Brown hair with blonde and strawberry blonde highlights

Redheads, if you’re ready for a refresh of your go-to shade or have been debating a hair color that’s neither fully red or blonde, we have just the pick for you: strawberry blonde. Strawberry blonde is one of the hottest fall hair colors for 2020, and we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the red-blonde hybrid.

Read on to find out what strawberry blonde hair color is, how to maintain it, and 29 of the trendiest strawberry blonde hair ideas to bring to your colorist.

What color hair is strawberry blonde?

Strawberry blonde hair color isn't quite red, but also isn't all the way blonde. In fact, it’s the perfect combination of both shades. Whether you opt for a red base with blonde highlights or blonde with hints of red throughout, this dimensional shade can lean cool or warm-toned depending on what flatters your skin tone.

Depending on your base color, your colorist may need to use bleach to lift your current hue before applying your strawberry shade. It’s important to note that bleach will always cause some damage, but your colorist can work to improve the look and feel of your strands before you leave the salon.

How common is strawberry blonde hair?

Having natural red hair is rare (like, two percent of the population rare), so coming across someone with natural strawberry blonde hair isn’t common. While you may not be a natural-born redhead, your colorist can help you achieve your ideal strawberry blonde shade at the salon.

Who looks good with strawberry blonde hair?

While strawberry blonde hair is made for those with pale skin and blue eyes (trust us, this combination is stunning!), your colorist can create a customized strawberry blonde hue to flatter your specific skin tone.

Biolage Professional

Color Last Shampoo

AROMASCIENCE® Gentle Shampoo for Colored Hair

Old price New price $21.00

Shu Uemura

Ultimate Reset Restorative Hair Mask

A restorative deep repair hair mask for damaged hair.

Old price New price $69.00

One size available

6 fl oz

How To Care For Strawberry Blonde Hair

Like all red-leaning hair colors, strawberry blonde hair can be difficult to maintain—which means you’ll need to revamp your hair care routine with color-protecting products to keep your hue in tip-top shape between appointments. Start by swapping your regular shampoo and conditioner for a system formulated for color-treated hair. We recommend Biolage Colorlast Shampoo and Conditioner. This system gently cleanses and conditions to maintain the color depth, tone, and shine of vivid color-treated hair.

Use a weekly hair mask like Shu Uemura Art Of Hair Ultimate Reset Restorative Hair Mask if your strands are feeling dry or damaged after a bleach session or two. This formula can be used to repair and restore very damaged hair that has undergone frequent bleaching, coloring, and heat styling.

If you’re ready to try strawberry blonde for yourself, keep scrolling for 30 inspiration photos to bring to the salon.

Ash Blonde

If you’re hunting for an approachable first step into strawberry blonde territory, no version of the shade is more welcoming than ash blonde. This dusty, cool interpretation is appropriate for all seasons.

Platinum

If you’re committed to the blonde life already, up your game with this statement-making platinum color.

Dark Root

Stylists love using shadowed roots as a way to create the illusion of thicker hair and more volume, as well as more realistic hair color. As an added bonus, the visible darkness will mean more time between touch-up appointments!

Reddish

Put the strawberry back in blonde with this reddish take on the shade. Particularly flattering on the very fair-skinned, this ruby-influenced shade will brighten up your complexion.

Sun-Kissed

You can wait until summer to bask in the glory of sun-brightened blonde streaks around your face and at your roots, or you can mimic the look with a salon-created strawberry blonde shade.

Ginger

We love a dramatic red, but it’s not always the most wearable shade and has a tendency to lose vibrancy quickly. Give ginger-influenced strawberry blonde a try. As it fades, you’ll be left with a delicious pastel tangerine shade.

Caramel

Caramel-influenced strawberry blonde is warm and buttery. Its darker notes create depth, resulting in a lustrous but natural-looking shade that will make you the envy of your friend group.

Orange

Take inspiration from the tropics when it comes time to choose your hair color. Orange is a bright shade of strawberry blonde that would look stunning on every skin tone.

Brown Highlights

Worried about veering too far into pink or orange territory? No worries. Ask your stylist to ground your strawberry blonde with a neutral brown shade that will keep you from accidentally leaving the salon with pastel hair color.

Champagne

Often mistaken for faded rose gold, champagne strawberry blonde is a rich gold with just the slightest hint of red.

Balayage

When it comes to a shade like strawberry blonde—a massive change for someone with naturally dark hair—give yourself a chance to adapt gradually. A balayage application will help you ease into the new shade.

Dip Dye

Make a statement with a punchy dip dye. This will give you the chance to try some of strawberry blonde’s most dramatic iterations if you’re already starting out with light hair.

Honey

Few shades of blonde are as effortlessly chic as honey blonde. The shade incorporates just the slightest hint of strawberry and flatters almost every skin tone. We love a versatile hair color!

Cool

Don’t be tricked into thinking warm, ginger-spiced versions of strawberry blonde are your only options. These days, it-girls are making it their own by opting for very cool versions of the classic color.

Light Brown

Talk to your stylist about a gradual change if you’re someone who doesn’t love the idea of showing up to the office brunette one day and blonde the next. A light brown-focused version of strawberry blonde might be just the thing you need.

Light Pink

If you like the idea of pink hair but not all the maintenance, try this light pink shade, which isn’t quite as out-there but still has an edgy vibe.

Silver

If you’ve tried neon, pastel, and every shade in between, you may be on the hunt for a dramatic next step. Mixing strawberry blonde and silver creates an ethereal look that you probably haven’t tried yet.

True Strawberry Blonde

At its best, strawberry blonde is a delicious, warm combination of blonde and red. The shade, which is sometimes called Venetian blonde, is a pale but vibrant take on red. It’s flattering to a range of fair and medium skin tones and can lean either warm or cool. It’s an excellent color solution for both blondes and redheads who have been dying to try something new.

Strawberry Blonde Bob

Okay, so a bob isn’t exactly a hair color idea. Still, it’s a fresh take on a shade that’s beloved. Whereas many women feel tied to their length, we’re big advocates of the idea that change is always a good plan.

Auburn Hair with Strawberry Blonde Highlights

Strawberry highlights make hair with tons of depth look effortless. These golden-red strands will add high points to your strands, making your mane seem thicker and healthier. Basically, this is the hair color version of sitting in the sun for hours at a time—just without the chance of getting sunburnt.

Burgundy Hair with Strawberry Blonde Highlights

If you’re seeing a professional for your color and are interested in the vampy side of strawberry blonde, this highlighted burgundy hair color is an excellent choice. The key here is to ask for finely blended color, avoiding stripes at all costs.

Strawberry Blonde with Chestnut Lowlights

Try a strawberry blonde look that’s grounded in pure, deep brown if purple-tinted shades aren’t your thing. Just like the way babylights bring high points to your mane, their darker equivalents add shadows throughout your mane for hair that looks incredibly voluminous. Why choose just one shade, when you could have many? That’s what experimenting is all about.

Dark Strawberry Blonde

If you aren’t starting out with a red base, achieving rich color can seem impossible. Don’t panic yet—we’ve got a solution for you. Unlike a traditional strawberry blonde color, which edges toward caramel or honey, dark strawberry blonde is a bright, coppery play on the shade.

Warm Strawberry Blonde

Warm strawberry blonde hair on pale skin is the real-life equivalent of an Instagram filter. The shade will flatter your skin, make your features pop, and generally win over the world. The shade, which incorporates ginger and honey notes, isn’t just tasty-sounding—it’s downright delicious to try out. You’ll be glad you did.

Rose Gold

The ultra-popular shade, born from the popularity of pastel pink manes, is an ashy variation of red-blonde hair. You’ve probably already seen a dozen different versions of rose gold hair on your social media feed. Just make sure to book an appointment with a professional who has experience creating the shade.

Strawberry Brown

We’re just going to come out and say it: Strawberry brown is a painfully underrepresented hair color. The shade, which often gets lost behind its blonde relatives, is a mix of light brown and red notes. It’s multifaceted and shimmery—a shade you just can’t forget once you’ve seen it. What’s more, it’s ideal for medium skin tones that often struggle to pull off light red strands.

Light Strawberry Blonde

At first glance, light strawberry blonde hair reads as a very pale golden shade. Upon closer inspection, however, you’ll note a very pale red tint that’s extremely flattering on ladies with porcelain skin. If you manage to get a little sun, light strawberry blonde will show it.

Golden Strawberry Blonde

Here’s a shade for the beach babes out there, the ones who believe the best thing a hair color can do is highlight their tans. We’re totally behind you. Golden strawberry blonde combines sunshiny notes with the coppery red we love so much, resulting in a bombshell shade that’s utterly unforgettable.

Strawberry Blonde with Blonde Ombre

Being a natural redhead often means feeling stuck in a style dilemma. You want to try out new shades, but loathe the idea of messing with your unique hair color. The solution to your problem is an ombre look. When you’re tired of the secondary color or can’t shake the desire for fresh, blunt ends, your stylist can just snip those blonde ends away. No commitment, no fuss—which is just how we like our hair color.

Interested in trying strawberry blonde hair for yourself? Use our salon locator to book an appointment at a salon near you.

Biolage Professional

Color Last Shampoo

AROMASCIENCE® Gentle Shampoo for Colored Hair

Old price New price $21.00

Shu Uemura

Ultimate Reset Restorative Hair Mask

A restorative deep repair hair mask for damaged hair.

Old price New price $69.00

One size available

6 fl oz