How to Pick Hair Color to Match Your Skin Tone

Hair color should complement, rather than match, your skin tone.

The right hair color can mean the difference between "blah" and fabulous. Although many pursue the latest color trends and fads or do their best to emulate celebrities, choosing the right hair color depends on analyzing your skin tone. A "cool" skin tone owns blue undertones. In seasonal color analysis, "winter" and "spring" represent cool tones. Warmer tones boast red, yellow or gold undertones. Seasonal color analysts classify those with warm undertones as "summer" or "autumn." Once you've identified your skin undertones, choosing the right hair color is a matter of formula.

Instructions

1. 

   White paper can help you discover your skin's undertones.

   Analyze your skin tone. According to stylist David Evangelista, in a "CBS Early Show" interview, the color of your veins is a good clue. If your veins appear to be blue under your skin, consider your undertones cool. If they take on a more greenish appearance, you likely have warm undertones.

   Generally speaking, states Evangelista, redheads, golden blonds and those with deep brown hair have warm-toned skin. If your mane is blue-black, you typically have cooler-toned skin. Another analysis method, ideal for the color-sensitive, is to place an white piece of paper next to your skin as you face a mirror surrounded by natural light. Look for blue or pink (cool) or red, yellow or gold (warm) undertones.

2. Choose a color complementary to your undertone. Cool skin, says Evangelista, looks best with hair color shades that are bluish-red, such as garnet or burgundy. Warmer skins should gravitate toward cinnamon, ginger and strawberry notes.

3. Examine color swatches. Before your colorist makes a move, be sure to corral every swatch in the recommended color family for testing. Hold it next to your face and consider whether it will translate well to your hair. When you have narrowed it down to two or three shades, place them next to each other, or view them at once on either side of your face. Consider carefully before making a final selection.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult with your colorist if you want to add highlights to your base color. In general, states Evangelista, honey and taupe highlights complement cool skins, while red and copper accents go well with warm skin tones.

References

• CBS News; The Early Show; The Right Hair Color Can Do Wonders; March 2006