I am asked often about hair colour and whether it affects the colours that suit you.
The simple answer, in my opinion, is that it can do. This can be a controversial view, as some colour analysts choose to cover your head in a scarf and then determine your colouring type based on your skin tone, eye colour and your ‘natural’ hair colour, (they’ll often ask what your hair colour was when you were a child).
Whilst your natural hair colour is something that I take into account, my biggest issue with relying soley on this is that we often dye our hair, or it changes naturally, both of which can change the colour that effectively frames your face. If this change is significant then I firmly believe that the colours that complement your look can also significantly change.
This is my good friend Beth, who naturally had dark blonde/mid-brown hair when she was younger and who has chosen varying hair colours from platinum blonde all the way through to dark cool plums and browns. Today she has added highlights to her naturally dark blonde colour to give her a soft, gentle look (far right).
The colours that have suited her over this time have definitely changed – she suited the Light+Cool colours when she had platinum blonde hair given the overall lightness in her look that the hair colour created (see first image below). When she decided to dye her hair a deep cool plum colour she added both depth and contrast, creating a highly contrasting look of pale skin & eyes against dark hair, and so the lighter cool colours looked too pale worn on their own. She instead looked fabulous in the Bright+Cool palette (see second image below).
She now looks lovely in the Smokey+Cool palette which has gentle mid-depth colours that complement her softer look.
To suggest that she should have stuck to the same palette throughout seems nonsensical to me. What do you think?
If you hair colour has changed significantly over time and you’d like to revisit your colours, simply book a one-hour Colour Review and we can check that your colours are still working for you.
Equally, if you would like any advice about which hair colour to choose before you take the plunge to dye it or decide to let your natural/grey hair come through, do get in contact. I can happily show you which hair colours to choose that will work with your undertone and natural features or the difference it might make if you decide to let your natural/grey hair come through. Just email me to book an appointment here: Hair Colour Help!