Style  

How To Know Which Hair Colour Complements Your Black Skin

By Chidirim Ndeche

08 August 2017   |   5:47 am

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We all have different skin tones. The melanin on our skin comes in different types and amounts. Knowing your particular skin tone is one step towards selecting the perfect hair colour for you. Choosing a hair colour can be very tricky, and it's important that you pick the right one. You don't want your hair…

Ebube Nwagbo. Photo: Koko TV

We all have different skin tones. The melanin on our skin comes in different types and amounts. Knowing your particular skin tone is one step towards selecting the perfect hair colour for you. Choosing a hair colour can be very tricky, and it’s important that you pick the right one. You don’t want your hair to leave your beautiful or handsome face looking dull or older. Don’t know how? Here’s how:

Find your skin tone
First of all, find your skin tone. There are two skin tones: warm and cool. Use natural light to check what colour your undertone is. Cool skin tones have blue veins or pink undertones. Warm skin tones have green veins and peach or gold undertones. It can be difficult for some to determine what colour their undertones are, but not to worry. What colour looks better on you: silver or gold? Gold looks better on warm skin tones and silver on cold skin tones. In the same way, black complements cool skin tones, while brown looks better on warm skin tones. Think about what color clothing looks best against your skin. Stand in front of a mirror and hold various coloured shirts near your face. A cool tone hair color is right good for you if you find shades of blue, green or purple are the most flattering. A warm tone hair color is your best choice if your skin looks good against shades of red, orange or yellow.

Find your complexion
Now that you’ve figured out what skin tone you are, move on to the next step: finding your skin complexion. Are you on the light or dark side? People with cool skin tones have two types of complexions: light and medium/dark. Same goes for those with warm skin tones. Light cools have beige skin and are very fair in complexion. The recommended hair colours for this complexion are lighter colours like light brown, platinum blond or white blond.

Find the hair colour for your skin tone
Choose a hair colour based on your skin tone. Black, ash blondes, ash browns and platinum blondes generally look good on cool skin tones. Golden brown, golden blonde and warm reds typically look good on warm skin tones.

Other tips for choosing hair colour for your skin tone

• Choose a hair colour that is the opposite of your skin. Warm skin tones look better with hair in cool colours, and vice versa.
  
• There are always exceptions to hair colouring rules. Some people are lucky and look good in both warm and cool hair colour shades. Try on a wig to see how the colour will look against your skin if you want to try a colour shade that is opposite of your skin tone.

• If you have a pale complexion, create contrast by choosing a natural-looking, red colour for your hair. Warm copper, cinnamon browns, and strawberry blond hair also do wonders in adding colour to pale skin tones. Avoid black or very dark hair colours if you are extremely pale; otherwise, you’ll end up looking paler and older than you really are. Browner skin complexions can wear any hair colour, from dark brown to reddish hair, and dark hair best complements your skin. Don’t use blond or too light hair though. You may have been born with black hair but you can dye your hair to a lighter shade of hair or use hair with honey-coloured, purple, blue or red highlights to your dark hair. If your complexion looks reddish, contrast that with light-brown hair with honey-coloured highlights, and avoid too bright hair.
  
• Only go one or two shades lighter or darker when putting highlights in your hair.
• The best time to dye your hair is before washing it because your hair has natural oils that will protect it from harmful ingredients contained in the product.
• Keep in mind that hair colour can darken or hide gray hairs only for a certain amount of time. The hair’s natural colour will eventually appear as new strands grow.
  
• Don’t be afraid to experiment in your desire to find the right hair colour that best suits your skin tone.

• Don’t fix a colour mistake by using another box of different hair colour. Wash the hair two to three consecutive times with clarifying shampoo. If the mistake is too big to handle, see a hair expert.
  
• It is definitely important to first determine your skin tone and complexion before you can choose the right hair colour to flatter your looks. Once you are able to find the perfect hair colour that matches your skin tone, you’ll be amazed at the great difference it makes in brightening your features and giving you that stunning appearance you’ve always wanted for yourself.

*All photos gotten from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.