' Basically, as your skin tone lightens with age, so should your hair colour. 'When you first notice white hairs, ask your hairdresser to blend them, and eventually you'll move to a lighter natural colour' explains Ashleigh.
As we get older, it can be wise to steer away from darker hair colors. That's because they can cast shadows on the face which emphasize fine lines and wrinkles. Dark hair against a light scalp can also make thinning hair appear more visible, therefore adding years to someone's look.
Lighter hair can make you look younger, as long as you use the right tones. Add some warmth with golden highlights and go for shades like honey to give your complexion a healthy, youthful glow!
Caramel, honey, gold, copper, and strawberry give a healthy brightness that makes us look and feel younger. (Framing your face with lighter shades draws the eye away from any complexion concerns, as well.)
"A shade or two lighter [than your natural one] can be very flattering, especially because skin gets more sallow with age, and a few streaks can wake it up. But going too light can be just as aging as going too dark.
Too light
Hair that is too light may come across as gray. “I always say that going too light can be just as aging as going too dark,” Samra adds. “It's important to maintain a certain level of contrast between your hair color and your skin tone.” Otherwise, your hair loses depth and you'll look washed out.
White's rule of thumb is that light skinned, light eyed girls will look more natural with lighter shades, while dark skin and dark eyes work better with darker shades. Your colorist should be able to help you determine your skin tone.
Red may be the biggest hair-color trend for fall, but it's no one-shade pony. Here, five ways to go crimson this season.
For grey hair coverage, we generally recommend that you aim to color slightly lighter than the natural hair color level of your client. In this case we would suggest you go for a color starting in level 6 (Dark Blonde) or 7 (Blonde).
Silver, ashy, blond, and platinum are indeed the most popular hair color choices for women over 60.
"A few highlights can add texture to the hair, although too many can have the opposite effect and make it look even thinner." She reiterates that darker hair can naturally look thicker, "therefore – if the skin tone allows – going brunette may help hair to appear fuller".
A warm hair color often makes an older woman look younger. There are many gorgeous hair colors for women over 50 – from blonde and gray to red and brunette, and those exquisite color blends in balayage and ombre solutions. And just being older doesn't mean you can't have fun with highlights and mix-ins.
Loss of muscle tone and thinning skin gives the face a flabby or drooping appearance. In some people, sagging jowls may create the look of a double chin. Your skin also dries out and the underlying layer of fat shrinks so that your face no longer has a plump, smooth surface.
This really depends on your hair type, according to Estroff. “Everyone is different and everyone's hair reacts differently, but going darker is far less damaging than lightening it,” she said. At the same time, remember that your hair might feel dryer at first, since either way, you're chemically altering it.
When coloring thin or thinning hair, go a shade lighter to help mask the contrast between hair and scalp.
"Because the hairs are thicker naturally, dark hair is better at camouflaging damage than light hair; it weighs down flyaways and split ends," notes Adrian Wallace, senior colorist at Rita Hazan Salon in NYC.
Colors like butterscotch, light auburn and golden brown, or ash brown for those with a cool skin tone, are all versatile brunette shades that aren't too dark and are some of the best hair colors to hide gray.
Sticking to white, black and navy is a perfect way to play it safe, but still look stunning, bringing the attention to your lovely grey hair. When choosing the whites, it is advised to lean towards pure white instead of creamy, off-white shades.
Neutral shades like soft blonde, mushroom brown, light copper, and caramel blonde balayage are the easiest to blend gray into (and maintain over time without wanting to shave your hair off).
Rich Chocolate
Rich is 2023's primary descriptor, and this goes double for brunettes. Those opting to stay in their brown-mane lane would do well to consider crossing fully into the dark side. Roszak recommends subtle, dimensional highlights—more for shine then anything else—and an overall deepening of the hue.
Somewhere between bronde and grey lies the most obscure blonde hair trend to hit 2022 - Mushroom Blonde. Having had a massive 308% spike in Pinterest searches in 2019, the ashy-toned, not-quite-brown-not-quite-blonde Mushroom Blonde shade is still going strong and conveniently works on brunettes and natural blondes.
Your Skin & Eye Color Matters
If you have fair skin that burns easily, and blue or green eyes, you'll look like a natural blonde with blonde hair. If your skin has yellow undertones, you may look jaundiced or washed out with hair that's too light.
"Lighter tones open up the face, making it appear wider, while darker tones are slimming," says Dubre. So keep the strands closest to your face a shade or two darker than the others, he suggests.
"Fill brows in with a color that is slightly lighter than brow hair," Ahnert says. If you have dark brown hair, use a light/medium brown brow pencil. If you have light brown hair, use a taupe/dark blond pencil, and so on.