Hair Color Trend: How to Get the "Ronze" Look

Copper Hair Color Trend

From the Golden Globes to the Grammys, the “ronze” look has been heating up red carpets. What is it and how can you get it? Award-winning hair color expert—and Director of Research & Development for Madison Reed—Susan Roberts-Cooper tells you everything you need to know.

What is ronze?
Ronze is a catchy way of describing the combination of red and bronze hair color. This trend has been around for a while, but is just now getting into the mainstream. It is an offshoot of the Mad Men character Christina's coppery red hair, which can be a bit difficult to wear.

Why is it popular?
Ronze is more wearable and looks fresher because it looks more natural than the usual orange-based copper hair color or blue-based wine shades of red. This shade is more of a mixed tone—a little deeper and softer but still strong looking.

The great thing is that ronze can flatter both warm and cool skin tones. People with cool skin tones usually have to avoid orange-based coppery hair colors. Luckily, Madison Reed has options for creating the ronze look with a cool-toned copper hair color. In color theory terms, that means the color has a blue factor—strange but true!

Who is wearing ronze?

At the Golden Globes: Julianne Moore is a classic warm skin tone and can wear copper red hair beautifully since she is a natural redhead.

At the Grammys: Beyoncé sports a rich golden hue with mahogany undertones that accentuate the warmth of the shade.

At the Golden Globes: Emma Stone blends a deeper golden brown with lighter highlights for a more vibrant take on this trend look.

How do I get the ronze look?

If you wanted to create this look at home without Madison Reed, it would require mixing two or three different colors. We’ve made it super simple to achieve it by mixing multi-tonal shades for you, a Color Match Quiz to recommend your best colors, and our Color Crew, a team of expertly trained colorists ready to design a personalized color regimen for you.

If your hair is level 6 (medium brown) or lighter, you have three easy ways to get the dimension and depth of ronze:

Permanent color only
Como Light Brown – 7NGM (shown below) and Firenze Brown – 6NMG deliver the exact mixture of bronze hair color, copper hair color, and amber tones needed to create this popular look. The result is a soft and coppery gold. I love these shades and use them all the time with lovely results on cool and warm skin tones.

Semi-permanent color only
You can also create a temporary ronze look with Amaretto gloss if your hair is brunette level 6 (medium brown) or lighter. If you are a redhead, this shade will help add more bronze notes to your tone. If you have highlights, you will see an instant, dramatic change.

Color like a pro
The secret to achieving professional results at home lies in using both permanent color and semi-permanent gloss. If you already color your hair and are not changing the color, maintain it like a pro by applying permanent color to roots only. Then, apply complementary gloss to the lengths and ends that have already been colored.

For the ronze look, use Amaretto or Canella hair gloss to add those rich gold tones. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can apply Ameretto and Canella gloss on alternate sections to add even more dimension and spice up the look.

How exactly do these colors give me professional style?
The quick answer is that we’ve drawn from decades of experience to design colors that mimic what a colorist would do at a salon. The longer answer involves a bit of color theory!

The reason those shades work for ronze is that they have Gold and Mahogany (the “G” and “M” in those mysterious color codes!). Gold is yellow, and Mahogany is a cool-toned red, made by mixing 2 parts red with 1 part blue.

When Gold and Mahogany are mixed—as in 6NMG and 7NGM (and Amaretto which is 7GM) —we have a yellow, red, and tiny bit of blue mixture that creates a neutralization, making color softer. The overall mix is warm but soft, and coppery gold.

Because of the unique mix of tones that Madison Reed has in our Mahogany Chocolate NGM/NMG series, we have great options to help you get the ronze look in a beautiful way.

How will ronze look on my hair?

The key to getting great results, whether you’re creating a trend look like ronze or covering grays, is understanding the starting point of your hair and how it will respond to color. The three ronze regimens I’ve designed will show best on hair that is level 6 (medium brown) hair or lighter hair.

Because Radiant Color is made without harsh ammonia, it cannot lighten dark brown and black hair more than 1 level. For example, Firenze Brown – 6NMG (shown above) looks more brunette than ronze when used on level 5 (dark brown) hair. You’ll still get added tone and a lift in color, but talk to a Color Crew expert to make sure that you’re choosing the right products for your hair.

To give you an idea of the difference in real-world results, here’s a comparison of two Madison Reed customers and hair models:

Beth has natural hair color that is a level 7 (light brown). I applied Como Light Brown – 7NGM to the roots and then used Amaretto gloss on the ends to refresh her color.

Jami also started with level 7 hair, but prefers a brighter color so I used Vesuvius Red – 7NCR. to add vibrant copper red tones. Her ends were light, so I refreshed with Canella gloss to maintain a vibrant copper look overall.

How can I make the most of this look?
As I mentioned, cooler skin tones will tolerate less orange so the color should be kept deeper and very dimensional, especially with the hair framing the face. To create a bold statement look, wear cool-toned makeup to play off the contrast!

 

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