Choosing the Best Hair Color For Your Skin Tone

By Ultimate Looks in Oct 9, 2018

What’s best hair color for my skin tone?

Red, brown, blonde, black, or gray?

Picking out a hair color is tough enough, before even because each of those colors has a vast range of hues.

And even after you’ve picked out a color and hue you like, can you really be 100% sure that the color will look good against your skin?

Answer: you can.

How?

By figuring out your true skin tone and learning which colors look best with that tone.

But, like blood types and drivers license numbers, most don’t know what our true skin tone is, let alone the hair colors that match it.

That’s why we put together this crash course in…

Figuring out your skin tone
Choosing the best hair color and shade for your skin tone
Feeling confident in the color you choose

Because understanding the tones in your skin, knowing your hair colors and shades, and flaunting it are the most important are the three keys to finding your best wig hair color ever.

Let’s get started.

What is my skin tone?

Before you start thinking about hair colors, you need to ID your true skin tone.

What do we mean?

We mean you need to figure what undertones your skin has.

There are three families of skin tones: warm, cool, and neutral.

Already know your skin tone? Move on to the next section.

Not sure what your skin tone is? Here are a couple of tips and tricks to help you figure it out.

#1 Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I the fairest of them all? ...or maybe I’m the most medium?

The first and best tool you can use to determine your skin tone is your bathroom mirror. Unless your bathroom doesn’t have a window, in which case a mirror in a room with natural lighting is your first and best tool.

To use your mirror to determine your skin tone, take off all of your makeup (we aren’t trying to figure out your foundation’s tone, friends). Then take a look at your beautiful face.

Do you have pink and olive undertones? That means you have cool-toned skin.

Does your face have yellow or gold undertones? You have warm toned skin.

Have a combination of pink, olive, yellow, and gold undertones? You have neutral skin.

Can’t see any undertones in your skin? Move on to trick two.

#2 Use the (celebrity) buddy system

Everyone wants to think they have a celebrity doppelganger. Not all of us do, but we all do have celebrity skin buddies.

If you aren’t sure what your skin tone is, find a Cosmo and flip through the celebrity sections. See someone with skin that looks like yours? That’s your celebrity skin match.

Google the name of that celebrity followed by the words “skin tone.” Chances are the internet will provide some information for you on that person’s skin tone.

But if you google your celebrity look-a-like’s name and skin tone and Google doth not provideth, get thee to trick number three.

#3 Check your pulse

Look at your wrist.

You probably see a variety of reds, pinks, greens, blues, and yellows. You also see veins, which are an excellent indicator of skin tone.

If your veins are blue or purple, you have cool-toned skin.

Got green veins? Your skin is warm toned.

Have bluish, greenish veins and still aren’t sure what your skin tone is? We’ve got one last trick up our sleeves.

#4 Eye your eyes

The pigment of our eyes often reflects our skin tone.

If you have gold or amber specks in your eyes, that indicates that you have a warm skin tone. If you have lots of blues, greens, or grays in your eyes, you have a cool skin tone.

Still not sure? Ask a friend. Someone else might see something you don’t!

I know my skin tone. What hair color will look best on me?

As a general rule of thumb, the key to finding a hair color that flatters you is to pick one that has opposite undertones from your skin.

Confused? We’ll explain.

If you pick a hair color with the same undertones as your skin, your face will look washed out and one note. That’s why women with warm undertones look good with cool toned hair colors, like ashy browns or platinum blondes, and women with cool undertones look good with rich, warm hair colors, like coppery reds or mocha browns.

Women with neutral skin, congrats! You’re one of the lucky few who will look good with any hair color.

But, as with any rule, there are exceptions.

Consult the list below before settling on a color.

The Best Hair Colors for Each Skin Tone

Hair Color: Cool Blonde

Shades: Champagne, Platinum, Beige, Ice, Ash, Silver

Skin tone match: Warm, neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Karlie Kloss

Best wig for the color: Radiant Beauty by Gabor

Who should wear it: Cooler blonde colors look best on porcelain-doll skinned women with red undertones because the icy color neutralizes any redness in the face. Especially if you have cool blue, green, or gray eyes, ashy blonde colors work well because they neutralize redness and bring out your eyes.

Champagne, beige, and platinum colors also look great on women with medium toned skin. Think Julianne Hough and January Jones.

Hair Color: Warm Blonde

Shades: Caramel, Honey, Strawberry Blonde, Gold, Copper

Skin tone match: Cool, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Blake Lively

Best wig for the color: Sleek & Chic by Hairdo

Who should wear it: Women with fair skin and cool undertones look great with warm hair colors like strawberry blonde, copper, honey, and gold. These colors also work for women with olive skin, who can look washed out in ashier hues.

For women with deep skin and cool undertones, take a cue from Beyonce and Tyra Banks and pick a caramel or honey blonde for a lighter look. Add in some darkness at the roots adds overall tone and dimension.

If you have very warm skin, avoid warm toned hair at all costs. Otherwise, you risk looking like a number two pencil.

Hair Color: Cool Red

Shades: True Red, Bluish Red, Burgundy, Dark Red Auburn

Skin tone match: Warm, Cool, and Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Christina Hendricks

Best wig for the color: Editor’s Pick by Raquel Welch

Who should wear it: It sounds counterintuitive, but cool reds are actually an extremely flattering color for women with warm or cool undertones. That’s because the ashy red balances out the yellows in warm skin tones and takes down the reds in cool skin tones.

A word of caution: women with olive skin tones should avoid red hues, as they can make their skin look green in contrast.

Hair Color: Warm Red

Shades: Russet, Strawberry Blonde, Rust, Copper, Amber

Skin tone match: Cool, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Rose Leslie

Best wig for the color: Laine by Rene of Paris

Who should wear it: Strawberry blonde looks wonderful on women with fair, cool or neutral skin tones. A light, warm red counteracts the cool tones in pale skin. To really create a stunning look, make sure you pick a wig should have a mix of warm and cool tones for a creamy, coppery sheen.

If you have deep skin, avoid copper, amber, russet, strawberry blonde, and rust colors because they will turn your skin puce. Instead, choose a red with some brown undertones that mirror your skin.

For people with cool skin tones and green eyes, extremely red warm colors work particularly well (think Julianne Moore or Emma Stone).

Hair Color: Cool Brown

Shades: Mocha, Dark Auburn, Dark Chocolate, Chestnut

Skin tone match: Warm, Cool, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Meghan Markle

Best wig for the color: Stepping Out by Gabor

Who should wear it: Good news, Duchess of Sussex stans, cool brown hair colors flatter everyone. Cool brown is the universal neutral of hair and goes with every skin tone.

On warm-toned skin, cool browns look especially great because they make the yellow tones in your skin look milky and creamier (buh bye, orange skin). For women with deep skin, transitioning from solid black to a deep, brown mocha has a wonderful softening effect.

If you have cool skin with hazel or blue eyes, go for an ashy brown color. The ashy undertones will balance out the pinks and reds in cool, fair skin.

Hair Color: Warm Brown

Shades: Cinnamon, Caramel, Mahogany, Honey, Amber, Golden Brown

Skin tone match: Cool, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Olivia Palermo

Best wig for the color: Ocean by Estetica

Who should wear it: Women with cool toned medium skin take note: wearing a warm brown shade that contrasts with your skin color is the perfect remedy for a washed out complexion. Caramel browns pair well with olive toned skin, especially if the roots of the wig are dark.

Have pale skin with cool tones and don’t want to go full on blonde or full-on dark black? Pick an amber or honey color. It will warm up your face without making you look ghostly.

Hair Color: Cool Black

Shades: Licorice, True Black, Blue-Black, Espresso

Skin tone match: Warm, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Kendall Jenner

Best wig for the color: Abbey by Envy

Who should wear it: When most people hear the words “black hair” they assume that all black hair is the same one-note color. Not true. There are many shades and tones of black hair.

For those with fair skin, cool blacks look a little extreme, so you’re better off taking things down a notch to a cool brown. If, however, you have medium or dark cool toned skin, a cool black tone can make your face pop.

Black is a dramatic hair color, and it’s definitely a statement, so if you’re currently rocking blonde hair, try a dark brown color before going all the way to black.

Hair Color: Warm Black

Shades: Brown-black, Dark Mocha

Skin tone match: Cool, Warm, Neutral

Celebrity look-a-like: Selena Gomez

Best wig for the color: Rachel by Jon Renau

Who should wear it: Chocolatey tones are a great way to warm up black hair colors. For those with fair skin who really want to go dark, adding chocolatey tones brings warmth to a look that could otherwise be washed out.

For those with medium or deep skin, brown-black styles add balance to your face, giving you a gorgeous brown-black glow.

Hair Color: Any!

Shades: All!

Skin tone match: All!

Celebrity look-a-like: Everyone!

Best wig for the color: All 👏 the 👏 wigs 👏

Who should wear it: Skin tones, eye colors, and hair tones aside, if you don’t feel confident in your wig, it’s not going to look good.

So if you have cool skin and want to rock a cool red hairstyle, do it! Confidence is what really makes us look good, so go with your gut and pick a color you’ll love every day (or a few colors you love to switch it up).

For more hair color advice, read our posts on 7 Signs You’re Ready to Go Gray and Choosing a Wig Color.