No matter what ‘do you try each day, learning which hair colour suits your skin tone will leave your locks looking fresh, and your complexion glowing. How a person colours their hair says as much about themselves as their fashion choices, so it’s important that the shades we give our tresses suit our natural appearance and our individual tastes.
When choosing a hair colour, the warmth of your skin tone complements the warmth of your locks; honey or bronze highlights suit warmer skin tones, while cooler complexions often lean towards ashy shades. Don’t let this put you off experimenting with your hair colour, though!
As our experts are going to show you, so long as you use the right shades and colour gradients, your mane will complement your complexion no matter which colour of the rainbow you go for.
Find your closest salon, book your appointment and we’ll do the rest!
Skin tone vs. undertone
Most people can generally tell whether they’ve got a fair, medium or dark skin tone, but when it comes to finding the hair colours that are the most flattering for you, it can get complicated. There’s tone – the surface colour of the skin – and then there’s undertone.
Undertone is the subtle hue beneath the surface of your skin and this is the key to finding out your ideal colour palette (FYI, it also includes makeup, clothing and jewellery).
Whilst the surface colour of our skin can change, skin undertone never changes, even with a tan! So, it’s a much better way to determine which shades really suit your mane.
How to determine your skin undertone
There are three undertone colours: warm, cool, and neutral:
• If you’ve got warm undertones, your skin will appear peachy, yellow or golden
• Cool skin undertones have a blue, pink or red tinge
• Neutral skin undertones are usually balanced between blue and yellow, and are generally closer in appearance to the skin’s surface tone (neutral gals are lucky enough to suit a wide range of hues and shades)
It’s not always easy to decipher your skin undertone, so you’ll probably have to do a few things to work it out.
1 – Look at your veins
An easy way to determine your skin’s undertone is by checking the colour of the veins on the underside of your wrist (in natural light). If they appear blue or purple, it’s likely that you’ve got cool undertones, whilst greenish veins indicate a warm undertone.
If your veins aren’t that clear and seem to match the colour of your skin, then you’ve probably got a neutral undertone.
2 – Think about how your skin reacts to the sun
How does your skin fare after being in the sun? Do you easily burn, or do you tan? The answer can help you determine your skin’s undertone. But remember, you should always layer up the suncream, whether you burn or not!
If you turn pink or burn easily, it means you’ve got less melanin in your skin, which can point towards having a cool undertone. If you tan easily or rarely burn, you’re probably warm or neutral-toned.
3 – It’s all in the eyes
People with cool skin undertones tend to have blue, green, pale brown or grey eyes, and naturally blonde, brown or black hair with ash tones.
If you’ve got brown, amber or hazel eyes, and strawberry blonde, auburn, brown or black hair with red or gold tints, it’s likely that you’re warm-toned.
Those with neutral skin undertones typically have hair and eyes that are a mix between warm and cool; you might have blue-green eyes with hints of copper, or eyes that can appear slightly cooler or warmer depending on what you’re wearing.
4 – Which colour palette do you suit?
Different colours work on different people, and the main reason for this goes back to their skin undertone. If your go-to clothes are blue, purple, grey or white, then it’s likely your skin has a cool undertone. Earthy or autumnal colours like yellow, orange, red, olive green and cream or off-white look best on those with warm skin tones.
5 – Consider your jewellery collection
Whether it’s blingy or understated, your jewellery collection can give you an indication of your skin undertone.
Silver, platinum and rose-gold jewellery looks especially good against skin with cool undertones, whereas gold jewellery usually flatters warm undertones. If your jewellery collection is a mix of metals, then (you guessed it), you’re a neutral.
What colour should I dye my hair?
While your skin tone plays a part when it comes to finding the hair colour that suits you, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to your tresses. There aren’t any hair colours that you need to be wary of per se; instead, it’s about choosing the right shade that’s going to flatter your skin tone, accentuate your natural features, and give your ‘do a new lease of life.
Feeling inspired? One of the best ways to work out what hair colours will suit you the most is to use the ‘gram. Looking at people with the same skin tone as you will help you work out which hair colours best suit, as well as giving you inspo’ for your next style.
Blondes
If you’ve got fair skin with cool undertones, an icy platinum blonde, or a softer baby blonde, will flatter your porcelain complexion. Ash tones also work really well; you should avoid warmer blonde shades like copper, gold or caramel, since they can add a pink tinge to the skin (making you look more pink as a result).
Alternatively, if you’ve got fair skin with warm undertones, these warmer shades are going to help you get the glow.
For blondes who have a medium skin tone with cool undertones, sandy or beige blondes work especially well; similarly, those with warm undertones should go for a more natural look.
Basically, when it comes to medium complexions, brondes (or brownish-blondes) just wanna have fun.
If you’ve got dark skin with warm undertones, you should offset a soft honey blonde with dark roots; balayage or ombré hair colours are a great option. Ash blondes work better on dark skin with cool undertones
Brunettes
One of the most versatile hair colours, heading to the dark side is bound to look good on your locks. Natural brunettes who have fair skin with cool undertones can go anywhere between light and dark, though blue-based, taupe or neutral browns will work better than those with a reddish tint to them.
If you’re fair-skinned with warm undertones, go for a richer brunette.
If you’re a brunette that has a medium skin tone with cool undertones, go for a glossy, rich chocolate brown. Alternatively, a tone with a purplish tinge, or even a blue-black colour will offset your complexion.
Those with a warmer undertone should keep clear of brunette colours that have a bluish tint to them, but apart from that, anything goes; dark mahogany browns are especially flattering. If you want to go lighter, a honey almond colour works wonders on those with warm undertones.
Olive-skinned beauties are usually blessed with dark brunette tresses worth coveting, though when it comes to dyeing, those with olive skin can experiment with ashier shades of brown too.
Like olive-skinned ladies, those with dark skin and warm undertones are typically born with beautiful, brunette hair. Deep, cool complexions really suit inky black or blue-black shades. You can add depth to naturally dark hair with tonal highlights in bronzes and lighter browns.
Brunette hair colouring also includes one of 2023’s biggest trends: mushroom-brown hair. Thanks to the range of shades mushroom-brown hair includes, this hair colour suits cool tones and warm tones alike.
Reds
Flawless porcelain skin and naturally red hair often come as a pair. This more neutral shade is one that works best on fair skin with cool undertones (Mother Nature knows what she’s doing!), so if you’re looking to dye your hair red, you should veer towards a more natural-looking auburn colour.
It’s also quite typical for natural redheads with fair skin to have warm undertones. Think about Emma Stone; her copper red hair colour is the perfect example of how flattering this shade can be.
If you’ve got a medium skin tone with cool undertones, you should go for a purplish-blue red colour or burgundy tones; orange shades run the risk of washing you out. For those with warm undertones, the opposite is true; reds that have a slightly orange tint are going to look better than cool-toned reds on you.
If you have dark skin with warm undertones and fancy going red, take a tip from noughties-era Rihanna and opt for a bold, fire engine red, or keep things a little more understated with a soft coppery base. If you’re looking for the best shade for your cool undertones, you should go for a purplish-red; a beautiful blackberry shade perfectly offsets deep, cool complexions.
Non-natural colours
You didn’t think we’d neglect to mention unicorn hair colours, did you?! Nowadays, it’s all about non-natural hues; from pretty pastels to bold neon shades, technicolour hair is where it’s at. However, the skin tone/skin undertone rule still applies; the colour of your hair can lift your skin or leave it looking sallow – no matter how bright it may be.
Pastel pink shades are ideal for those with fair, cool complexions. If you’ve got warm undertones, pastel blue-hues will reveal your inner glow; think pastels like lavender, summery peach and baby blue to make a splash.
Vibrant jewel colours like fuchsia or magenta enhance the depth and natural glow of medium to dark skin tones (especially those with cool undertones). Compliment a medium skin tone that’s got warm undertones with jewel-hued blues and aqua colours; if you’re really into the idea of lighter non-natural colours, consider an ombré pastel hair colour with natural-looking roots.
Dark skin with cool undertones can really pull off colour-popping purples; vivid violets, bright purple-pinks and even slightly blue hues are perfect for making a statement. Those with warmer undertones will find deeper purples like plum and ruby more flattering, since they’ll enhance the natural radiance of your skin.
You should always think about the texture, weight, length and overall health of your hair, as well as its current (and natural) colour before reaching for the colourant. Book a consultation with your colourist to discuss your options before committing to a new colour.
To create a complete, unique style for your hair, you also need to consider the type you have; is it straight all the way down, or does it have curls? Our expert stylists have you covered.
