First and foremost, the best & the right hair color is always as close to natural as possible. If you are trying to color grey, know that you will need to choose a hair color that is of a warm base color, (meaning that it has some red, as the base color). This does not, however, mean that you must be a red-head, in order to get rid of your grey. Simply that grey hair does not have any warmth, because grey hair is grey because of the lack of pigment, thus, no warmth. If you choose a color that is of an ash undertone, your grey hair will look green, or purple. This is also why you hear the term “blue haired ladies”, because they didn’t choose a color that had warmth in it. “Warm” in hair color, is referring to the colors of the sun, reds, yellows, and oranges. “Cool” or “ash”, is referring to ash colors, greens, blues, and violets.
In order for hair to have a natural color appearance, all three primary colors must be present, red, yellow and blue. Blondes, do not have the red in their hair color. If you have lightened your hair, to a blonde color, and then choose to go back to a darker color, you must remember to add red to the color. Because blondes do not have red, if you simply add a neutral brown to your hair, which is equal part, red, yellow and blue, your hair will soak up all of the red, and you will be left with yellow and blue, which we all know, makes green. This is never a pretty color, and is certainly not a hair color that occurs in nature.
If you are thinking of trying something different, but are afraid of too much change, go for some highlights. First try just a few, a couple of shades lighter than your natural color. It is amazing what a little bit of brightening will do for the face.
If your natural hair color is a level 2, (on the hair color scale, 1 is black, and 10 is white), please be aware, that if you decide to go blonde, (levels 7, 8 and 9), you will be in the salon every 2 to 4 weeks to take care of that re-growth, however, if you choose to only go a couple of shades lighter, you will be able to go longer in between re-touches, but that really depends on how much re-growth, or “roots”, you are willing to see . You hair will grow an average of a half inch a month, and you will see the difference, if you are not willing to do the upkeep of a full color change, then again, highlights would be your best option.
The best way to choose a color that will work best for your, is too look at your skin tones, cool or warm, and the color of your eyebrows. If you are older, try to stay away from darker colors, these colors only make you look drab, and tend accentuate every line, nook, and cranny.
