Hair color by season

Hair sits right next to your face, so it changes how every other color looks on you. Here is how to read a dye box and choose a shade that works with your season.

How hair dye numbers work

Most permanent and demi-permanent hair color uses a numbering system with two parts: a level for how light or dark, and a tone for the color direction. On a box you might see 7.3, 7/3 or 7-3. They all mean the same thing.

The level: light or dark

The number before the dot is the level, usually on a scale of 1 to 10. Exact names vary by brand, but the scale generally runs like this:

• 1: black
• 2 to 3: darkest and dark brown
• 4 to 5: medium and light brown
• 6: dark blonde
• 7: medium blonde
• 8: light blonde
• 9 to 10: very light and lightest blonde

Some ranges add higher numbers for extra-light blondes.

The tone: the direction of the color

The number after the dot is the tone. A 0, or no tone number at all, means natural. Two tones are fairly consistent across major brands:

• .1 is ash. It has a blue or blue-violet base that cancels warmth.
• .3 is gold. It adds yellow warmth.

Beyond those two, brands differ. A .4 might be copper in one range and red in another; .2 might be violet, iridescent or matte. Always check the brand's own color chart.

When there are two digits after the dot, the first is the main tone and the second is a secondary one. So 7.31 is a medium blonde, mainly gold with a touch of ash. A repeated digit, like 6.44, means an intense version of that tone. Some brands, particularly salon ranges, use letters instead of numbers for tone, such as N for natural, A for ash or G for gold.

So a box marked 7.3 is a medium blonde with a golden tone.

Warm and ash tones by season

Your natural hair color usually already harmonizes with your coloring, so a good rule is to keep its temperature and adjust from there.

• Springs usually suit golden and honey tones (.3, or natural-gold mixes), strawberry blonde, and light golden browns. Light Springs often do well at levels 7 to 9. Bright Springs can carry a little more contrast.
• Summers usually suit ash and beige tones (.1, or soft natural shades): ash blonde, soft mushroom brown, cool light brown. Strong gold can look brassy next to cool skin. Soft Summers in particular tend to look best in blended, softly highlighted shades rather than one flat color.
• Autumns usually suit copper, auburn, chestnut and golden brown (gold and copper tones). Soft Autumns do well with muted golden browns and soft caramel; Deep Autumns with rich chocolate and dark auburn.
• Winters usually suit cool, deep shades: cool dark brown, espresso, and natural black on those who have it. True and Bright Winters can sometimes carry very cool, very light colors like icy platinum, though these take regular upkeep.

Going lighter: what's realistic

Lightening hair always reveals warmth. Natural pigment contains warm tones, and as hair is lightened it passes through red, orange and then yellow stages. That is why darker hair turns brassy when it's lightened partway. Ash tones exist mainly to counter this.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Permanent dye can lift virgin hair only a few levels. Big jumps, such as dark brown to light blonde, usually need bleach.
• Color doesn't lift color. If your hair has been dyed, putting a lighter dye on top won't lighten the old color. It needs a color remover or bleach, which is best left to a professional.
• Upkeep grows with the gap. The further you move from your natural level, the more visible your roots become as they grow.

A common stylist's rule of thumb is to stay within about two levels of your natural color for a look that flatters and grows out gracefully. Highlights and face-framing pieces are a gentler way to go lighter.

Going darker: easier, but not free

Going darker is usually simpler, but there are catches. Hair that has been lightened before can grab darker dye unevenly or turn murky, and a colorist may need to "fill" it with warm pigment first. Dark colors can also fade toward red or brown over time.

Darker is also harder to undo. Removing dark dye takes more work than adding it, so try a demi-permanent or a shade only one or two levels darker first.

Gray hair and your season

Gray and white hair reduce contrast and usually shift your look in a cooler, softer direction. Some people find their season seems to change as they gray. Others find that their skin and eyes keep them in the same season, and only the hair has moved. Either way, it is worth rechecking your colors once a good share of your hair has gone gray.

If you are covering gray, softer and slightly lighter shades than your original color often look more natural, because they blur the regrowth line.

Before you dye

• Do the skin allergy test the product instructions describe, usually 48 hours before every application, even with a brand you have used before.
• Do a strand test on a hidden section to check the result.
• Check the result in daylight, not bathroom light.
• For bleach, big changes, or anything involving previously colored hair, see a professional.