The good news: picking out a flattering hair color can make you glow. You can look younger, healthier, all the good 'ier's. The right hair color can make you shine.
The bad news: an unflattering hair color is, well, unflattering. Some colors accentuate wrinkles and other signs of aging. The wrong color can make you look sickly, sallow, and worn out.
So how do you figure out what colors are right for you?
First of all, figure out if your coloring is warm, cool, or neutral. If you have access to a mirror, you can do this in a jiffy using the below list:
Cool coloring
If you have cool coloring, you'll have several of the following physical traits:
Eye color:
-
Deep brown
- Black-brown
- Gray blue
- Dark blue
- Hazel with gray, white, or blue flecks
Natural hair color:
- Black
- Deep coffee brown
- Medium ash brown
- Dishwater blonde
- Salt and pepper
- White
Skin tone:
- Ivory
- True olive
- Peach or blue undertones
- Medium with golden undertones
- Pale with golden undertones
-
When you go out in the sun, you burn, rather than tan
- The veins on your inner wrist are blue, rather than green
Colors of clothes that you look best in:
- Blacks
- Whites
- Silvers
- Blues
- Violets
- Emerald greens
- Jewel tones
-
Pastel colors
Warm coloring
If you have warm coloring, you'll have several of the following physical traits:
Eye color:
-
Golden brown
- Green
- Green-blue
- Hazel with gold or brown flecks
Natural hair color:
- Golden brown
- Red-brown
- Medium golden brown
- Auburn
- Red
- Strawberry blond
- Golden blonde
- Gray with a yellow cast
Skin tone:
- Yellow undertones
- Peach undertones
- Golden undertones
- Olive undertones
- Ruddy
- Freckled
- When you tan, you turn golden brown
- The veins on your inner wrist are green, rather than blue
Colors of clothes that you look best in:
- Browns
- Off-whites
- Oranges
- Bronzes
- Golds
- Peaches
- Brick reds
- Earthy greens
Neutral coloring
If you have neutral coloring, you'll have several of the following physical traits:
Eye color:
Any of the warm or cool eye color traits.
Natural hair color:
Any of the warm or cool hair color traits.
Skin tone:
- Mix of red, pink, yellow, and peach undertones (for example, the surface of your skin might look ruddy, but the undertones are yellow)
- Your skin tone is more ashen, gray, or olive
- When exposed to the sun, your skin both burns and tans.
- Your veins look greenish-blue
Colors of clothes that you look best in:
- You can wear just about any color, and look pretty good in it.
- You look equally good in gold and silver jewelry.
Keep in mind that your coloring is on a spectrum. You can have coloring that's:
- Very warm
- Pretty warm, but also somewhat neutral
-
Mostly neutral, if slightly on the warm side
- A true neutral
- Mostly neutral, if a smidge on the cool side
- Cool, if a bit neutral
- Very cool
So now that you've established what kind of coloring you have, let's get to the good part.
Cool coloring
Colors that flatter people with cool coloring:
- Blacks
- Cool ash browns
- Cool blondes
- Whites
-
Burgundies
- Unnatural colors like blue, orchid, fusias and purple ombre hairstyles
Colors that are less flattering to people with cool coloring:
- Gold
- Yellow
- Red
- Bronze tones
Warm coloring
Colors that flatter people with warm tones:
- Deep chocolate
- Rich golden browns
- Auburns
- Warm gold and red high lights
- Golden blond shades
- Natural looking coral, oranges and reds
Colors that are less flattering to people with warm tones:
- Jet black
- Blue
Violet
- White
Neutral coloring
Colors that flatter people with neutral coloring:
Basically everything!
Colors that are less flattering to people with neutral coloring:
There really aren't that many of them.
Wanna learn even more about haircare? Here's what you should check out next:
What Does Chlorine Do To Your Hair?
Spoiler: It's not good for it.
Does Hair Color Expire?
Pssst -- if you think your hair color has expired, you should go ahead and ditch it.
Hair Botox 101
The heck is "blotox" anyway?
How To Sleep With Curly Hair
Sleep easy with your curls secured.
Ouidad Cut 101
Is this the right curl-cut for you?
