Hair Color Quiz: What Color Looks Best on Me?
Seven questions on your undertone, your natural depth and how often you will really sit in a salon chair. You get a shade family, the words to say to your colorist, and the upkeep before you commit.
The hair color that looks best on you is not the one trending this month. It is the one that agrees with your skin undertone, sits close enough to your natural depth to grow out well, and fits the number of salon visits you are actually willing to book.
This quiz asks seven questions about all three. You get a shade family, the words to say at the salon, how often you will need a touch-up, and what to use at home to keep it.
The three things that decide your color
Your undertone. Warm skin suits gold, honey, copper and chocolate. Cool skin suits ash, beige, mushroom and espresso. This is the part that decides whether a color makes you look rested or washed out. If you are not sure, run the undertone finder first.
Your natural depth. Going more than three levels lighter than your natural color means bleach, and bleach means damage and upkeep. Staying within two levels keeps your hair healthy and the grow-out soft.
Your upkeep. Be honest here. Ash blonde needs a toner every four to six weeks. A caramel balayage can go four months. Picking a color you cannot maintain is how people end up with brassy roots and split ends by month three.
What to ask for at the salon
Stylists work in levels from 1 to 10. Level 1 is black, level 10 is the lightest blonde. Saying “I want to go two levels lighter with a cool toner” tells a colorist more than any photo, because it uses their language.
Bring a photo anyway, but bring two: one you love and one you hate. The second one saves more appointments than the first, because it shows the tone you do not want.
Ask these three questions before they start. How many levels are we lifting? Will this need bleach? What will it look like in eight weeks? If the answer to the last one is “you will need to come back in four,” you know the upkeep before you commit.
Colors that suit each undertone
Warm undertone. Golden blonde, honey, caramel, copper, auburn, chocolate and chestnut. These have gold or red underneath, which matches the gold in your skin.
Cool undertone. Ash blonde, beige blonde, mushroom brown, ash brown, espresso and soft black. No gold, no orange, no warmth.
Neutral undertone. Almost anything, as long as it is not at the extreme end. Pick by depth: light colors if your features are light, deep colors if they are deep.
Olive undertone. Warm brunette shades like chocolate and chestnut, and deep auburn. Very ashy tones can make olive skin look tired.
Four mistakes that cost money
Going blonde in one appointment. Dark hair usually needs two or three sessions to lift safely. A colorist who promises it in one is going to damage your hair.
Box dye before a salon visit. Box color deposits metallic salts that react badly with salon lightener. Tell your stylist if you have used it, even a year ago.
Choosing the color on a screen. Screens add brightness that hair does not have. Look at swatches in the salon window, in daylight.
Ignoring your hair’s condition. Porous, damaged hair grabs color and pulls darker or greener than the swatch. If your hair has been bleached, a strand test first will save you a long, expensive fix. Our porosity test tells you where you stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep going: check your undertone if you are unsure, see the balayage shades we like, and run the porosity test before any big lift.
