8/17/2026

10 Auburn Hair Color Ideas to Try Right Now

Model with ultra-long, auburn hair styled in tousled waves.

Is it red? Is it brown? Auburn hair color is one of those shades that keeps them guessing, blending rich brunette hues with vibrant rust tones for the most radiant of hybrid colors. And, because it sits in two shade families, it suits a range of skin tones and coloring techniques, it's ultra-versatile.

So, let's find your perfect auburn hair color...

What is Auburn Hair Color

Auburn is a rich, radiant blend of brown and red hair colors, creating a warm, multidimensional shade that can range from subtle reddish-brown to deep, vibrant red-brown. On the red spectrum, it sits towards the darker end, giving you a softer take on burgundy but more depth and less red than a copper or pumpkin spice.

Here's how it compares to other red-browns:

Shade	Red Level	Brown Level	Best For
Auburn	Medium	Medium	Most skin tones
Copper	High	Low	Warm undertones
Burgundy	High	Medium	Cool undertones
Mahogany	Medium	High	Most skin tones

Who Suits Auburn Hair Color?

Auburn hair can be tailored to suit almost all skin tones. Make it cooler and more muted to flatter cool complexions, or turn up the warmth and copper tones to make warmer skin tones glow. It contrasts beautifully against fair skin, medium skin tones, and deeper complexions. In short: it's an all-rounder, with no limits on the auburn shades you can create.

10 Auburn Hair Color Ideas

You don't just want auburn – you want the auburn best suited to you, in a shade that's both modern and wearable. These looks were selected based on current salon trends, color versatility, suitability across skin tones, and professional colorist recommendations. Take your favorite to your next Wella salon appointment to reach your dream color...

1. True Auburn Hair Color

Image Credit: @danielmbeauty

In its truest form, auburn is a deep, velvety brown with a warm red, radiant glow. This is a flawless example; a lit-from-within shade your Wella colorist can recreate with Illumina. The permanent color is packed with MicroLight Technology, which allows light to enter the hair shaft and illuminate it from within, resulting in a youthful, 100% natural-looking color.

2. Soft Auburn Hair Color

Model with long, loosely curled, light auburn hair.

A bottle of SHINEFINITY activator next to a box and tube of SHINEFINITY color.

Image Credit: @hauptsachesonya

Soft auburn is a light, sunlit shade with a caramel red richness. It's like the bronde of the red color family; a shade that's part light brown, part bronze. A SHINEFINITY gloss is a beautiful option for this look, giving you glass-like shine, a moisture boost, and up to 60% smoother hair¹ in one zero-damage service.

3. Dark Auburn Hair Color

Model with long, dark auburn hair styled in a glossy blow-dry.

Bottle of ULTIMATE COLOR Miracle Leave-In Mask against a red backdrop.

Image Credit: @danielmbeauty

Dark auburn hair features a deep brunette base with a gleam of red when the light catches it. It's similar to mahogany shades, but without that signature hint of violet. You want the red hues to glow, which is why this look was created with Illumina Color. The product's beautifully rich radiance is enhanced by Microtones to enhance your hair's natural highs and lows. For even more dimension and shine, finish your look with ULTIMATE COLOR Miracle Leave-In Mask, a protective treatment that leaves hair up to 4x more resistant to breakage².

4. Deep Chestnut Auburn Hair Color

Model with long, loosely tousled, chestnut auburn hair.

Image Credit: @danielmbeauty

Deep chestnut auburn gives red-brown hair a gilded, golden edge, with bronde (brown-blonde) highlights that can be tactically placed where you want the light to hit. Ask your colorist to place the chestnut tones through the face frame to help your complexion glow. The intensity of Koleston Perfect, our most iconic permanent hair color, will give hair a shine like no other.

5. Cherry Red Auburn Hair Color

Back of model’s head with long, blow-dried, cherry auburn hair.

Image Credit: @jem.hair

A pop of cherry reflects through these dark auburn lengths, giving you a cooler way to wear the look – perfect for cool skin tones. Demi-permanent Color Touch is delivering the vibrancy and shine here, with a true-to-tone finish that fades beautifully over 28 washes. It's ideal for brunettes seeking low-commitment ways to wear the trend.

6. Copper Auburn Hair Color

Model with long, loosely curled, copper auburn hair.

Blending vibrant copper with the depth of auburn, this color reflects an almost-metallic glow. It's the dream if you want a red-brown hair color with extra, sun-drenched warmth. This is another Illumina Color creation, showing just how luminous its finish can be. Finish with a zero-damage, zero-lift SHINEFINITY gloss to layer up the shine for a mirror-like result.

7. Brown Hair with Auburn Highlights

Model with silky brown hair featuring auburn highlights.

Image Credit: @calumtierney

For a subtle take on auburn, keep your brunette base and add a scattering of red-bronze highlights. Ask your colorist to focus the brightness through the mid-lengths and ends for the softest regrowth. This is a great way of dipping a toe into red shades – especially if hair is toned with a SHINEFINITY gloss. This zero-damage service gives you a translucent veil of color, so your auburn accents feel soft and seamless.

8. Apricot Auburn Hair Color

Model with long auburn hair featuring hints of apricot.

ULTIMATE COLOR Shine Spray against a red backdrop.

Image Credit: @kianna.hair

Give auburn a twist of juicy apricot tones for a lighter take on the look. It still shimmers with red-brown radiance, but the light golden-orange hues catch the light beautifully. Color Touch is delivering all the shine and vibrancy in this look. Give it extra gloss with a fine misting of ULTIMATE COLOR Shine Spray for up to 4x smoother hair².

9. Auburn Crimson Hair Color

Model with loosely tousled, crimson auburn hair.

Image Credit: @cardon_adeline

Crimson shades give auburn hair a fiery red finish, making it perfect for anyone who likes their color on the bolder side. It's luxe yet statement-making, with deep red undertones that bring out the richness of auburn while giving it a more dramatic, vibrant feel. Maintain this shade at home with Color Fresh Mask in Red, a tinted treatment that restores vibrancy in between salon visits.

10. Auburn Rose Hair Color

Model with loosely waved, auburn hair featuring rose tones through mid-lengths and ends.

Image Credit: @artetcoiffuremontussan

Like rose brown but redder, auburn rose hair blends soft rosy tones with warm auburn for a romantic, multidimensional finish. The subtle pink-red hues give the color a pretty, feminine quality while keeping it warm and wearable, making it a great choice for anyone who wants to experiment with red without going too bright. Want to keep it rosy at home? Color Fresh Mask in Rose Blaze is perfect; a pink-brown color-depositing treatment that refreshes rose hues in just 10 minutes.

How to Wear Auburn Hair for Brunettes

Model with dark brown hair featuring an auburn balayage.

Model with medium brown hair and copper auburn tones applied with an ombre technique.

Image Credit: @jeremy.colorist | @franck.zemmour

If you're going from brunette to auburn, you can wear the shade color-drenched from root to tip. But, when you want to retain the depth of your base and keep your regrowth soft, try one of these techniques...

Ombre: Maintain your brown roots and wear auburn tones through the mid-lengths and ends. For ombre, your colorist will apply the shades so they evenly graduate, creating a sunset effect.

Balayage: Instead of root-to-tip highlights, ask your Wella colorist to apply auburn ribbons through the mid-lengths and ends only. Go for a soft, seamless scattering or a high volume of contrasting pieces, depending on your desired result.

How to Maintain Auburn Hair Color

Like all reds, auburn hair colors can be prone to fading. So, make yours last with a consistent hair care regimen that focuses on maintaining vibrancy...

1. Wash Auburn Hair with a Color-Safe Shampoo

A color-safe shampoo is key to maintaining red hair, as it's specially formulated to gently cleanse without stripping out the pigments. ULTIMATE COLOR Sulfate-Free Shampoo goes one step further with the addition of Metal Purifier, which helps to neutralize the dulling metals that can impact your auburn mane's vibrancy.

2. Address Porosity to Minimize Color Loss

One of the most common reasons auburn hair colors fade is due to high porosity. Over time, gaps and tears can form along your hair's cuticle, through which red hair pigments can escape. By using a conditioner that helps to 'plug' these gaps, like ULTIMATE COLOR Conditioner, you can maintain your shade's vibrancy for longer. It also leaves hair soft and moisturized, so auburn tones look glossy and healthy.

3. Top Up Auburn Tones with a Pigmented Mask

If you've noticed your auburn hair color is starting to fade, give it a boost with a color-depositing treatment, like Color Fresh Mask. The shade Copper Glow is perfect if your auburn is on the richer, warmer, more golden end of the spectrum, while Red veils fading color in fiery hues if your shade is bolder. All you have to do is smooth it through clean, damp hair, let it develop for up to 10 minutes (depending on desired intensity), then rinse.

“THE COLOR FRESH MASKS ARE SO FUN AND EASY TO USE! THEY HELP KEEP MY CLIENTS' HAIR LOOKING JUST LIKE THEY'VE LEFT THE SALON. THEY ARE ALSO GREAT TO HAVE IN MY KIT FOR AN ON-THE-GO REFRESH OR QUICK COLOUR CHANGE-UP.”

Briana Cisneros (@brianacisneros), Wella Professionals Global Ambassador

Auburn Hair Color FAQs

Is Auburn Hair Color More Red or Brown?

Auburn is a blend of red and brown, but it usually leans more brown, making it the perfect introduction to red tones if you're a natural brunette. That said, it's an easy-to-tailor tone that can be fine-tuned to suit your skin tone. So, you can ask your Wella colorist to shift the balance redder, darker, cooler or warmer, depending on your desired look.

Can Brunettes Go Auburn Without Bleach?

Yes, it's possible to achieve an auburn hair color without bleaching brunette hair. In most cases, a permanent hair color, like Koleston Perfect or Illumina Color, will add auburn richness bleach-free. However, it all depends on how dark your base is and how bright you want to go. For example, if you want a soft auburn that's lighter than your brown base, your hair may need lightening first.

What's the Difference Between Auburn Hair and Copper Hair?

Auburn hair is a deeper, more muted take on a brown-toned red, while copper hair is brighter and bolder, with orangey-gold richness.

Is Auburn Hair Color High-Maintenance?

Compared to other, brighter red hair colors, like strawberry blonde or copper, auburn tends to be lower-maintenance thanks to its softer, more natural-looking finish. Color loss can be less visible through shades that don't rely so much on boldness. Plus, if you wear auburn tones in balayage ribbons through your natural base, you'll enjoy softer regrowth that requires less frequent touch-ups.

Is Auburn Hair Color in Style Right Now?

Yes, auburn hair color is in style right now. It's a quintessentially timeless shade that always looks chic, whether you're wearing it with peachy softness in spring or chestnut richness in fall. Its mix of red and brown makes it versatile and flattering across a range of natural hair colors and skin tones, so almost anyone can carry it off.

Find Your Perfect Auburn Hair Color with Wella Professionals

Ready to find your perfect auburn? Your Wella stylist will help you choose and reach your dream shade. Use the Salon Finder to discover your nearest Wella salon.