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Delicious hair, don’t care. It may be a yummy drink you sip in the wintertime, but it’s inspiring the latest hair trend, without all the calories. Celebs like Amal Clooney, Dua Lipa, and J-Lo, are all ga-ga for “hot chocolate hair.”
The warm hue is fairly easy to achieve, at home or in the salon, and is perfect for a variety of skin tones. For example, if you have a medium skin tone like Kim Kardashian, you may want to opt for a glossy, rich, chocolate brown, versus if you’re more fair-skinned like Amal, you can go for something even richer.
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“Natural brunettes are great candidates for hot chocolate brunette hair and this color is low maintenance because there are no highlights at the root so the grow out is very soft and there are no harsh lines,” Selena Gomez’s stylist Nikki Lee tells HelloGiggles.
The key with chocolate brown hair is giving it the same radiant qualities that blondes have naturally, explains Dua Lipa and J-Lo’s stylist Chris Appleton, on his blog, “You get that light that hits the hair and gives you that mirror-like radiance. That’s when hair, for me, really stands out.”
Nikki Lee, who also styles Emma Roberts, takes us through step-by-step how to DIY hot chocolate hair:
Step 1: To achieve this look at home “you should use a rich dark brown box die, like Garnier’s Olia Dark Iridescent Brown, which is an ammonia-free, permanent hair color,” Lee says. And going dark, doesn’t mean going dull. “The key here is the oil delivery system that provides a brilliant color.”
Step 2: Start with clean, dry hair, and mix the dye according to the directions on the box.
Step 3: When applying the dye, Lee advises to always section the hair into four separate sections and then clip off 1/4 inch subsections to keep the application clean and ensure the color is fully saturated into the hair shaft.
Step 4: Wear rubber gloves to avoid staining hands, and apply the dye using the applicator at the scalp.
Step 5: Next, using your hands, work the dye into the hair shaft from top to bottom.
Step 6: Once your dye-job is done, care for it properly to maintain the rich brown shade. “I recommend regularly using the Garnier Color Reviver in ‘warm brown’ to keep it from fading. Also, always use a heat protectant when heat styling and try not to wash your hair every day to avoid stripping the color,” she adds.
Best of all, this hue is easy to add in some highlights like J-Lo’s if you want to lighten up going into summer — but we recommend seeing a professional if you opt to do that.
