Choosing a hair colour to compliment your skin tone

Your natural hair colour and skin colour are the same tone. Put simply, warm skin tones look best with warm hair colours and cool skin tones look best with cool hair colours.

February 8 2023

expert tips

getting started

Put simply, warm skin tones look best in warm colours and cool tones look best in cool colours. Sounds simple, right? Well kind of, once you’ve figured out your tone…. you could try a paper test, a window test, a blusher test (more info below!) – or you could just look at the veins in your wrist…

Insider tip
Blue veins indicate a cool undertone, while green veins indicate a warm undertone. See both? You're most likely a neutral.

The paper test

Look in a mirror and hold a piece of white paper up to your face. …

A warm tone	You’ll see a hint of yellow, blue-red or rose pink.
A cool tone	Your skin will look grey, blueish-red or yellow-green (olive).
A neutral tone	If you’re somewhere in the middle, you’ve got a neutral skin tone.

The window test

Stand near a window and using a mirror, look at the area directly beneath your eyes. Does the skin look purple-y, blue (cool tone) or more yellowish, green (warm tone)?

The blusher test....

Dust pink blusher onto one cheek and peach blusher on the other cheek. Apply it heavier than you typically would (don’t worry, you won’t be walking around like this!). Stand near a window and look into a mirror.

• Does the pink blusher pick up pink tones in your skin? You’re most likely a cool.
• If the peach blusher picks up golden tones in the skin, you’re a warm.

So, how does all this help me pick a hair colour?

Cool skin tones = cool hair colours	Shades of hair colour that will work well with your skin tone include “ash,” “platinum” and “champagne.”
Warm skin tones = warm hair colours	Look for names like “golden,” “bronze,” and “copper” on your hair colour box.

Now choose your colour.