Blake Lively is an American actress known for her signature blonde locks. However, Lively is not a natural blonde – her natural hair color is actually light brown. She began dying her hair blonde as a teenager and has maintained the look throughout her acting career. So while Lively is famous for her blonde hair, her natural hair color is in fact light brown.
Quick Answer
No, Blake Lively does not have brown hair. Her natural hair color is light brown but she has dyed her hair blonde consistently since her teens.
Blake Lively’s Natural Hair Color
Blake Lively was born with light brown hair. Photographs of her as a child and teenager show her with darker brown locks before she began lightening her hair. Her mother and siblings also have naturally light brown hair.
In a 2011 interview with Marie Claire, Lively confirmed her natural hair color: “I’m naturally a brunette, but I’ve been a fake blonde for so long that I feel really comfortable as a blonde.”
So while Lively is famous for her golden blonde hair, she does not actually have natural blonde hair. Her light brown roots can often be seen growing in between salon visits.
When Did Blake Lively Go Blonde?
Lively started dyeing her hair blonde as a teenager in high school. She told Allure in 2012: “I dyed my hair blonde when I was in high school…I’m not sure it was the right choice, but it’s definitely part of my look now.”
As a rising star on the TV series Gossip Girl, Lively’s blonde hair became part of her signature look. She has touched up the color regularly over the past 15+ years to maintain her blonde locks.
Why Does Blake Lively Stay Blonde?
Even though it’s not her natural color, Lively has chosen to stick with blonde hair for many years. There are a few likely reasons for this:
- As an actress, blonde hair makes her stand out and is part of her recognizable image.
- She feels confident and likes the look of blonde hair with her complexion.
- Touching up her roots allows her to maintain a consistent look as her hair grows in brown.
- Fans and audiences identify her as a blonde and may not recognize her as easily with brown hair.
Though it takes some maintenance, Lively has embraced blonde as her go-to hair color and it has become an integral part of her personal and professional image.
Does Blake Lively ever go back to brown?
Though she regularly dyes her hair to keep it blonde, Lively does occasionally go back to her natural brown locks between acting projects or while on break.
For example, she had light brown hair in 2015 after giving birth to her first daughter James. Letting her natural color grow in allowed her hair to recover from the damage of bleach and dye.
Lively also went back to brown briefly in 2020 during quarantine. With salons closed, she embraced her natural hair color again for a few months.
However, she always ends up returning to her signature blonde. Even when she wears a wig, Lively tends to choose blonde wigs to match her look.
How does Blake Lively maintain her blonde hair?
To keep her brown roots from growing in too noticeably, Lively gets her hair dyed blonde every few weeks by a professional colorist.
Celebrity colorist Michael Canalé has worked with Lively for over a decade to touch up her blonde tones. He uses ammonia-free dyes to minimize damage to her hair.
Between salon visits, Lively relies on purple shampoo and conditioning products to keep her color bright. Purple shampoo helps neutralize brassiness and yellow tones.
She also gets conditioning treatments, trims split ends regularly, and avoids over-washing her hair to prevent dryness or fading.
It takes considerable time and money to maintain Lively’s signature blonde hair. But for over 15 years, she has deemed it worth the effort.
Conclusion
While Blake Lively is known for her golden blonde locks, her natural hair color is actually light brown. She began dyeing her hair blonde as a teenager and has kept it up for her public image. Though she occasionally goes back to brown, Lively always returns to blonde by coloring her roots every few weeks. It takes work, but blonde hair has become an integral part of Lively’s look.
Blake Lively’s Hair Color Over the Years
| Year | Hair Color |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Light brown (natural) |
| 2005 | Dark blonde (dyed in high school) |
| 2008 | Golden blonde (as Serena on Gossip Girl) |
| 2015 | Light brown (post-pregnancy) |
| 2020 | Light brown (quarantine roots) |
| Current | Golden blonde |
This table summarizes how Blake Lively’s hair color has evolved over the past 15+ years as she rose to fame. It illustrates how she began dying her naturally light brown hair blonde in her teens and has continued to maintain that signature look throughout her acting career, with occasional breaks back to brown.
How Blake Lively’s Hair Has Changed Throughout Her Career
Here’s a more detailed overview of how Blake Lively’s hair color and style has transformed over the years:
1998-2004: Natural light brown hair
As a child and young teen, Lively had natural light brown hair, usually worn long and straight or in braids.
2005-2006: Newly dyed dark blonde
In high school, Lively began dyeing her hair a darker blonde shade. She often wore it blown out in soft waves.
2007-2012: Golden blonde on Gossip Girl
Lively lightened to a golden blonde to play Serena on Gossip Girl. Her long, shiny blonde waves became her trademark look.
2013-2014: Evolving honey blonde
Lively started transitioning to a warmer honey blonde with subtle highlights, often styled in loose, textured curls.
2015-2016: Return to brown
After giving birth, Lively went back to a light brown color briefly to let her hair recover from years of dyeing.
2017-2019: Beach blonde
Lively re-emerged with a fresh, bright blonde shade with lots of highlighting. She often wore beachy waves.
2020: Quarantine brown roots
During quarantine in 2020, Lively’s brown roots grew in noticeably as salons were closed.
2021-now: Bright blonde
Lively returned to a very light, cool-toned blonde and has stuck with brightly colored blonde since then.
As this overview shows, while Lively’s hair has evolved through different blonde shades and occasional returns to brown, she always ends up going back to blonde. It’s become her signature look.
How Often Does Blake Lively Dye Her Hair?
To maintain her blonde hair, Lively gets her roots touched up every 4-6 weeks by a professional colorist.
Celebrity colorist Michael Canalé has worked with Lively for over a decade and knows how to keep her hair looking fresh.
Between salon visits, Lively uses at-home toning products to keep her blonde hair vibrant. Over-washing can cause the color to fade faster, so she only shampoos her hair a couple times a week.
When Lively goes back to her natural brown briefly, her color grows in very quickly since it’s her natural shade. Within 2-3 months her regrowth is significant.
Once she decides to go blonde again, it takes 2-3 salon visits spaced a few weeks apart to fully lift and dye her hair back to blonde. This “color correction” process is more intense on the hair than just topping up her roots.
So while maintaining blonde takes more regular upkeep, letting her hair go brown for long stretches of time requires a lot more work to reverse. This is likely why Lively stays blonde most of the time – once she commits to it again after a break, she has to stick with it!
How Blake Lively Cares for Her Blonde Hair
Here are some tips and products Lively uses to protect her hair through repeated dying:
- Purple shampoo: Lively uses purple shampoo such as Clairol or Joico to cancel out brassiness in blonde hair.
- Ammonia-free dye: Her colorist uses ammonia-free hair dye to minimize damage to the hair cuticle.
- Conditioning treatments: Weekly conditioning masks add hydration to counteract drying effects of bleach.
- Avoiding heat tools: Lively limits use of hot tools like curling irons that can dry out blonde hair.
- Trimming splits: Regular trims every 6-8 weeks keeps her hair healthy and growing strong.
- Gentle handling: Brushing hair gently from the ends up reduces breakage.
It’s clear Lively puts time and care into maintaining her signature blonde hair. Her long, healthy locks are evidence that her hair care regimen is working, even with repeated dyeing.
Does Blake Lively’s Husband Prefer Blonde or Brown Hair?
Lively’s husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, seems to appreciate both her blonde and brown hair colors.
In 2011 when they first began dating, Lively had long golden blonde hair from Gossip Girl. Reynolds was clearly attracted to her as a blonde.
When Lively went temporarily back to brown hair in 2015, Reynolds defended her against media scrutiny. He stated that change is normal and he loved her just the same.
When Lively dyed her hair blonde again in 2017, Reynolds joked that she was “back to my favorite color.”
Overall, it seems that Reynolds supports Lively through any hair color change. But he may have a slight preference towards her signature blonde shade that he first fell for.
Conclusion
While Blake Lively appears blonde, her natural hair color is actually light brown. She began dying her hair blonde as a teenager over 15 years ago. Though she occasionally returns to brown, blonde has become Lively’s signature look that she is known for.
Maintaining the bright blonde color requires touch-ups every 4-6 weeks as well as at-home toning. Despite the upkeep, Lively sticks with blonde the majority of the time – going back to brown means having to undergo a more intense process to reverse it.
Her husband Ryan Reynolds seems to appreciate both her blonde and brown hair colors. But her iconic blonde shade is likely the one he finds most striking given that it was her look when they first met.
So while the actress is not a natural blonde, she has made golden blonde hair her trademark. For Lively, choosing to go blonde over 15 years ago ended up defining her image, and she puts in the effort to keep that signature look.
