Hair colour

One of the first questions women ask is “What colour should my hair be?” It's a good question, since many women who dye or frost their hair are doing it in the wrong shade. Women want to colour their hair for one of three reasons: to stay blonde, to cover gray, to give themselves a boost.

Nature usually does it right, and for many, doing nothing is best. But sometimes it is appropriate to colour hair, and the secret to success is knowing what colour to select. Hair colour is simple once you know your season. To look terrific, any dye colour, frosting, or highlighting should go with your colouring, not against it.

Summers and Winters, the cool seasons, should always strive for ash tones in their hair. Autumns and Springs, with their warm skin tones, will look best in golden or reddish tones.

Winter: Most Winters have brown to black hair. Their hair is beautiful on them just the way it is. A Winter should never frost her hair, nor should she bleach it blonde or add red. It can look striking if it is totally white, but achieving that look through the bottle is usually less than exciting because it looks artificial. Best to wait until it turns white all by itself. A Winter can use natural or black henna, but never red. If you are a Winter, do not let your hairdresser talk you into highlighting, painting, or frosting. Your hair is likely to turn red if stripped with peroxide, and frosting succeeds only in making you look old.

The Winter woman's only question is what to do when she begins to gray. Winter is the season most likely to gray prematurely, and often the gray comes in attractively, creating a salt-and-pepper look. If you keep your hair short and chic, salt-and-pepper can be stunning. Long, unstylish gray hair is dumpy. If your personality does not thrive in gray hair, by all means colour it, but insist on ash brown tones when covering gray. Your hairdresser (or you) should not mix ash brown with any colour that has the word "warm" in it. "Warm" means that red will appear. Mix instead with ash blonde for a lighter, softer colour. A Winter can also use a gray shampoo or one of the shampoo formulas that cover gray naturally. A little gray left in the hair serves to keep it soft in tone. Remember that as you age, your skin fades and it is wise to let your hair lighten also. The rare blonde Winter usually stays blonde and doesn’t need to do a thing. Winter, be happy with yourself as nature made you. Spend your money on diamonds and leave your hair alone.

Summer: Summer's hair, whether blonde or brunette, often has a grayish cast that is beautiful with her Summer palette. The dark brunette Summer, like the Winter, should let her hair be. But a Summer who was once blonde or whose brown hair is light can be blonde successfully since she has a blonde complexion. Frosting is an excellent way for the Summer woman to add life and blondeness to her hair. She should strive for soft ash tones, avoiding all flaxen, golden, honey, or red tones, including henna. Some ash tones turn greenish, so she might ask her hairdresser to use a “warm ash” as long as it doesn’t become too golden. The Summer often grays attractively and may wish to leave the gray for a naturally frosted look. If she wishes to cover it, she must use ash blonde or brown tones. A few Summers have a reddish cast to their hair due to the intense red pigments in their skin. (Summer men often have ash blonde hair and red beards!) These Summers can use a gray shampoo to tone down the red if they wish or leave the highlights as they are.

Some Summers need contrast but want to be blonde. Ash blonde comes in many degrees, so don’t forget the possibility of dark ash blonde for facial contrast, with pale ash streaks or frosting for “glamour.”

Autumn: The Autumn woman is the one who looks terrific in red highlights. An Autumn who was a blonde child and wishes to stay blonde should always use golden blonde tones. Ash blonde will make her pale and will not harmonize with her face and clothes. For the other Autumns, auburn, red, and warm brown tones are the best shades. They should avoid ash tones. Redheaded Autumns should never let their gray show until they are completely gray. As gray hair comes in on an Autumn, it tends to be yellow-gray—aging rather than chic. But once an Autumn’s hair has turned completely gray, its overall warm tones can be most attractive. An Autumn is wisest to stay away from frosting. The two-tone look is usually not as flattering on her as highlighting or a painted effect, which looks like natural colouring from the sun.

Spring: Many Springs have warm blonde or brown hair that has darkened to a golden shade and looks beautiful just the way it is. If a blonde Spring wants to stay blonde, she should use flaxen or golden blonde hair colouring, never ash. She also should stay away from frosting, though she can use the painted or highlighting effect. A Spring is the youthful type and should not use any hair colour that looks too sophisticated or appears gray. Her hair does not gray attractively, and she is wise to colour it during its “coming in” years. But once it is completely gray, or white, its warm colour is flattering. To cover gray, Spring can use auburn, golden brown, or golden blonde hair colouring. Some Springs are redheads and should keep that red hair forever. “Warm” is the word to look for on any bottle of dye.