How to Get Kate Middleton's Highlights

(Image credit: Limited Use)

published 20 November 2013

We're all for going the wallet-friendly route and coloring your own hair on the bathroom floor. However, if you want to look like Kate Middleton, it's better to let the professionals take over. Read on for exactly what to tell your colorist when you're in the chair.

1. ALWAYS bring in a photo to give your colorist a better idea of the look their trying to achieve.

2. Explain that you'd like your base color to be an auburn-brown with chestnut highlights framing the face, at the hairline and at the nape of the neck.

3. For added brightness, ask for select highlights at the mid-shaft and ends of the hair.

4. The Balayage method is best to achieve this look because it is free-form placement of the highlights on the hair (this is how Kate Middleton achieves the ribbon-like look with her highlights).

5. Make sure to listen to what the colorist thinks as well. Color is personal and should complement your specific skin tone. This way, you can collaborate on what will look best.

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Hallie has worked in beauty editorial for ten years and has been editorial director at Byrdie since 2021. Previously, she was a senior editor at Byrdie since 2016. During her time at Byrdie, she's written hundreds of high-performing stories on skincare, wellness (including fitness, diet, mental health, body image, et al) makeup, and hair. She's a regular on set, helping to source inspiration for makeup and hair looks, as well as interviewing celebrities, models, and other notable women and men in the beauty space.

Before that, Hallie ran Marie Claire's social media and wrote beauty and culture stories for the site, and helped launch Time Inc.'s digital-only beauty brand, MIMI. After college, she contributed to Time Out New York’s Shopping & Style section before landing her first beauty editor gig at Hearst's Real Beauty. Hallie's writing has also appeared in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle. Hallie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.