Best Hair Colors for Each Color Season

Hair frames your whole face, so changing its color changes how every other color you wear looks on you. A shade that suits your season can make your skin look clearer with less makeup. A shade that fights it can make your complexion look dull or red, no matter what you wear.

The most common mistake

Going too far from your natural depth. A very light person dyeing their hair jet black, or a very deep person going platinum, changes your contrast level dramatically. That can pull you out of your season entirely. As a general guide, staying within about two shades lighter or darker than your natural color keeps things harmonious.

Spring

• Flattering: golden blonde, honey, strawberry blonde, light copper and warm caramel highlights.
• Be careful with: ash blonde, cool platinum and blue-black.

Summer

• Flattering: ash blonde, beige blonde, soft mushroom brown and cool light brown.
• Be careful with: brassy gold, bright copper and very dark shades that add too much contrast.

Autumn

• Flattering: auburn, chestnut, deep copper, warm chocolate and golden brown.
• Be careful with: icy blonde, ash tones and flat blue-black.

Winter

• Flattering: espresso, blue-black, cool dark brown and deep burgundy. Silver grey also looks striking on many Winters.
• Be careful with: golden or brassy highlights and warm caramel balayage.

Grey and silver hair

Natural grey is usually cool-toned, which often shifts people toward Summer or Winter palettes over time. If you are growing out your grey, it can be worth retaking the quiz — the colors that suited you ten years ago may not be the best ones now.

Try before you commit

Before booking a salon appointment, try a semi-permanent gloss that fades in a few weeks, or hold a wig or hair swatch near your face in daylight. And bring your season palette from the quiz to your colorist — it gives them a clear starting point for warm versus cool tones.