As far back as I remember, the ultimate compliment for anyone who colors their hair is the question; does she or doesn’t she?

For those who opt for a simple hair color enhancement and want to try and avoid the spotlight, subtlety is the most coveted outcome.

Sadly though, many find themselves looking flat or fake after trying even the most cautious approach.

Natural or Intentional?

Initially when I would consult with a client, I would ask; do you want it ‘natural’ or ‘intentional?’

By natural, I meant that you can do slight alterations to your color in a professional and intentional manner and still be understated yet appreciated. Think about it; what is natural hair color?

Natural can be gray, ashy, drab, mousy, and flat. Natural according to the magazines can be a lot different than reality, heck, that’s the reason we pay to have our hair colored! So if you’re going to invest in the process, at least receive the payoff with a color that looks great, however subtle it is.

How to achieve a natural looking hair color

The best way to do achieve a natural looking color is to stay within one (two tops) level of your natural hair color. This means that if you are a medium blonde, look for a product in a medium blonde shade.

From here you can take your ‘dishwater’ blonde and tweak it to a rich caramel, or add a hint of strawberry, or maybe cool down the brass without locking in your formula for future alterations.

To find your natural level, check out our guide to hair color shades

Many times you will find hair color swatches available for comparison in the hair dye aisles, which is better than holding the box up to your bangs. Check out our hair color charts page to see the current shades available from the major brands.

Select the right product

When trying to achieve a natural color, firstly I recommend using a low ammonia/peroxide color which are usually called ‘semi’ or ‘demi-permanent’ hair colors. They claim that they come out in a few shampoos, but I say to expect a bit longer if you add a pigment that is different from your own. This means if you are a medium brown, but you add a hint of chestnut, you may still see some of the red tones beyond the twelve shampoo mark.

Since these products do contain some developer (peroxide), you may also notice that the hair dulls over time. This is because a newly applied color adds shine to the hair, which is easy to get used to, but after the color is shampooed out all that is left is the treated hair with little or no tonal value. These semi-permanent products do allow a bit more frequency though so you can refresh your color more often.

Express Color

Another trick of the trade is express color, or ‘soap capping’ as it was called back in the day. Nowadays, some stylists will simply ‘bump up’ your natural color by mixing a natural tone formula with a bit of shampoo or conditioner, and lather it through the hair for a few minutes. Usually five to ten minutes will do the trick.

This will top up the natural base slightly, warm it up a touch, and deposit a little color. It is subtle but a great way to try on color for the first timer. Simply wet down your hair, towel dry, and mix up a small amount of the color of choice (usually about one half the formula) and add a few healthy pumps of shampoo. Mix and lather through and thoroughly saturate your hair. Process, and then rinse well and shampoo out the remainder.

This will give you a taste of a color, which you can always choose to make more permanent later. This is also useful to refresh your current color or to add tone to faded ends.

Preserving your natural hair color

One of the key ways to preserve natural color, whether it comes from Mother Nature or from a bottle is to respect your hair fabric as just that – a fine fabric.

Selecting good products such as color friendly shampoos and other reputable hair care products will extend the life of your hair and its color.

Also hot tools such as blow dryers and flat irons will split, dry, and compromise your fabric and reduce its ability to shine, which is a detriment to any color – natural or otherwise. Using silicone or glycerin based styling serums for shine can help repair some of the damage your styling tools deplete.

Conditioners are not only for comb-ability but also help maintain a moisture balance which is what locks the color molecules into the hair as well as seal the cuticle which keeps the color from escaping as quickly. There are many to choose from and if weighing your hair down is a concern, look for leave-in types which are often very light in weight.

Enjoy your natural shade!

Color does not have to be dramatic to be beautiful, and there is elegance through simplicity. Just remember to stay ‘close to home’ as far as your natural color level goes and it will not be hard to find your way back if necessary.

Remember to take care of your hair as it is truly your most valuable accessory, think about it, you wear it with every outfit!

Standing in a pile of tear soaked tissues, the image of yourself staring back at you in the mirror strongly indicates something went wrong with your hair color.

As you are now venturing into uncharted waters, taking the wrong measure of correction can sometimes exacerbate the issue or damage the hair.

Tread carefully my friends!

Where to start when your hair color has gone wrong

Often the biggest problem with a color gone awry is a level issue (too light or too dark) or a tonal issue (too warm or too ‘muddy’.) Check out our guide to hair color shades to make sure you are going for the right level and tone for you.

If it’s not that simple and you have done the damage yourself, it might just be you and the toll free number on the box as the recovery team, please think about this before you proceed.

This is likened to calling a medical hotline and stating, “I feel like I am dying and need to give myself surgery right now; should I use my soup ladle or butter knife?”

I really, really do not advise doing anything by yourself in your bathroom at this point. If it is a touch too dark, and I mean miniscule, you can sometimes wash, re-wash, and re-wash again with a low-quality shampoo to cause it to fade, but it is still often uneven and ineffective.

When it comes to neutralizing colors, stripping, or lightening, remember it was either your lack of skill or a bad product that got you here in the first place. Seek a professional stat!

What NOT to do…

Next; never, ever (and I mean ever) try to strip out your own hair color! I don’t care how easy it says it is on the box, even we professionals seek counsel with the clergy of our faith before attempting this.

‘From the box’ hair color removal kits are mostly in the form of a fast-acting bleach, and do not have a stopping point. If unattended it will continue stripping color, then cuticle, then the substructure, and then “poof”–your head is adorned with bubble gum (actually it used to be hair, it just now resembles bubble gum.) Please, please please; leave this to the pros!

What will the professionals do?

Hair color removal in the hands of a well-skilled and well-supplied artist can often be a quick and simple remedy.

It requires a trained and forensic evaluation of what went wrong and where, the porosity, the remaining and underlying pigments, potential for damage, and how much neutralization is needed. This falls somewhere between art and science.

There are so many factors that I find it hard to offer any specific recourse as it comes down to a, “How bad are we talking?” scenario.

By seeking a professional you may minimize your recovery cost from that of a mortgage payment to simply a salon service. I don’t want to be repetitive, but to bring the point home, leave this to the pros!

Check out our guide on how to get the best from your Salon Colorist.

Don’t try this at home!

You will notice that I did not (and will not) offer advice on how to tackle this in your own bathroom. Integrity steers me from doing so. It is simply time to resign yourself and surrender that a Hair Colorist may be your only savior.

It is okay. You sometimes have to go beyond the pharmacy counter and seek a doctor when your health gets challenging.

This is another case where admission of powerlessness or lack of resources is actually empowering. And for those who do not heed my advice and try to go it alone, I promise to write an article on proper hat and scarf selection.

Before I start with any sort of professional perspective, I will say this: when it comes to artistic expression there are no rules. I find that matching your skin tone and hair color can take on an intuitive guidance solely because it feels right.

Of course there are things to consider, but don’t dismiss your own gut instinct (as well as the opinion of your closest girlfriends!) Hair color sometimes works simply because it works.

Selecting a hair color that will match your skin tone

Quick Selection Guide

Fair Complexion

There are many shades that look great if you have a fair complexion. Dark espresso browns with a cooler base can really flatter, as well as your warm reds. Fair skin will also look great with medium cool blondes and Nordic or champagne highlights. This complexion really does have a wide range of possibilities.

The main difficulties with pale skin occur when you stray too far into the extremes. If your hair is too dark or black, you may look gothic and menacing without the proper complement of make-up and fashion (unless, that’s the look you are going for!) If your hair is too light or platinum blonde, you can have a tendency to look washed-out (again, it can be ‘make-up to the rescue’ in this scenario).

Pink Complexion

Those with red or pink tones in their skin may want to stay away from the cooler red shades, as they can leave you looking flushed (and in extreme cases you can even end up looking like a human raspberry!).

This skin tone can benefit by sticking in the neutral ranges, but if you are feeling more daring go for a slightly brighter blonde and add a few highlights.

Tanned Complexion

Although tanned skin can look great; if you have yellow or gold tones in your skin you may want to avoid colors that have strong gold bases. These colors pull out the gold tones in your skin, which isn’t always flattering. Either add a touch of a copper to offset and complement your skin tone, or stick to a neutral shade.

Those with a more olive complexion can pull off the cooler reds and burgundies, and also seem to be flattered by darker shades and highlights of a “coffee-with-cream” or subtle caramel tone.

Dark Complexion

Those with dark complexions often have a hair fabric that has a tenacious adversary when it comes to lightening. It’s difficult to get through the brassy gold stages into the blonde shades without compromising the hairs integrity.

Lighter latte shades (that still have some depth) can flatter and colors with a flaxen golden hue bring out warmth in the skin. Reds in the darker levels can also add a richness to the skin, but trying to get the lighter reds require more chemicals and processes which will increase the fadage that reds have a tendency to bring.

Using make-up to match your skin tone to your new hair color

The one aid that the ladies have that may not work for the men is that once a new color is selected, a new palette of make-up can compensate for the tonal differences in the skin.

With any deviation from your natural color, or from a color you have worn for some time, you may want to make sure that you go straight from the salon to the make-up counter to address this issue. Remember that it’s not just the alluring eye shades that may need to be upgraded, but also your foundation! Gentlemen – you can grab a tube of self-tanner and hide it behind your mouthwash. No one will be the wiser.

Other things to consider…

As with any hair color change, doing your homework is essential for a striking outcome. Take the time to clip and save pictures of colors that you have in your sights. Ask your friends and loved ones as well as asking a professional and take all this information into consideration.

Also remember that makeup can give you the skin tone that nature didn’t. So hold back a few extra dollars for some new cosmetics after your color excursion. It is also a great excuse to go shopping for new clothes as well!

Congratulations, you have made the big decision to change your hair color – that’s the hard work done, right?

Wrong. Now the job of selecting a shade begins. And let’s face it, if it was as simple as choosing between blonde, brunette, black and red, there wouldn’t be a need for HairColorCode.com!

When it comes to shades there are literally hundreds if not thousands of possibilities so it is wise to start by narrowing down your options.

Get started by finding your level

To kick things off, let’s start by selecting your level. This is how light or dark you want to go, and obviously a strong determination of whether you become a brunette or a blonde. Level 1 is the darkest and Level 10 is the lightest (however some cosmetic brands go up to Level 12).

As a general guide, Level 1 is black (reserved for the Goth kids) and Level 2 is typically the color found is most Asian/Indonesian hair. Levels 8 through 10 are the very lightest blonde (but remember to allow room for margin as every brand is slightly different). We are not concerned with tonality or shade here, just the lightness or darkness of your color.

Next step, pick your perfect tone

Ok, so you have chosen your level, the next step is to select your tone. This is how you tailor your color to your complexion and your wardrobe.

When it comes to tones you will have three options, cool, neutral or warm. Let’s say for example you have selected Level 4. You now have the choice of Level 4 cool, Level 4 neutral or Level 4 warm. Each of these categories will contain two or three specific shades so you can find the one that is exactly right for you.

The three options when it comes to tone:

So how do you decide if you are cool, neutral or warm?

One of the best indicators of your perfect tone is your skin complexion and eye color

Check out this article on selecting a color for your skin tone.

An understanding of tones is invaluable when it comes to color correction, for example if your neutral shade becomes ‘brassy’ you can select a shade with cool tones at the same level to balance it out.

There are some tonal selections which might initially seem confusing, for example ‘cool reds’ such as burgundy and merlot shades, these are called secondary pigments and are another means of subtly changing your color.

And Now it’s time to pick your next hair color shade!

Once you have decided on a level, and either a cool, neutral or warm tone, you will have narrowed down your options to two or three shades. Which one you go for is entirely up to you, but hopefully if you have followed these steps the choice should be a little less daunting!

If you’re ready to pick your new shade, check out our Hair Color Chart

Color does not have to be tricky, but a little research will help you to make the best choices. Whether you are coloring your hair at home, or starting negotiations with a professional, an understanding of levels, tones and shades will help you predict the end result prior to placing the product on your precious locks.