Hair color for a cool undertone runs ash, beige and cool brown; for a warm undertone it runs golden, honey, caramel and copper. Neutral undertones wear the softer versions of both. Your undertone sets the direction of the color, which colorists call its tone. How light or dark to go is a separate decision, and the three tests below check the direction before anyone mixes a formula.
If you are not sure of your undertone yet, read it from your skin with the four undertone tests, or take the Color Season Quiz, which asks about your natural hair too.
Level and tone: the two dials
Salon color has two dials, and many hair color mistakes come from turning the wrong one.
Level is depth: how light or dark the color is. Most brands number it from about 1, black, to 10, the lightest blonde, though the exact numbering differs from brand to brand.
Tone is direction: which way the color leans at that level. Ash tones contain no red or gold and cancel brassiness. Golden and copper tones add warmth. Neutral tones sit between them.
Undertone decides the tone dial. Your coloring as a whole, especially your contrast, decides the level dial, which hair color by color season covers season by season.
One more piece of salon physics matters here. When hair is lightened, its own warm pigment comes through first, red at darker levels, then orange, then yellow. That is why ash and beige shades need toning to stay cool, and why that toning fades back toward warm over the weeks.
The chart: hair color by undertone
| Undertone | Tones to choose | Examples | Handle with care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cool | Ash, beige, cool | Ash blonde, beige blonde, ash brown, cool dark brown, blue-black, cool burgundy | Golden, copper, orange-caramel |
| Warm | Golden, honey, copper | Golden blonde, honey, caramel, golden brown, copper, auburn | Ash, blue-black, icy platinum |
| Neutral | Neutral, beige, soft | Beige blonde, mushroom brown, soft brown, soft caramel | Icy platinum, bright copper, jet black |
| Olive | Neutral to soft warm | Soft brown, chocolate, muted caramel, soft bronze | Very ashy shades, brassy yellow-blonde |
The olive row deserves a note. Olive skin has a muted green-gray cast, so very ashy hair can turn it gray, and yellow-gold blonde can make it look sallow. Soft, medium-depth browns usually sit best. Olive undertone explains why.
Undertone picks the tone. Contrast picks the level.
Three at-home tests
Do all three in daylight, without makeup, and look at your skin, not the hair.
1. The sunlight glint. Stand by a window or outside and look at your natural hair, or your roots, in a hand mirror. Ashy or silvery glints point cool; golden, copper or red glints point warm. Limit: dyed hair, sun-faded ends and gray all distort the reading, so use regrowth or a hidden section near the nape.
2. The swatch at the hairline. Ask a salon to lend you its swatch ring, or use two strands of clip-in hair, one ash and one golden at the same level. Hold each against your hairline and temple in turn. The right tone makes your skin look even and clear; the wrong one makes it look red, yellow or gray. Limit: swatches are small, and the color on a swatch is not exactly what you get on your own base color.
3. The hood test. Wrap a scarf or towel over your hair like a hood, first in a golden beige or camel, then in a cool taupe or gray-beige. It imitates a large area of hair color at the edge of your face, which a swatch cannot. Limit: fabric has no shine, so it reads flatter than hair.
Two out of three on the same side is a clear answer. If they split, you are probably neutral, and the neutral row is your safest start.
Neutral and olive undertones
Neutral and olive skin usually sits best with hair that does not push hard in either direction. Beige blondes, mushroom browns, soft brown and soft caramel all keep the tone close to neutral. If you want more warmth or coolness, add it in small amounts, such as a few honey or ash pieces around the face, rather than a full-head change.
What to tell your colorist
Colorists work best with specific words. Before the appointment, note four things:
- Your natural level and the level you want, even if you only describe it as “two shades lighter”.
- The tone you want and the one you don’t, for example “beige, not golden” or “warm, but no orange”.
- How much contrast you want to keep between hair and skin, since going much lighter or darker changes it.
- How much upkeep you will do, because cool tones on lightened hair need regular toning.
If you already color your hair, dyed hair and your color season covers whether the dye changes your season or only your contrast.