought-after colors in salons.

Is auburn the same as red hair?

Auburn is a specific shade of red hair; however, it is important to note that while all auburn hair falls under the category of red, not all red hair qualifies as auburn. Dark auburn tends to have a rich reddish-brown hue, whereas light auburn may exhibit a more orange tint.

Is auburn a natural hair color?

While natural shades are commonly associated with auburn, it is important to recognize that auburn encompasses a broader spectrum, which can include brighter and even unconventional colors. Just as there are variations of light and dark auburn, the intensity of red within this spectrum can also differ. Bright orange and red tones may represent the more vivid or extreme aspects of auburn.

Ultimately, the classification of hair colors is somewhat subjective. Therefore, we are here to assist you in selecting your next look by providing a wide range of auburn hair color options, allowing you to choose the shade that resonates with you most. After all, every individual style and skin tone merits its unique interpretation of auburn!

Is auburn hair cool or warm?

Although auburn is typically regarded as a cool-toned hue due to its subtle blue undertones, it can be adapted to either warm or cool palettes based on the specific shade selected. For a warmer look, choose an auburn with coppery or golden undertones. Conversely, if you prefer cooler tones, opt for deeper shades that feature purple undertones.

What skin tone looks good with auburn hair?

Auburn hair color varies from light to dark and encompasses both cool and warm tones, making it adaptable to complement any skin tone. Individuals with a cool complexion should request an auburn shade featuring cool undertones from their colorist. Conversely, those with warm undertones in their skin will find that auburn shades with warm, copper undertones are most flattering.

How to Get Auburn Hair

Initially, it is advisable to seek the guidance of a professional hair colorist to identify the most suitable auburn shade that enhances your skin tone and facial features. Their expertise will assist you in choosing from various tones, including deep chestnuts and vibrant coppers.

Incorporating balayage or ombre techniques can introduce dimension and depth to your hair, providing a gradual shift to auburn. Conversely, if you desire a more striking change, a full-color application may be the preferred option.

How to Maintain Auburn Hair Color

When you choose any shade of red for your hair, anticipate some adjustments to your haircare regimen. Initially, you will need to replace your standard shampoo and conditioner with products specifically designed for color-treated hair to maintain its vibrancy. We recommend L’Oreal Professionnel Vitamino Resveratrol Color Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner to ensure your color remains at its best.

If your colorist employs bleach to achieve the desired auburn hue, it is advisable to incorporate a weekly hair mask, such as Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Intensive Treatment, into your routine. This intensive rinse-off treatment effectively strengthens hair bonds that may be compromised by factors such as coloring, lightening, aggressive brushing, and frequent heat styling.

It is well-known that heat styling can diminish the brightness of your salon color. Therefore, we always recommend using products that offer heat protection, such as Pureology Colour Fanatic Multi-Benefit Leave-in Spray. This lightweight mist not only primes and protects but also provides 21 essential benefits for color-treated hair.

What is the best auburn hair color?

The ideal shade of auburn hair for you is influenced by your skin tone and the amount of upkeep you are willing to commit to. If you’re considering experimenting with auburn hair, continue reading for 65 of our top auburn hair color inspirations.

The Best Auburn Hair Color Ideas to Try for 2024-2025

True Auburn

True auburn strikes a balance between dark and light tones. If you appreciate timeless shades, true auburn is an excellent option for you.

Mulled Wine

An auburn hair color inspired by our preferred date night drink? Cheers to that! If you desire a rich and alluring auburn shade, we suggest considering mulled wine.

Amber

Auburn strikes a beautiful balance between brown and red, complementing nearly every skin tone. Amber serves as an ideal introductory shade, essentially a rich brunette enhanced with red undertones.

Copper

While some individuals prefer a subtle and refined auburn hair color, others seek a more vibrant option. A prime example of this is copper. This brighter and more dynamic variation of auburn is ideal for enhancing your appearance. If you have a fair complexion, this shade is particularly suited for you.

Sugar and Spice Copper

Delicate highlights of light auburn, copper, and golden blonde add stunning depth to hair strands and can be effortlessly achieved on both natural red and blonde bases.

Chocolate Auburn Balayage

In contrast to its wine-inspired counterpart, this auburn brown hair color is more aligned with a genuine brown hue. This characteristic makes it an excellent option for individuals seeking to enhance the dimension and depth of their deep dark brown hair.

Auburn Highlights

For individuals who are not entirely convinced about committing to a full head of auburn hair, consider requesting auburn highlights on brown hair from your colorist. This approach can enhance your natural base color by adding depth and vibrancy.

Fiery Auburn

Fiery auburn results from blending deeper auburn tones with hints of ginger. This luxurious hue will flourish when paired with a high-gloss clear topcoat, such as Pureology Color Fanatic Top Coat + Sheer Clear, which enhances vibrancy and shine.

Chestnut

Natural brunettes seeking a subtler change may consider a chestnut-auburn color. This warm reddish-brown tone is predominantly brown, featuring just the right hint of red to facilitate a smooth transition.

Ginger Beer

Ginger beer emerged as a prominent red hair color trend in 2020 and 2021, and this vibrant, orangey-red shade continues to be highly sought after.

Cherry

If you are seeking a lively shade of auburn, cherry is an excellent choice for any skin tone. To preserve the brightness of a cherry hue, it is essential to use a shampoo and conditioner specifically designed to extend the vibrancy of quickly fading hair colors, such as Matrix Total Results Keep Me Vivid Shampoo and Conditioner.

Rose Gold

If you prefer hair colors that exhibit a high level of shine and vibrancy, consider requesting your colorist to incorporate subtle rose gold highlights into your auburn shade for an added touch of luminosity.

Golden Auburn

Golden brown and blonde shades consistently remain in vogue, so there is no reason for red not to do the same. Golden auburn offers a warm, sun-kissed tone that complements all skin tones beautifully.

Dark Auburn

You will discover that a dark auburn hair color can provide the perfect enhancement your hair requires to achieve a striking, glamorous appearance.

This shade is universally flattering, but it is particularly stunning on women with darker skin tones. If you possess dark or medium skin, this color is an excellent choice for you.

Strawberry Auburn

Strawberry auburn occupies a delicate balance among red, blonde, and brown hues. This versatility makes it an appealing color for various skin tones.

Auburn and Caramel

Let’s be candid: Incorporating caramel highlights can significantly enhance any hair color. If you desire added warmth and luster to your auburn locks, consider requesting your colorist to integrate some caramel highlights throughout your hair.

Light Auburn

Whether you prefer to maintain a vibrant hue or are considering a change from darker shades, light auburn hair is an excellent choice.

Achieving this color typically requires the use of bleach, which can lead to dryness and increased susceptibility to split ends. In addition to utilizing color-protecting products, incorporating an anti-breakage treatment into your hair care routine is crucial for maintaining healthy ends and enhancing their resilience against breakage. We recommend Matrix Total Results Instacure Anti-Breakage Porosity Spray, as it effectively addresses porosity, smooths the cuticle, and manages frizz in dry, damaged, and brittle hair.

Mahogany

Mahogany is to auburn as honey is to blonde: a deep, vibrant hue that enhances the complexion and complements all skin tones.

Cayenne

Select a vibrant, multi-dimensional color such as cayenne to enhance your look. This hue beautifully complements medium to dark skin tones.

Medium Auburn

Medium auburn hair color strikes an ideal balance between red and brown tones, rendering it a versatile option that enhances various skin tones.

Copper And Auburn Balayage

Previously, we may have felt uneasy about dark roots, but now we celebrate them! Consider requesting a balayage technique to highlight your dark brown roots while experimenting with an auburn hue.

Golden Auburn

Golden brown and blonde hues are consistently in vogue, so why shouldn’t red shades enjoy the same popularity? Golden auburn is a warm, sun-kissed tone that enhances all skin types.

Dark Auburn

Dark auburn hair offers the perfect enhancement for those seeking to achieve a striking, glamorous look. While it flatters a variety of individuals, this shade is particularly stunning on women with darker skin tones. If your complexion falls into the dark or medium category, consider this option.

Cinnamon

To achieve a cinnamon hue, your colorist will blend orange-red undertones into a medium to dark brown base, inspired by the spice of the same name.

Rust

If you are looking for a metallic-inspired auburn color, we suggest considering rust, which is an orangey-copper tone that boasts a significant amount of natural luster.

Auburn Money Piece

Face-framing money piece highlights introduce a vibrant auburn hue and luminosity to a rich brunette hairstyle, enhancing your complexion and facial features.

To enhance the brilliance of these delicate highlights, consider using a shine-restoring treatment such as the Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ashita Supreme Intense Revitalization Hair Mask. Enriched with self-regenerating Japanese Ashitaba Extract, this deeply nourishing formula softens and smooths the hair while imparting a radiant shine.

Red Hot Auburn

If you’re seeking a more daring approach to auburn, consider this striking blend of vibrant red and rich brown.

Red hair is known for its tendency to fade quickly, and brighter shades are particularly susceptible to losing their vibrancy. To maintain your color between salon appointments, utilize a color-depositing conditioner such as Biolage Professional Red Poppy Color Depositing Conditioner. This temporary vegan product enhances your hair with a refreshing red sheen and added depth.

Espresso with Auburn Babylights

When delicate auburn babylights reflect light, they enrich the warmth of rich brown hair, adding striking depth and dimension.

Chunky Auburn and Blonde

A bold option, not suited for the timid, features thick streaks of red, orange, and gold layered over a rich auburn foundation. After all, why confine the hues of a sunset to a single shade?

Auburn and Plum

If you have a preference for deep, rich auburn tones, request a plum base complemented by vibrant auburn highlights from your colorist. We find this combination quite captivating.

Bright Red

If you desire a bold, radiant appearance, opting for a full red hue is an excellent choice. Bright red serves as a perfect compromise between natural auburn shades and more fantastical colors, offering a striking effect without venturing into the realm of rainbow hues. This color is both fashionable and enduring. Once you attain this stunning shade, it’s essential to maintain it at home with a specialized hair care line designed for colored hair; we recommend Redken’s Color Extend Shampoo for prolonged vibrancy.

Strawberry Blonde

Why limit yourself to either blonde or auburn when you can opt for strawberry blonde? If you already have a light base, incorporating additional warmth is a straightforward change. However, since this shade is created with a subtle infusion of auburn, it tends to fade quickly. Therefore, it’s important to be prepared for a regular maintenance routine.

Pumpkin Spice

Incorporating auburn highlights into a brunette foundation is not only feasible but also visually appealing. This technique provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce warmth without the need for regular root maintenance. The Pumpkin Spice hairstyle is attractive throughout the year, though it is particularly favored during the autumn season.

Mocha with Auburn Highlights and Lowlights

We are accustomed to observing blondes and brunettes achieve multi-tonal styles through the use of highlights and lowlights. However, applying this technique with mocha and auburn shades can be just as captivating. Incorporating lighter strands infused with caramel enhances the overall appearance beautifully.

Deep Auburn Ombré

By blending deep auburn at the roots with vibrant red at the tips, you can create the stunning ombré hairstyle you’ve always desired. This color combination will ensure you maintain a chic and striking appearance effortlessly each day.

Rich Rust

Rust is essential. Setting aside the wordplay, rusty auburn tones are universally appealing, and this deeper variation adds a vibrant touch to a timeless hair color. Permanent hair colors such as Redken Color Gel Oils deliver rich, saturated results while maintaining shine and health across all hair types.

Neon Tangerine

Discover the vibrant citrus hues of auburn with this stunning fantasy hair color. Neon Tangerine is an appealing option for individuals who prefer a more adventurous approach to their hair color changes.

Orange

Be sure to delve into the exciting possibilities offered by the fantasy aspect of the auburn color palette. Opting for an orange hue will provide a vibrant and lively transformation. As this look requires a bleached foundation, it is essential to incorporate a reparative treatment. We highly recommend Kérastase Cicanuit Hair Serum for effective overnight recovery following the bleaching process.

Bright Red Balayage

If you wish to achieve a vibrant appearance while maintaining your naturally dark roots, this red balayage technique will provide the look you desire. Additionally, it serves as an excellent way to enhance the length of any hair texture.

Lava Hair

Lava hair blends the imaginative and natural hues found within the auburn spectrum. This striking style features a vibrant combination of amber and cherry tones, enhanced by bright red and orange shades. For those seeking a distinctive appearance, this is an ideal choice.

Bright Ginger

You don’t need to choose a dark shade to make a bold statement. A vibrant ginger color fully captures the essence of orange while maintaining a natural appearance. If you have a lighter base, bright ginger could be an excellent option, as the golden undertones will complement your look perfectly.

Neon Red

Envision illuminating a space with your hair, akin to a neon sign. Achieving this vibrant hair color necessitates a bleached foundation; therefore, it is essential to utilize restorative products such as L’Oréal Professionnel Absolut Repair Resurfacing Golden Mask.

Red Wine

This rich auburn hair color features a subtle cherry red hue complemented by darker roots. While it is essential to utilize a specialized hair care line, such as Shu Uemura Color Lustre Shampoo, the red wine appearance requires less frequent touch-ups.

Peach

Peach hair embodies a truly ethereal aesthetic. Opting for a full dye in this whimsical hue will create a stunning effect, while adding peach highlights to light auburn hair is also an excellent alternative.

Vibrant Copper

A striking copper hue consistently delivers a stunning visual impact. This eye-catching style features a deeper copper shade, complemented by golden undertones that maintain a lighter appearance. It is a classic and timeless hair color that flatters all skin tones. For optimal results, consider using an ammonia-free permanent dye, such as Redken Color Gel Oils, which offers up to 100% gray coverage.

Copper to Blonde Ombré

A copper to blonde ombré is an exquisite choice for those looking to diverge from the conventional while enhancing hair length, regardless of texture. Request your stylist to begin with a deep auburn shade at the roots, gradually transitioning to a lighter copper that culminates in a honey tone at the tips.

Ashy Copper

Auburn hair does not need to be bold and vivid. This muted copper shade is ideal for those with cooler undertones. To achieve this look, request a medium copper base enhanced with ashy blonde babylights.

Coral

When beginning with a bleached foundation, there are countless variations of orange tones that can emerge, and coral is among our top choices. We highly recommend scalp treatments to provide essential care for bleached hair, and Kérastase Initialiste Scalp & Hair Serum is an essential product.

Pumpkin Balayage

For individuals with pronounced contrasting features, this pumpkin balayage technique offers an excellent opportunity to embrace a ginger hue while maintaining your natural contrast. The subtle infusion of orange provides just the right amount of color and warmth to enhance your overall appearance.

Vibrant Auburn Highlights

Embrace the trend of bold highlights with this striking auburn hairstyle. The blend of red, copper, rust, and strawberry blonde hues epitomizes the essence of autumn.

Cranberry

Cranberry hair color is similar to cherry red, but it features a subtle purple undertone. This addition of purple creates a cooler shade of auburn, making it an excellent option for individuals with cooler skin tones who prefer to avoid warmer hues.

Hazelnut

Request a chocolate auburn base from your colorist, complemented by bold light copper highlights to attain this exquisite hazelnut look. We recommend utilizing Redken Oil For All to enhance and accentuate the multidimensional beauty of your hair.

Sunset Hair

By blending cranberry roots with lava-toned ends, you can achieve a stunning sunset hair color. This look necessitates the use of bleach; therefore, we suggest considering a highly nourishing recovery product such as Redken Extreme Bleach Recovery Cica Cream Leave-In Treatment.

Garnet

Are you aware of the distinctions between a ruby and a garnet? Rubies exhibit a more vivid and bright red color, whereas garnets display a deeper, darker red shade. Understanding these differences not only satisfies curiosity about gemstones but also serves as a unique reference when discussing your desired hair color with your colorist.

Ginger with Blonde Babylights

The 1990s aesthetic is making a strong comeback with this ginger hue complemented by platinum blonde babylights! Given that you’ll be managing both bleached and colored hair, we suggest utilizing an ultra-conditioning mask that delivers intense hydration and repair suitable for all hair types and textures, such as the Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate 5-Min Liquid Hair Mask.

Fiery Copper Balayage

To enhance your dark auburn hair, consider opting for a vibrant copper balayage. Request that your colorist incorporate shades of red, orange, and yellow into the bleached ends to achieve a stunning look. We recommend using Kérastase Elixir Ultime L’Huile Original Hair Oil to safeguard and nourish the ends of your hair.

Muted Red

A subdued red offers a sophisticated option for incorporating a striking color into your ensemble without being overly vivid. This auburn hue complements all skin tones, particularly enhancing those with olive undertones.

Bonfire Copper

This hair color features naturally dark roots, creating a low-maintenance yet striking contrast. Bonfire Copper is a balayage technique applied to brown hair, incorporating tones of deep auburn, rust, and bright copper.

Bloody Mary

The vibrant auburn of our aspirations! Similar to the cocktail, the Bloody Mary hair color features a deep copper red enriched with a mix of golden red highlights and lowlights. This earthy hue is more versatile than brighter shades of red.

Dark Roots with Flame Ends

If you appreciate the vibrant aspects of the auburn color palette but prefer not to fully dye your hair from roots to ends, we recommend trying a flame ends style. This approach allows you to maintain your natural roots while still achieving a striking appearance. To create the flame effect, blend bright red strands with a cooler shade like cranberry, and conclude with orange at the tips.

Cowgirl Copper

Allow us to present Cowgirl Copper, the ideal hue for enthusiasts of the cowgirl core aesthetic. This combination of caramel, brunette, red, and a subtle touch of blonde offers an exquisite balance of warmth and depth, making it both a striking and versatile color choice.

Brick Red

Auburn hair inspiration is prevalent, exemplified by the backdrop of a brick wall. Brick red hair achieves a multi-dimensional appearance by blending a vivid rust hue with golden undertones and rich auburn shades.

Muted Ginger Balayage

This light auburn shade employs a similar technique to blonde balayage, but incorporates a ginger tint. A subdued ginger combined with darker roots is an ideal option for individuals with pronounced features.

Ruby

Gem tones exude a timeless elegance. Ruby hair features a red hue with purple undertones, making it an excellent option for individuals with cooler skin tones.

Dark Rust

This sophisticated shade combines deep brown undertones with warm red and copper highlights, resulting in a captivating blend. Evocative of autumn foliage and glowing embers, Dark Rust infuses any appearance with an element of intrigue and charm.

Maroon

Regardless of whether you aim for a stylish, bold appearance or prefer a timeless and sophisticated aesthetic, Maroon is an excellent choice. This adaptable hue should be a primary consideration for anyone seeking to make a striking impression with their hair.

As you explore the top 65 auburn hair color ideas JenHair share above, you’ll find endless inspiration to transform your look with the perfect shade. From deep, rich auburns to lighter, more subtle tones, there’s a hue for every style and personality.

These carefully curated ideas are designed to help you discover the ideal color that complements your natural beauty and enhances your overall appearance. Whether you’re aiming for a dramatic change or a soft enhancement, these auburn hair colors will add warmth, depth, and sophistication to your look. Embrace the beauty of auburn and let your hair shine with a vibrant, new shade.