There's no denying there’s a connection between skin tone and hair color. But even if you know it’s best to choose a new hair color for your skin tone, it helps to find out more about your natural features and how to accentuate them.
Skin tone refers to the natural color of the surface of your skin (as opposed to undertones, which we’ll get into next). It’s based on the amount of melanin your body produces: the more melanin, the darker the skin. Skin tones range on a scale from pale white (fair) to dark brown (deep).
Your skin undertone is the hue right below the surface. Often used interchangeably with skin tone, it helps determine which colors look better on you. Undertones are described as warm, neutral, or cool, and every combination of skin tone and undertone is possible. For example, very pale skin can be cool or warm, while dark skin can be neutral or cool, etc. Let’s figure out which undertone you have.
Your natural hair color is also determined by the amount of melanin in your body, so we are born with skin tone and hair color in the same range. When you want to dye your hair and choose the best hair color for skin tone, the rule of thumb is to match tones: warm skin tones look better in warm hair colors, neutral in neutral, and cool in cool.
Here are some examples:
- Ash, denim blue, and burgundy are ideal hair colors for cool skin tones.
- Gold, copper, and mahogany are great hair colors for warm skin tones.
Ever wonder what those numbers mean on a box of hair dye? A beauty industry standard, the level system is like a color guide for hair or hair shade chart. It helps pinpoint how dark or light your natural hair color is and predict how a new hair color will look. It ranges from Level 1 (black) to Level 10 (lightest blonde). Most dyes are assigned a two-digit number: the first represents how dark or light the shade is, and the second tells you how warm or cool the tone is.
Of course, you can color your hair whatever shade you like, but the results may not always come out looking the same as they do on the box. You'll get the best and most natural-looking results by staying within three shades up or down of your natural starting tone. Additionally, coloring hair darker rather than lighter is likely to result in less damage.
Before dyeing your hair, check out our article on hair color dos and don'ts. After you apply your new hair color, read up on how to care for your color-treated hair.
