It's official: copper hair color is no longer just one shade. It's its own category of hues, spanning everything from peach-tinted copper blondes to rich, rusty copper browns. From season to season, hair type to hair type, and skin tone to skin tone, it's truly adaptable, making it one of the most wearable red hair colors around.
So, how do you find the shade to suit you? Below, we've got all the copper hair inspiration you need, plus tips on how to keep it vibrant for longer...
What Hair Color is Copper
In its truest form, copper is a vibrant, fiery, orange-red hair color. It's 'that' red; one of the most popular shades out there, garnering tens-of-thousands of Google searches each month. One reason it's so coveted is because of how versatile it can be, with variations like copper blonde, copper bronze and copper brunette making it possible for anyone to wear the look.
What Skin Tone is Best for Copper Hair?
While traditional copper hair tends to be particularly flattering on warm and neutral skin tones, the wide array of copper looks out there means you'll find a shade to complement most undertones. If your skin has cool undertones, you can suit coppers with more of a red, rose or berry influence. And if you have neutral undertones, you can choose between both cool and warm-toned coppers.
That said, these are guidelines rather than rules. Copper hair is one of the most adaptable red shades, and techniques such as balayage, highlights and a darker root can make virtually any version of the trend feel more personalized. The best copper is the one that makes you feel confident – so make it you.
10 Copper Hair Colors to Try
1. True Copper Hair
Image Credit: @santosmayanee
Color profile: Warm, vivid orange-red.
Who it's for: Warm and neutral skin tones; cooler tones can suit a redder version.
A pure, true copper is a red-orange shade bursting with vibrancy. For a bold, statement-making take on the trend, ask your colorist to use a permanent color, like Koleston Perfect. With Pure Balance Technology, it creates rich, even color from roots to ends, saturating strands in a show-stoppingly intense copper with – if you want it – up to 100% grey coverage.
2. Copper Hair Gloss
Color profile: Warm copper-red.
Who it's for: All skin tones, with the tone tailored to suit your undertone.
If you're already blessed with red hair (natural or not), give it a fresh, glowy topcoat with a hair gloss. At your nearest Wella salon, a SHINEFINITY gloss will enhance copper tones with glass-like shine, a hydration boost and zero damage. The all-in-one color gloss refreshes your red in just 5-20 minutes, so you can drop in during your lunch break for a speedy boost. Plus, with 2% Hyaluronic Acid Complex, it's clinically proven to leave you with 60% smoother hair¹.
3. Copper Blonde Hair
Image Credit: @danielmbeauty
Color profile: Warm, golden-peach.
Who it's for: Fair to medium, warm or neutral skin tones.
Copper blonde hair is a brighter, more vibrant twist on strawberry blonde, drawing on golden and peachy tones that feel soft yet striking. We love Illumina Color for this light-catching look, as the permanent color is packed with MicroLight Technology, a Wella Professionals breakthrough that allows light to enter the hair shaft, and illuminate it from within. The result: youthful, radiant, 100% natural-looking copper blondes.
4. Copper Brown Hair
Image Credit: @danielmbeauty
Color profile: Warm red-brown.
Who it's for: Warm and neutral skin tones; cooler tones can opt for a redder brown.
Copper brown hair combines the radiance of red with the richness of brunette, creating a fall-ready color that can be dialled up or down, depending on your desired shade. If you're a natural brunette, keep your existing base and ask your colorist to add copper highlights through the lengths and ends. Ask them to use a color that's bursting with vibrancy and shine, like Color Touch, which fades beautifully over 28 washes.
5. Copper Bronze Hair
Image Credit: @jhair_stylist
Color profile: Warm red-brown with golden depth.
Who it's for: Medium to deep, warm or neutral skin tones.
Copper bronze draws on the ginger spice of copper and the sparkling depth of bronze, so you get a red-brown, rust hue that's packed with shine. Because why wear one metallic shade when you can wear two? Illumina Color was virtually made for this look; a color product so radiant, it mimics a metal sheen. Plus, it features Microtones, which mimic the highs and lows in your hair to add even more dimension to this hybrid shade.
"FOR ME, ILLUMINA COLOR IS A PREMIUM COLOR WHERE I CAN ACHIEVE INCREDIBLE NATURAL RESULTS WITH A LOT OF DIMENSION AND SHINE"
Romeu Felipe (@romeufelipe), Wella Professionals Global Ambassador
6. Cowgirl Copper Hair
Image Credit: @danielmbeauty
Color profile: Warm tan, terracotta and red-brown.
Who it's for: Medium to deep, warm or neutral skin tones.
Once trending and now a staple, cowgirl copper is a tan-tinted, red-brown hair color, which conjures up visions of well-worn leather boots and suede jackets. Dimension and movement are everything for this look, so ask your colorist to melt a multitude of tones together. A Color Touch melt service – only at Wella salons – blends up to five hues together, so your cowgirl copper shade catches the light as you move.
7. Burnished Copper Hair
Color profile: Deep warm copper with rusty-red accents.
Who it's for: Warm and neutral skin tones; cooler tones can lean more red.
Burnished copper hair features subtle hints of a brighter, rust-tinted red, lending the illusion of dancing embers through the ends of your hair. An ombre technique is perfect for this look, as the colors graduate evenly from dark roots to light tips, so the pops of red can flicker and glow through the brighter ends.
8. Monochromatic Copper Hair
Color profile: Warm, rich red-copper.
Who it's for: Warm and neutral skin tones.
Monochromatic Copper is a Wella Professionals signature service, inspired by the runway's tone-on-tone approach to fall/winter dressing. We've reimagined the fashion trend for hair color with a menu of looks that embody 'quiet luxury', including a low-contrast Monochromatic Copper that seamlessly blends a kaleidoscope of warm, rich, vibrant reds.
9. Apricot Copper Hair
Image Credit: @rodrigues_ricardo
Color profile: Warm peach, orange and golden.
Who it's for: Fair to light-medium, warm or neutral skin tones.
Apricot copper is a soft, sunlit take on the copper trend, blending juicy orange, peach and golden tones for a shade that feels warm without being too fiery. It's the perfect choice if you want to experiment with red while keeping your color light and luminous. Ask your colorist to weave delicate peachy tones through your hair for a dimensional finish that looks especially radiant when it catches the light.
10. Copper Balayage
Image Credit: @danielmbeauty
Color profile: Warm copper, tailored to your base.
Who it's for: All skin tones, with cooler tones suited to redder coppers.
If you're new to red tones, copper highlights are a great way of introducing warmth while maintaining your base. Go for low-commitment with a balayage, so roots are kept natural, and copper hues are focused through the mid-lengths and ends. The result is a softly blended look with plenty of dimension and movement, making it an easy way to dip your toes into the copper trend without going all-out.
- Ultimate Color Sulfate-Free Shampoo
Ultimate Color Sulfate-Free Shampoo
Soothes the scalp while gently cleansing to minimize color fade, moisturizes and detoxes hair from color-distorting metals.
- Ultimate Color Conditioner
Ultimate Color Conditioner
Adds moisture, helping reduce porosity to seal pigments in. It revitalizes colored hair and reduces hair breakage.
- Ultimate Color Miracle Leave-in Mask
Ultimate Color Miracle Leave-in Mask
Color vibrancy and revitalized hair, 3-in-1 formula moisturizes, provides UV protection and up to 4x more resistance to breakage.
- Ultimate Color Shine Spray
Ultimate Color Shine Spray
Spray that adds smoothness and shine to color-treated hair.
1. Wash with a Color-Safe Shampoo
Too-harsh shampoos can lift the cuticle, allowing copper color molecules to seep out. So, make sure you're using a gentle, color-safe shampoo, like ULTIMATE COLOR Sulfate-Free Shampoo. Focus it at the roots, letting the lather run through the more porous lengths – no scrubbing needed.
2. Use Conditioners for Highly Porous Hair
Gaps and tears can form along the cuticle – especially after chemical processing – and although you can't see them, they make your copper hair vulnerable to color loss. Use a conditioner that 'plugs' these porous gaps, like ULTIMATE COLOR Conditioner. The rich, creamy formula moisturizes, boosts shine, and helps red hues stay vibrant for longer.
3. Apply a Leave-In Hair Mask
If you've noticed your hair is especially prone to fading color, swap rinse-out conditioners for leave-in treatments to reduce unnecessary exposure to water. ULTIMATE COLOR Miracle Leave-In Mask is a treatment, but you can use it for every wash day in place of that extra rinsing step. It helps to maintain color vibrancy for up to 10 weeks², while leaving copper hair softer, shinier and moisturized, with up to 4x more resistance to breakage³.
4. Top Up the Tone with a Tinted Treatment
Noticing fading color weeks before your next salon visit? Color Fresh Mask in Copper Glow will refresh your shade in 10 minutes. Simply apply the tinted treatment to clean, damp hair, let it absorb for up to 10 minutes (depending on your desired intensity), then rinse thoroughly. Copper tones will be brighter, richer and glossier.
5. Enhance that Copper Shine
Every hair color deserves a dose of shine – especially sparkling copper hues. So, after styling your hair, mist your finished look with ULTIMATE COLOR Shine Spray. Specially designed to celebrate your color with a super-glossy sheen, it also leaves your hair up to 4x smoother⁴, so it's better able to reflect the light.
Find Your Perfect Copper with Wella Professionals
Ready to find your perfect copper? Your Wella stylist will help you choose and reach your dream shade. Use the Salon Finder to discover your nearest Wella salon.
¹ Vs. untreated hair, based on expert grading clinical study.
² With regular use of Ultimate Color regimen from salon to home.
³ Vs. non-conditioning shampoo.
⁴ Vs. untreated hair.