Mocha Brown Is Winter's Dominant Brunette Formula — Here's How Colorists Build It

Mocha brown — a brunette formula combining darker espresso tones with lighter, milkier brunette shades — is the dominant hair-color direction this winter, and its originator says the name came straight from dessert. "It reminds me of a chocolate mousse or a rich chocolate cake," celebrity colorist Jenna Perry told Vogue. "I thought mocha chocolate resembled the decadence of this shade of brown."

Perry, whose multidimensional brunette work built a client list including Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber, first popularized the glossy shade. Hailey Bieber and Daisy Edgar-Jones are among the newer adopters. Perry has produced individualized versions for longtime client Emily Ratajkowski and Amelia Gray, calling it a "universally flattering brunette hair color."

Why tonal variation is the technique

The formulation matters more than the depth. "A deep, rich brunette is chic," Perry said. "The color reflects warmly in the sun, so it doesn't ever look drab."

Stephen Buller and Anita Rice, founders of Buller and Rice salon, say the cacao tones read luxurious in winter only when the color isn't completely flat. The requirement is varied tone through the lengths and ends (a mix of depths rather than a single-level application). "This is important throughout the lengths and ends so it reflects light and feels expensive rather than looking like one solid block of dark color," they said. "This also gives clients who have had years of balayage (hand-painted, graduated lightening) an opportunity to go darker without feeling as though they're simply covering everything up."

That last point is a genuine niche: the trend gives long-term balayage clients a path back to brunette that reads as a new color, not a correction.

How does mocha brown work on textured hair?

The shade has specific applications for curl patterns. Celebrity hairstylist Lorraine Dublin says the chocolaty tones look especially strong on textured and curly hair. "Think deep espresso brown with subtle ribbons of mocha, creating a rich, multidimensional finish," she told Vogue. "It works beautifully on textured hair because the tonal variations catch the light, highlighting the shape and movement of curls, coils, and kinks."

Her prescription for the salon chair: request a "rich espresso base" with "delicate mocha or cinnamon brown accents," which produces a soft, seamless color melt (a blended transition between tones rather than visible demarcation).

What does maintenance require?

Condition dictates outcome, Perry said: "What makes this hair color so incredible from the start is having healthy hair." Her protocol preserves pigment with a color-safe shampoo and conditioner.

To counter brassy or red tones (unwanted warmth exposed as color fades), the source points to Matrix Total Results Brass Off Shampoo. At-home glosses and color conditioners extend vibrancy, with Glaze Supergloss Color Conditioning Hair Gloss in Chocolate Gleam and John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Color Vibrancy Conditioner named as options.

The maintenance stack is squarely retail-channel: all three are at-home products, meaning the look depends as much on the client's shelf as on the colorist's bowl.

With celebrity demand still expanding and a built-in transition route for balayage clients, mocha brown looks positioned to hold the brunette category through the darker months — provided the tone stays varied and the gloss stays fresh.