While it’s not true of every single example, over the last six months many hair colour trends have been at alternate ends of the spectrum. There have been the vibrant, statement looks—like Dua Lipa’s bold cherry red—or the natural-looking and subtly dimensional looks—like biscuit brunette. This soft and muted option may not have had the level of airtime as other trends, such as cowgirl copper, but it’s been ticking along in the background as a key trend.
As somebody who keeps tabs on the latest hair trends for a living, I know biscuit brunette will continue to be popular well into 2024, so I asked two expert colourists to share their expertise on the look. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about the look, from who it suits best to visual inspiration.
What is biscuit brunette hair?
“Biscuit brunette, for me, is one of the lighter shades of brunette,” says Tom Smith, trend forecaster and hairdresser at Billi Currie. “It’s almost tipping into that bronde category, [but the difference being] biscuit brunette has more of a beige-golden undertone."
While there are gold tones present within biscuit brunette, Tom notes that they’re “more muted and beige” rather than very glowy orange-gold tones. “Beige, for me, is a neutral tone, whereas gold is a warm tone, so you could say that biscuit brunette is like a warm neutral shade of brunette. It’s really quite a neutral brown with that beige-gold reflect.”
Tom adds that biscuit brunette is multi-tonal but in a very subtle way. “Think about the texture of wholegrain biscuits,” he continues. “It’s not super stripy, but more finely woven and with a more delicate, soft dimension. It’s low contrast, so there's not a massive difference between the lightest and darkest parts [of the hair], but it's definitely textural.”
Who does biscuit brunette suit?
The good news is that biscuit brunette is a very wearable shade and is flattering on lots of skin tones. “Being a neutral-warm tone, [biscuit brunette] is good for a variety of skin tones because it sits quite close to neutral; it’s not super warm or super cool,” Tom confirms. “It definitely swings more towards those who like a ‘better than natural’ look because it is quite muted.”
Amy Fish, colourist at Larry King, notes that biscuit brunette can be adapted to suit a client’s skin tone by leaning slightly cooler or slightly warmer and can work really well on curly hair. “It gives these clients a chance to experiment in going lighter with their hair colour without the need for bleaching the hair, keeping curls intact,” she says.
Below are some of the best biscuit brunette hair looks out there.
Biscuit brunette inspiration
The warm tones in this colour are absolutely divine—and the whole look is wonderfully low-maintenance.
A slightly brighter take on the biscuit brunette trend, this oaty colour is pure perfection—and that shine.
Hailey Bieber's biscuit brunette bob is continuing to set the precedent for hair trends throughout 2024 and beyond.
These biscuit brunette curls are perfection—and it's all without having to forgo curl definition.
An ombré-balayage-biscuit-brunette hybrid? It's a recipe for greatness.
The warm, caramel biscuit highlights in this curly look deliver hair colour goals.
Halle Berry's biscuit brunette will forever set the bar for any balayage look—nobody does it better than her.
J Lo's biscuit brunette falls into the slightly warmer-toned category of the trend, and it always delivers.
The way the ribbons of biscuity colour catch the light in this look is just *chefs kiss*.
