Choosing a hair color should be as easy as finding a shade you really like, right? Not necessarily. It’s a little more complicated because you need to be sure your color of choice complements your skin tone. Since hair frames the face, the wrong color can age you and make your skin appear dull and unhealthy. Here’s a guide to help determine if your skin tone is cool or warm and the hair color that best complements it.
Determine Your Skin Tone
There are several ways to determine skin tone. First, think about the way your skin reacts to the sun. Do you tan easily? If so, your skin undertone is likely warm or neutral. However, if you are prone to sunburns, your skin undertone is cool. Next, look at the veins in your wrist. If they look green, it’s reflective of a warm skin undertone. If they look blue or purple, you have a cool undertone. Still not entirely sure? Put on a white shirt or hold a piece of white paper next to your face and look in a mirror in a room with natural light. If your face appears yellow = warm undertones. If your face appears rosy = cool undertones. And if it’s neither? You’re a neutral.
Keeping it Cool
For the most part, cool skin undertones are most flattered by cool hair color shades, but sometimes choosing an opposite tone can make a striking visual contrast. Think pale, cool freckly skin paired with a warm copper or strawberry blonde hue to boost your complexion. You can’t go wrong with ashy and icy hair colors to complement porcelain skin tone. Be careful about choosing brassy and yellowy hues, which can make your skin look dull. Also avoid true reds and purple if your skin is prone to redness. Dark skin color can have noticeable cool tones too. Choose cool, dark brown hair color shades that mimic your natural color.
Warm it Up
Natural blondes are typically fair skinned, so honey and golden blonde hair colors are a great match for your warm complexion. Don’t go more than half a tone darker or it will wash you out.
Natural brunettes with fair skin and warm undertones should choose between cool brown and warm brown hair colors. Think milk chocolate, caramel, or golden brown if you have green or hazel eyes. Ashy brown colors lean toward silver and accentuate blue or gray eyes. If you’re looking to enhance the warm undertone of dark or olive skin, try a rich gold balayage or ombre. Keep your roots deep and natural for best results.
Neutral
Doesn’t matter if you have fair or dark skin, neutral undertones can support warm and cool hair colors. Opt for warm hair color shades to look younger and radiant. Feeling bold? Vibrant shades like pink, blue, green, yellow, or even rainbow hair also look great. Dark-skinned beauties can experiment with both ash and gold colors but should ideally remain within the same level of depth as their natural hair.
