Choosing the right hair color for your skin tone

Have you ever tried out a hair color and found out it didn’t suit you after the stylist was done? The reason may lie in your skin, beyond the basic choices of brown, blonde, red, or black, the infinite sub choices of shades available can make picking a hair color from those tiny sample books next to impossible. If you like crazy or non-traditional colors the choice can become even harder. Just like choosing the right clothing colors, the right hair color can drastically affect your looks and make your skin tone look vibrant or dull. Here are a few tips to see which hair colors will look best on you.

BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN

Shades like platinum, ice, silver and champagne look great on those who have cool skin with reddish undertones. The slightly blue-cast in these blonde shades will counteract runniness in the skin. Celebrities who have rocked ashe blonde correctly with their skin tone include Gwen Stephanie and Taylor Swift. If you decide to go with one of these shades, make sure you use a purple shampoo and conditioner to keep the color from yellowing. If you have fair cool skin with blue undertones, go slightly warmer with your blonde by choosing gold, caramel, amber, honey or butterscotch for your shade. A honey or caramel blonde is also a good choice for those with olive skin and neutral undertones or deep skin as going to light or ashy with your blonde can wash out your face.

If you have very warm undertones, you want to avoid warm blonde, as too much yellow can make you look sallow, also be sure to use toner frequently to avoid your hair becoming brassy .

BRUNETTE STRONG

Shades like chestnut, mocha, dark chocolate and dark auburn go great with those who have skin with warm undertones. From fair to deep skin, if you’ve got yellow undertones consider using a cool brown hair color to brighten up your complexion, on the other hand you might want to pick a warmer shade like golden brown, honey, amber, Mahogany or cinnamon if you have medium skin with warm undertones. This look is certainly gaining popularity recently. When Amelia Clark isn’t wearing her platinum wig as the mother of dragons on Game of thrones for example her go to hue is warm brown.

SEEING RED

Redish shades like auburn, burgundy and true red will look great on those with fair cool skin with reddish undertones. The blueish red cast of your hair will make your skin pop instead of looking flushed or ruddy. If you have deep skin opt for a cool auburn over warm red, because warmer red tones will make your skin look greenish, or sickly. Meanwhile if you have more neutral or more bluish undertones and fair skin then warm red is the right choice for you.

Pick your favorite from strawberry blonde, amber, copper or rust shades and you’ll feel like a princess in no time. Just make sure to get shampoo for color treated hair, and avoid washing frequently to keep your color strong in between touch ups.

PAINT IT BLACK

Hair colors like espresso, liquorish, blue black, and true black will look great with those with warm undertones. If your fair or olive skinned the contrast will take your yellowish undertones, and give you an almost porcelain doll look to your skin. If you have deep skin you can wear cool black shades regardless of your undertone. If you crave warm black shades like cocoa, dark mocha, or brown black, however, make sure you have cool undertones to your fair or medium skin. If you have deep skin you can always use a mocha or coco to warm things up no matter what undertone you have.

WILDIN OUT

Do you want to go a little crazy with your next hair color? Then the sky is the limit and any color of the rainbow will look great if done correctly there are some pointers to keep in mind to avoid some unexpected surprises. Warmer colors like pinks, orange, and yellow shades will look best with cool toned skin. Cool colors like blue and purple will look particularly flattering if you have warm yellow undertones in your skin. If you have deep skin opt for a darker more saturated color over pastels, and above all remember non-traditional colors will fade quickly because of the lifting process used before color is applied.

Remember to use specialized products to extend the life of your crazy shade and most important of all, have fun styling it up.