Which hair colour is right for your skin tone?
Hairstyles are often chosen to reflect an individual’s personality, or create a fashion statement, but when it comes to colour, it is important that it also complements our natural skin tone. But how do you go about choosing the perfect colour for your skin tone? Well, it turns out that there are a few helpful hints to set you on the right path.
Understanding your skin tone and undertone
The first thing to understand is that there are two important aspects to your complexion, your skin tone - fair, medium or dark, and your undertone, which is either cool, neutral or warm. It is also important to note that whilst your skin tone can alter, according to your environment and weather conditions, your undertone, or hue, will always remain the same, hence it is the best thing to base your hair colour choices on. Even if you acquire a tan over summer, it won’t affect the shades that suit your hair.
How to determine your undertone
So how do you work out whether you have cool, neutral or warm undertones to your skin?
There are a number of useful ways of helping you to ascertain this. Firstly, take a closer look at your skin. If your skin looks peachy or has a yellow/golden tinge then you have warm undertones. If on the other hand your skin has a blue, pink or reddish hue, then you have cool undertones. Neutral undertones are usually a balance between blue and yellow i.e. no discernible undertone, and are usually similar to the surface tone.
Check your veins - If the veins on the underside of your wrist appear blue or purple to the naked eye then you have cool undertones, whilst those that appear greenish in colour are indicative of a warm undertone. If you can’t really see them or aren’t sure, then the likelihood is that you have a neutral undertone.
Sunburn prone? - A tendency to burn in the sun indicates that you have reduced melanin in your skin. This is more typical of someone with a cool undertone. Those with a warmer undertone generally tan more easily and are less prone to sunburn.
Eye Colour - If you have blue, green, grey or light brown or grey eyes along with naturally blonde, brown or black hair with ashy tones, then it is more likely you will have a cool undertone to your skin. If however you have brown, hazel or amber eyes with strawberry blonde, auburn, brown or black hair with golden or copper tones, then it is more than likely that you have a warm undertone. Those with a mixture of natural hair or eye colour associated with both warm and cool undertones are generally neutral.
What do you wear?
Do you have a tendency to find that certain colours or shades of clothing suit you better than others, and that your wardrobe is packed with clothes of a similar colour scheme? If the colours you tend to wear are blue, grey, purple or white then it is likely you have a cool undertone. If you find that you are better suited to more autumnal colours then you have a warm undertone. Those lucky neutrals can get away with more or less any colour scheme.
Which shades suit your skin tone best?
Fair with cool undertones
- Platinum blonde
- Ashy tones of any colour
- Blue-based or neutral browns from light to dark brunette
- Chestnut
Fair with warm undertones
- Warmer blonde shades -copper, gold
- Caramel
- Rich brunette
- Coppery red
Medium with cool undertones
- Sandy or beige blondes
- Bronde - somewhere in between blonde and brown
- Rich chocolatey brunette
- Burgundy or purple-red colours
- Anything with a purplish or blue-black tone to it
Medium with warm undertones
- Natural blonde shades
- Honey blonde
- Almond blonde
- Most shades of brown
- Dark mahogany
- Copper
Dark skin with warm undertones
- Honey blonde with dark roots
- Most balayage or ombre colours
- Bright, bold red
- Coppery shades
- Dark brown or black with a red hue
Dark skin with cool undertones
- Ash blonde
- Silver
- Blue-black shades
- Bronze and light brown highlights
