Hair Color Shades
The right hue for you and your ‘do
Are you itching for a change? Is it time to inject some vitality into your look? The right hair color can energize or soften your style, and even take years off your appearance. With some thoughtful preparation and a careful approach, your new hair color can lift your beauty to new heights.
Typically, the first step to finding a good shade is to determine the undertones in your skin. You’ve likely heard this before, as skin tone comes into play with makeup, clothing and accessory choice. Likewise, your skin tone is considered by many to be the most important determining factor for hair color. However, you may not be as limited as you may think: while warmer toned ladies may not look right in an icy blonde hue, they can still lighten up with something in the golden blonde range.
Skin undertones fall under two categories, cool and warm. Very pale skin with rosy cheeks or pink undertones is considered cool, while a golden, brown or peach hint signals a warm tone. Look to the inside of your wrist—veins that appear blue usually indicate a cool tone and greenish veins will indicate a warm tone. But is this enough to determine your color palette? Maybe not—eye color, natural hair color and how you react to the sun will all play a role, so consider all your features to find the dominant hue.
The key to choosing a great hair color for your skin tone is actually pretty simple—cool goes with cool and warm goes with warm. It may be helpful to match your favorite clothing to the colors on a color wheel to see whether you wear warm or cool, which will often indicate what tones suit you most. Many of these tones are directly referenced on the hair color box, grouped under “golden” for warm or “ash” for cool. The green, purple and blue undertones of the “ash” shades will enrich naturally cool hair colors but they’ll have a remarkably unnatural effect on warm base colors.
Keep in mind that any hair color can respond poorly to a drastic change, especially if you are coloring your hair yourself. Try to stick to no more than two shades away from your natural hair color to guarantee a good result, or else visit a professional to get that perfect red, brown or blonde hue. Don’t be afraid to try out an entirely new look—as long as you stick to the right undertones, you can be as bold or a subtle as you desire.
