Choosing the right hair colour to suit your complexion is easier than you think. All you need is some basic understanding of what dye works best. Your hair and beauty stylist can also help in selecting the colour that suits your look. But to help you understand your options, here is a guide on how to select a suitable hair colour. 

Before picking a hair dye, you need to identify your complexion type. There are three kinds which are as follows - cool, warm, and neutral. If you’re uncertain about your skin tone, here are some tips that will help you find out: 

A skin with cool complexion has olive and pink undertones. Warm-complexioned people have gold and yellow undertones. Neutrals can have a combination of any of the four. 

People with blue and green specks in their eyes belong to the cool complexion group. The warm ones usually have gold specks. Take a good look at your wrist and examine the colours of your veins. If it’s blue or purple you are considered as cool complexion. But you are warm if your vein’s colour is green. 

The best colour that works for you is the opposite of your skin’s undertone. For example, if you have a cool complexion, choose a warm colour. But people with neutral complexion are lucky; both kinds work well with them. 

After learning all about these types of complexion, you are now ready to learn about the different colours suitable for you: 

Cool Blonde – This colour has several shades which include ash, beige, champagne, ice, platinum, and silver. The style works for people with porcelain complexion with red undertones. The icy shade can neutralise the red skin. People with grey or blue eyes will also look good in ash blond.  

Warm Blonde – This particular type has several shades such as amber, butterscotch, caramel, gold, and honey. The warm blonde look will suit people with fair complexion and cool undertones. If you have olive skin, a hair shade such as caramel blond can make you look and feel good.  

Red Hair for Cool Skins– There are several shades to choose from such as burgundy, dark auburn and true red. People with ruddy undertones can glow with a red hair colour look. If you have warm and peachy skin tones, consider colouring your mane red to make your complexion appear cool.  

Warm Red for Neutrals – You have several shades to pick from such as amber, blond, copper, russet, rust, and strawberry. If you have fair and neutral complexion, you should consider going with the strawberry blond look. Your pale skin’s cool undertone is counteracted by the light, warm red hair look.  

Cool Brown Look – This pretty hair colour has several shades like chestnut, dark auburn, dark chocolate, and mocha. Most women look good with brown hair. But it’s suitable for those with a warm complexion.  Those with yellow undertone skins appear creamy with brown hair. 

Warm Brown – There are several shades to choose from such as amber, caramel, cinnamon, golden brown, and honey. Medium skin complexion works best with warm brown hair. But you have to be a bit careful in choosing the appropriate shade for your skin tone.  For example, a light olive skin will look better with a caramel brown hair shade.    

Cool Black – The ebony hair does have some shades that include blue-black, liquorice, and true black. It’s a cool hair shade that only works well with warm and neutral complexion. The dark shade tends to present you with a porcelain complexion. 

Choosing the best hair colour that looks good on you largely depends on your skin colour. There three main complexion types are cool, warm, and neutral. Once you know what kind of complexion you have, you can then start picking a suitable hair colour. The important thing to remember is warm hair colour works well with cool skin tones and the reverse are true. People with neutral skin tones are lucky because they can look good on both warm and cool.    

Terry Shin is the director and owner of a top-notch Melbourne hair salon. He has been in the hairdressing industry for more than 10 years and has served thousands of satisfied customers.