Coloring Your Hair? Choose The Right Shade!

It's sad, but true: choosing the right hair color isn't as easy as picking your favorite crayon from the Crayola box. After a few unfortunate life lessons (ahem, multiple perms) and experimenting with some weird hair colors myself (who knew that green would look THAT bad??), I've come to accept a few tricks of the hair trade.

Consider the skin that you're in. Your skin tone and complexion should be important factors when choosing a hair color. In fact, the proper highlights and color can bring out the most in your complexion while hiding those little flaws. For example, if you have...

...ashy or olive skin, you look best with dark hair complimented by warm gold or red highlights

...pink skin, try to avoid red and blonde colors that will wash you out. Instead, opt for ashy tones that will n qeutralize your complexion

...yellow skin, try a deep red to create a more dramatic effect. Steer clear of yellow, gold, or orange highlights

Don't play the guessing game. Before you run to your stylist with the perfect color, be sure to test it out first. Remember that the color that's on the bottle doesn't necessarily turn out the same on your own head. Take a few strands of hair on the nape of your neck and let the color sit on it for half an hour before dedicating yourself to that color.

Avoid makeup when you're at the salon. Sometimes you need to sacrifice a little vanity in the grand scheme of beauty. If you go to your stylist wearing lots of makeup, he/she won't be able to see your true skin color.

Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself how much time, effort, and money you are willing to devote to the upkeep of your hair. Remember that having your roots touched up and going to regular conditioning treatments can really add up. If you choose a color that's farther off from your natural hair, your 'do will be more high maintenance.

And finally, some advice from my mother: if you have never really dyed your hair, think twice about starting now. Loads of people are trying to return to their roots and get back to their natural hair color (and they rarely get the results they want). So if you are happy with your current hair color, why not continue to be au natural?