With the start of a new year, a lot of people decide to take the plunge and completely change up their hairstyles. A new style and a splash of color can make a world of difference. If you’re considering a new look here are some steps to help guide you along the way.
THE NEW STYLE
Pick a style based on your face shape. It’s a fact that certain hairstyles look better on certain face shapes so it’s definitely worth taking into consideration.
- Heart Shaped Face – This shape looks great with medium and long length hair. When thinking of ways to style it, think sweeping fringes and tousled curls to fully accentuate the shape. Remember you can make your hair longer with hair extensions!
- Oval Face – If you’re going for a short style, it’s best to opt for a blunt cut or strong lob. Medium and long hair also work with this face shape, while soft, vintage curls really finish the look.
- Round Face – If you’re set on having short hair, don’t do it by halves. A pixie cut will look super smart and will help in adding length to your face.
- Square Face – A fringe in some shape or form really suits this face shape, either sweeping across the cheekbones or incorporated in soft layers.
THE NEW COLOR
You should always consult with your stylist before the final decision on color, but it’s good to have an idea of what you want before you go in for your appointment. While old beauty rules don’t apply and you can make your hair any color you want, we recommend picking a color that compliments your skin tone. You can still do any color you want, it’s just about finding the right shade of that color that best matches your skins undertones.
How to Figure Out Your Undertones
First, wash your face, it needs to be completely free of makeup. Any makeup residue could alter your skins natural color. Then pick a room with a large window or other sources of natural light. While looking in a mirror, hold a shirt in a bright shade of green or blue against your face, then take it down and hold up a different shirt in a shade of red or yellow. If you think your skin looks better against the blue shirt, you likely have cool-toned skin. If it looks better against the red shirt, you have warm-toned skin.
If you’re still unsure then you can do a vein test. Flip your wrist over and look at your veins. If they appear greenish then you have warmer undertones. If you see blue or purple then your skin tone is cooler. If your veins look like a mix of blue and green or you think the purple shirt looks just as good as the orange shirt then you most likely have neutral undertones. Neutral undertones are the most flexible with colors. Once you’ve nailed down your undertones the color picking fun begins.
Warm Skin Tones
Warm skin tones tend to shine when paired with a warm hair color as well. If you’re looking to go lighter then try a blush-y, pinky blonde. Golden beige and buttery blondes are two of the best shades for someone with warm undertones.
If you are looking to go brunette you should lean towards shades like caramel, butterscotch, or clove. Reds are basically the same concept try sticking to golden copper hues.
If you want to experiment with highlights or ombres and you have warm-toned skin try making those lighter pieces blush-y blonde but not too golden.
To try out rainbow colors, the same guidelines apply: warm shades like coral, rose gold, apricot, and yellow would be good choices. If you want to try blues and greens, try placing them toward the back of your hair, keeping warmer colors towards the front.
Cool Skin Tones
Look for cool hair colors to complement cool undertones. Platinum, beige blonde, and baby taupe blonde are great choices for cool skin. These guidelines work for highlights too, and purple shampoos will be your best friend as a cool blonde.
Some brunette shades recommend for cool skin tones are dark chocolate and espresso. For red’s opt for shades like merlot, burgundy or subtle shades of mocha.
People with cool skin tones will find shades of blue, green, and purple easiest to pull off in the rainbow category, though you can always play around with cool reds and pinks too.
Neutral Skin Tones
The luckiest of the group, neutral skin tones can really do any type of blonde, from super cool platinum or pale beige blonde to a more golden blonde or amber blonde.
Angelina Jolie is a great example of a neutral brunette, with her mocha-colored strands. Redheads can run the spectrum from auburn or strawberry blonde to cabernet. And, of course, this means you’ll probably be happy with just about any type of rainbow effect as well.
TRY THE LOOK ON FIRST
There are some websites that have App’s that will allow you to upload a picture of yourself and try on different hairstyles and test out different colors like:
https://www.lorealprofessionnel.co.uk/style-my-hair-page
https://www.thehairstyler.com/virtual-hairstyler
