20 Delicious Caramel Balayage Ideas for a Trendy Makeover in 2024

Are you in the mood for a trendy yet subtle change to elevate your look? Different shades of caramel hair and a balayage technique are at the peak of their popularity at the moment. Caramel balayage comes with tons of undertones and perfectly suits ladies with any skin tone and facial features. See the best ideas!

1. Honey on Light Brown

Caramel honey color is one of the most common shades chosen. It adds that needed warmth and lightness to your locks. This shade looks amazing both on wavy and straight hair, providing extra volume. It can also be pulled off on almost every base color – just bare in mind that if you have brunette hair, several coloring procedures may be required. 

via @hairmeroar

2. Copper Caramel on Black

This is a perfect idea for brunettes who are not ready for some major changes but would still like to try something new. When it comes to caramel tones on dark base, copper looks great. Adding light copper strands brings the hair game to the next level, making your mane look more voluminous and shiny. 

via @hairbynathi

3. Copper Honey on Brown

Caramel tones are perfect for lightening and warming up the natural brown base. This style has a smooth transition from lighter strands at the front to slightly darker reddish tones and creates a natural gradient effect. Brown roots are blended perfectly with lighter ends and streaks of color.

via @sarabotsfordhair

4. On Dark Brown Bob

Many ladies think that balayage is good only on long wavy hair, but it’s a common misconception. This short wavy bob looks absolutely stunning with thin honey-toned strands throughout and at the front. So if you have dark chocolate short hair, go ahead and freshen up your look with some lighter shades. 

via @shmoakin_hair

5. Butterscotch on Dark Chocolate

Butterscotch color is perfect for dark brown and black hair – it warms up the overall look without adding too much lightness. This particular style has a mix of a few thick butterscotch caramel strands and light brown strands on dark base with wavy styling. 

via @live_love_dohair

6. Blended Beige and Caramel

Natural brunettes should definitely consider dark root caramel blonde balayage. It is one of the most common dyeing techniques at the moment, but it looks unique on everyone. Both straight and wavy hair looks fantastic with this color melt. This style has a mix of light honey and darker toffee strands.

via @stephanie_stylist

7. Pure Blonde Highlights

This dye job has a lot of blonde in it – there are light honey and beige blonde highlights, varying in thickness. The color blends smoothly from the roots and through the body of hair.

via @hellobalayage

8. On Textured Bob

Lighter honey front strands frame the face nicely and warm up the complexion. This textured bob has thin highlights of varying shades of caramel seamlessly blending together.

via @summerevansstudio

9. Toffee Balayage on Brunette Hair

Toffee highlights look absolutely gorgeous on chocolate brown hair. Face-framing light strands make the eyes pop, while the highlights throughout warm up the overall look.

via @_hairbypaula

10. Chocolate Caramel

There is just something special about this delicious combo. Caramel pieces blended with chocolate base are a perfect choice for any season.

via @eliaslazarohair

11. Golden Blonde and Caramel

Golden balayage and highlights is a win-win for almost everyone. This full-on glam look with defined waves would be nowhere near as spectacular as it is with golden blonde hues and a lot of blonde at the ends.

via @daniloherbert

12. On Natural Curly Hair

We don’t see balayage a lot on naturally curly hair, which is a shame! Brown curly hair looks gorgeous with caramel honey strands throughout, bringing the look to another level. The multidimensional color emphasizes the hair texture, too.

via @beautiful_by_natalie

13. Milk Chocolate Balayage on Lob

Balayage looks just as great with thicker strands as it is with thinner highlights. This wavy lob has a gorgeous mix of caramel and golden honey tones melting with the dark brown base.

via @rob.levi

14. Dark Toffee Balayage on Long Hair

If you are an owner of dark chocolate or auburn locks and want to go for a softer look, take this one as an inspiration. Dark toffee strands, almost a mix of milk chocolate and auburn, blend seamlessly with the dark base. It is a “barely there” change that will definitely be noticeable in the sunlight.

via @colorbymaddie

15. Ashy and Honey Shades Mix

This balayage adds a lot of dimension to naturally brown hair. A mix of warm caramel, light honey, and golden blonde tones work so well together, elevating the look. There is also a mix of thinner strands at the top, thicker strands closer to the bottom, and fully blonde ends.

via @sarabotsfordhair

16. Black Hair with Auburn Highlights

When it comes to raven black hair, you don’t have to go super light for a major change. Anything as light as auburn is enough to bring some warmth and vibrancy to your mane. Looks stunning styled with a curling iron.

via @edperezhairmakeup

17. Auburn Hair with Caramel Balayage

Copper balayage is super fun and unusual! It’s not as common as classic caramel or light-brown coloring, but looks just as gorgeous. The mix of auburn, copper, caramel, and honey blonde shades create a hairstyle that will have everyone’s head turning.

via @hairbylisamathews

18. Pearly Auburn Balayage

This is a very soft balayage work which brings together dark roots and a mix of thin auburn, caramel, and beige blonde strands. Adds a lot of volume to the shoulder-length hair thanks to the multidimensional color. 

via @texasbalayage

19. Auburn Hair with Strawberry Blonde Balayage

When you think about strawberry, bright pinkish red color might come to mind. However, this shade is a very warm, almost coppery blonde. While strawberry highlights are not the best idea for dark brunettes, it looks absolutely stunning on auburn hair. 

via @g_deodato

20. Toffee and Ashy Hues Mix

A soft transition between toffee, caramel, and honey blonde looks gorgeous on chocolate brown hair. Long locks are perfect for smoothly blending different shades and accentuating the ends with the lightest bits.

via @kuthaus_claremont

While it’s good to know what’s trendy at the moment, you should always opt for what suits you best. Luckily, caramel balayage is a win-win: it’s trendy and looks good on everyone. Just make sure to find the right shade based on your hair color and the end result you’re aiming for. Whether you choose copper, auburn, toffee, or honey tones – have fun with it!