Hair Coloring

Hair Coloring is an easy route to altering your look in an either subtle or dramatic way. Changing shades can even change your texture, making it even easier to style.

Choosing the Right Shade

The best styles look as natural as possible. Staying within a couple of shades is usually recommended, but with certain skin tones there are more options.

If you're looking to do something drastic, consulting your hairdresser is the best idea.

For example, if you want to go from brunette to blonde, stylists will say it's best that you ease your way in over a couple of months.

The most common way to decide what family of shades will look best on you, is to determine whether you are either "warm" or "cool" in pigment. These are some examples:

Warm Coloring

Hair Color

Honey Brown
Red
Auburn
Golden Gray
Strawberry Blonde

Skin Tone
Golden Brown
Pale Peach
Freckled

Eye Color
Mostly Green
Blue Yellow
Golden Brown

Cool Coloring

Hair Color

Black
Dirty Blonde
Ash
Salt and Pepper
White

Skin Tone
Dark Brown
Olive
Pale but Pink
Bronze

Eye Color
Mostly Dark Brown
Gray Blue
Dark Blue

Going Lighter

If you're going lighter, you're actually stripping the hair of its pigment. This is a very delicate process. That's the best time to make an appointment with an expert colorist.

Highlights can be a great way to brighten your look. Entire head coverage is more dramatic and results in more obvious roots, making it more high maintenance.

Going Darker

Coloring your hair at home is perfect for subtle changes, darker in nature. Semi-permanents are a great way to try a darker shade, and avoid having roots, because the color will rinse out by the time your hair grows out.

Permanents use stronger chemicals to penetrate the hair, but can result in damage if done improperly or your locks are overprocessed.

Related Article:
Choosing the right hair color

Return to Main Page:
Long Hair Care