by Courtenay St. John (Connecticut/Massachusetts)
As a Color Analyst, I usually encourage clients to approximate their natural hair color as much as possible.
The color that you were born with is always in harmony with your skin tone, so the chance for unwanted oranges, overall ashy-ness, intense color blocks or other disjointed effects that distract the viewer from your beautiful face and eyes are avoided.
That said, many of us enjoy coloring our hair. Youth, in particular, love adding highlights and interesting effects to create drama and originality.
Choosing the Right Hair Color for Your Coloring
A Light Summer Hair Story
Mary is a Light Summer with naturally cool, medium brown hair.
Her delicate skin is enhanced by Light Summer’s pink and we are drawn in by her eyes.
Here, she is wearing minimal make-up – lipstick and blush.
Compare the above photo to Mary wearing black, which is excessively harsh for a Light season.
Her eyes become invisible and her teeth yellowed.
The lightness of her skin against the black hat and shirt almost looks like a defect, instead of the picture of innocent radiance that is her birthright.
Here, Mary has taken the plunge and colored her hair corn-yellow.
Unfortunately, this shade is not in the Light Summer palette.
Her skin looks overly pink.
Bright yellow hair + black does not equal beauty for a Light Summer!
Shadows are apparent under her eyes, and the eye-whites themselves are bloodshot.
Now, we’re talking!
Mary researched possible blondes that are in harmony with her Light Summer palette, and choose pink highlights that are coordinated, as well.
We are drawn-in, magnetized even, by her eyes.
Even though this is very obviously colored hair and her brows are much darker, the effect is as theatrical as Mary is, and a fun, playful experiment in color harmony!
