How To Choose The Perfect Hair Color For Your Complexion and Skin Tone.

Have you ever wondered why one hair color looks great on one person and terrible on another? When it comes to hair color, one size does not fit all. When choosing the perfect color for our hair we should start by determining our skin complexion (undertone). But what does this mean exactly? In this post I delve into details about how to choose the perfect hair color for your complexion and skin tone.

It is important to differentiate between skin tone and complexion. Skin tone is determined by how much melanin (pigment) our skin contains. Higher melanin content means darker skin, and lower melanin content means lighter skin. This can be affected by sun damage, causing our skin tone to change throughout the year. Skin complexion is the undertone of our skin and never changes regardless of how much sun we get. Skin complexion is usually either warm, cool or neutral.

Please note: there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to hair. The only thing that matters is that you feel beautiful, so whatever it is that makes you feel beautiful is precisely what you should do. This advice is for those who are unsure about what they would like to do with their hair and are looking for some direction.

How to determine skin complexion (undertone)

There are a few key ways to determine our skin complexion:

• Look at the color of your veins in the light. Blue or purple mean cool tone, green means warm tone and a mix of both means neutral.
• If your skin tans easily it usually indicates a warm tone.
• What jewelry looks best on your skin? Gold jewelry usually looks better on warm tones, whereas silver usually looks better on cool tones.
• Put on a white shirt or hold a white paper up to your chest and neck in an area with natural light. Notice what tones your skin reflects. More pinks and blues mean cool skin, where olive, yellow, golden and peach mean warm skin. If you see a combination of these you most likely have neutral skin.

Skin undertones and what compliments them

Warm skin

Beyoncé and Blake Lively have warm skin

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Recommended:

• Warm hair tones are perfect for warm skin
• gold, copper and chocolate undertones work beautifully

Avoid:

• Avoid cool tones such as mushroom browns
• Ashy blondes should be avoided
• Green or blue undertones

Cool skin

Liv Tyler and Lucy Liu have cool skin

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Recommended:

• Cool hair tones compliment cool skin
• For blondes, aim for ash and platinum blonde
• Blue or green undertones work, for instance mushroom/ ash browns or blue black

Avoid

• Coppers and reds can be harsh on cool skin
• Warm blonde can make cool skin (especially cool, pale skin) look washed out

Neutral skin

Jennifer Aniston and Selena Gomez have neutral skin tones (both warm and cool undertones)

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Recommended:

• Neutral skin tone generally works with most hair colors, though often there is a more dominant warm or cool tone in which case the above would apply (cooler tones for predominantly cool skin and warmer tones for predominantly warm skin)
• Yellow undertones work well with warmer colors, pink undertones work well with cool shades
• Gold flecks in eyes generally mean warm tones work better, grey means cool

Avoid:

• Avoid colors that clash with the predominant undertones

How to avoid looking washed out

It is important to pay attention to the tone (how much melanin your skin contains, ie: how light or dark) of your skin when selecting a hair color. You want to choose a shade that is at least two shades lighter or darker than your skin tone. If your hair color matches your skin tone it is likely to make you appear washed out or ‘tired’.

Other things to consider when choosing your perfect hair color

Now that we have a better understanding about what suits our skin tone, we can look at the choice more holistically. There are a few important factors to consider before changing your hair color:

• Are your hair goals realistic in terms of your natural base color and hair health?
• Do you have a good idea of the maintenance required for your new hairstyle and are you willing to commit to regular upkeep?
• Have you thought about the perfect haircut to go with your new color?
• When it comes to hair color, in general, the more natural it is, the lower maintenance. If you venture more than three shades either lighter or darker than your natural base color it is important to understand that a higher maintenance regime will be required.

Conclusion

Color is very intuitive, so if you feel there is something just not right about your current hair color, it could mean that the subtle undertones are clashing with your skin complexion. Your hairstylist will be able to advise you on what works best for your undertones, but in the end of the day the only thing that really matters is that you feel beautiful, inside and out.

Remember to pin this to your boards so you can come back to it later!