We often see hair colour disasters on women where the streaks or the full colour of the dyed hair looks very unflattering with a certain complexion.

We do believe that every woman is free to choose and go as wild as she wants in her choice of hair colour but isn’t the ultimate goal to improve upon the looks? For this you need to determine your skin tone and then pick a shade that will work best for you.

With the large variety of shades to pick from, it can be a daunting task. But if you get it right, then you can be sure to bag multiple compliments. We highly recommend a consultation with your salon expert but if you don’t want to go those lengths, then follow the simple advice below:

Knowing your skin tone

The first step is to know what really is your skin colour and tone. To be sure follow these steps:

–          Wash and cleanse your face thoroughly to get all makeup off.

–          Find a well lit place which has a large window with plenty of natural light flowing in.

–          Do a colour test by holding a blue shirt against your skin and then a red one. If your face looks better in blue you have a cool tone, if it looks better in red you have a warm skin tone. If you are unsure get two of your friends to take a poll on what suits you better.

Finding the right hair colour:

Now here’s the enjoyable part- finding the right colour:

For warm skin tones:

If you have determined that you have a warm skin tone, you will need to choose a colour in a cool tone. Yes it may be surprising but this will compliment your skin. The cool colour shades have words such as ‘cool’ and ‘ash’ in them. They have a definite platinum silvery tone.

But if you like more traditional and closer to your south-Asian hair colour tone, go for a darker colour. Think fawn, really dark brownish-black, dark red, chestnut, amber or auburn. If you want to go for highlights, then go for a cooler colour to make sure it doesn’t look brassy against your face.

If you have a dark complexion, but you have figured out that it is a warm tone, then go for a shade which is definitely lighter than your complexion or much darker. It is very important to make sure that your hair doesn’t look almost the same as your skin colour because that will be a disaster!

For cool skin tones:

Your biggest priority should be that you don’t want to look washed out. Choose a warm colour to make you look alive. This is true for dark or fair skins both.

If you are a cool tone, then you must figure out how to balance it out. Look for shades that contain words in them such as ‘warm’ or ‘honey’. Think of a rich chocolaty shade.

If your heart desires blondeness and yet you know you have a cool skin tone, then go for blonde by avoiding the blonde shades which have too much silvery platinum in them. If you are a woman who likes to be funky and wants to experiment with fun colours you can do it not with blue but with pink. Just remember the trick is not to go for a cool shade and opt for a warmer one.

Whether you have a cool or a warm skin tone, also keep your complexion in mind. Fairer skin can carry lighter colours well. If you have a darker complexion, a blonde colour even if you pick the right blonde shade according to you skin tone, might not look flattering. The darker you are, the more rich and dark shades are the ones you can carry and will compliment you. Images: Shuuterstock.