Calling all brunettes who love a hint of red. Here's the best shades to enhance your brown hair

The question of red is a divisive one for brunettes. Do you lust after or loathe warm red tones in your brown hair? Just like blondes and yellow tones, it's a love it or hate situation. You'll either spend time and money trying to eliminate the red that creeps into your beautiful brown over time, or you love a rich hint of warmth to enhance your brunette base and do your best to hold on to it.

Finding a good red tone for your brown hair

Working with high profile brunettes and clients in the Atelier, Josh understands this brunette divide all too well. With this insight he created a range of glosses to satisfy both sides of the red debate. If red just isn't your thing, Smoky Gloss will be your hair's very favourite thing. Used as weekly conditioning mask, it acts like a toner to neutralise all red tones and keep your brunette cool and dark, as well as delivering super shine. With this neutralising nugget, we'll wave goodbye if you're averse to red. If you're a lover of the shade, read on for all you need to know to achieve your perfect hint of red.

A wash of red for dark hair

"Red is great fun colour to experiment with and it couldn't be more on trend this season," says Josh, the man responsible for creating the high vis red for the Alexander McQueen AW20 catwalk show. To add a hint of the reddish brown hair hue to brown hair,  semi permanent formulas are the easy, fast route. "They're the perfect way to dip your toe into the red trend without a long term commitment," says Josh.  

The red palette - shades of red for brunette hair

From Titian red to rich auburn and bright cherry tones, red doesn't come in just the one shade "There's no one red to suit all, but there is a shade of red out there to suit everybody," says Josh. He explains that some shades you may not automatically think of as a red, but as they derive from a red base they sit within the red colour palette. It was working with this varied palette of copper, plum,  raspberry and burgundy wine tones that inspired Josh to create the semi permanent Gloss collection and he had brown hair with red tones firmly in mind. Creating shades of Cherry, Rose Brunette, Berry Brunette and Chestnut Brunette that blend with a darker base for dark red brown hair and add a beautiful hint of colour, or a more vibrant result if you have highlights or balayage. "I’ve worked with some very famous brunettes and redheads and I know when you unlock a perfect enhancing tone that really suits their skin tone, it makes someone feel amazing," says Josh. Here's his advice on the shades for you to consider. 

Rose Brunette Hair Colour

A beautiful, warm rose brown, it's a flattering shade on light, mid and dark brown for a soft, pinky hue. The perfect red for dark hair. Achieving this shade used to be the preserve of the salon colourist, but it's now easy to achieve  the look at home. It's perfect too for brunettes with highlights or balayage as this will reveal a more vibrant tone.
 

And want to know how simple it is to use? Watch how to add a shot of temporary colour in just 20 minutes. A true cherry red with no hint of blue this, this chic shade works across the spectrum of brown hair to add a warm red finish. On light brown it reveals a vibrant cherry colour and on darker tones a subtle red glaze. We love the playful twist seen here when glossed over balayaged ends. 

 

Berry Brunette Hair Colour

The darkest of the Gloss shades, a deep burgundy red that sits well on dark hair reflecting a subtle berry glaze or on highlights for a bold rich shot of colour, as worn below by Rach.

 

Chestnut Brown Hair Colour

Josh created Chestnut Brunette to give hints and highlights of auburn and a deep warm brunette finish that doesn't look heavy or saturated. It works to enhance mid or darker brown hair colours.  Here, Grace and Josh talk through how to use Chestnut Brunette to bring out the warm, auburn tones of her hair while still keeping it very natural and real.