Five Ways to Spice Up Black Hair Color

Need some ideas for what to do with black hair color? Black hair color looks beautiful on its own, but sometimes you just need to perk it up a bit. But the trick to doing it right in black hair is to make it not appear overdone. Here are some looks you can pair with black locks that look sassy and sophisticated or like a punk rebel.

Colored bangs: Emo and punk rock chicks love staining their black bangs in neon-bright colors. Pink, orange, green and red are among the most popular. Here's what you do: have your stylist cut your bangs at an angle and give them razor-edged ends for a jagged effect. Then, apply the colors in thick highlights so you still have just a hint of black showing through.

Black and brown mix: Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Zoe Saldana and Halle Berry often temper their black hair with chestnut brown color. The way they have it applied makes it look like a dark chocolate color without being overly powerful in either the black or the brown direction. They often leave it as is after this coloring, without highlight it at all.

Chestnut or red highlights: Two of the most eye-catching colors in black hair color are brown and red. When applied in highlights that poke out from beneath layers of hair, they add a pop of color for a look that is unparalleled on lighter tones like blonde and brown.

Warm looks: Highlights and lowlights in caramel brown and rich chocolate tones melt into the hair and make it look slightly lighter. You'll love the way it catches the light, especially in the sun, if you're tired of plain black hair that feels too dark for every occasion.

Go animal style: Many gals choose to do "raccoon" or "skunk" hair-do's with black hair color. You can achieve this look by putting blonde highlights in one portion of your bangs and striping the bottom of your hair with horizontal blonde highlights to look like a coon's tail. For the skunk hair style, you would do platinum blonde hair color on the underside of your hair and keep the top part jet black. You might also fringe the ends of the black hair in blonde hair color to set it off.