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Once you've found a great medium-length hairstyle that really suits your face and your lifestyle, you don't have to be stuck in a no man's land of sameness. You can use hair color to spiff up your 'do with very little effort. Check out semi-permanent colors to try on new shades. Or just go for it and change your color to match your annual mood meter.
Black
Go darker if you've been unhappy with your mousy, washed-out brown color. Black hair on a medium-length cut will draw attention to your face. Stylists at The Hairstyler report that black hair suits any complexion. Though the doctors at the American Academy of Dermatology would love to see you never color your hair with the damaging chemicals, they say that if you do, going darker is less damaging.
Violet
If you've got dark or olive skin, try a new look with a violet wash over your dark hair. It works well on medium-length hair but can be a bit much on long hair and too punk for some if your hair is short. The color can be overpowering unless you use a subtle shade that seems to change in different lights. Going from blond to violet may be a little more troubling because it's likely to fade pretty quickly. Hold in your new violet shade with color-holding conditioners.
Streaks
Streaks and dramatic highlights are no longer the preview of the short, punky hairstyles. You can get creative with medium hair and add subtle highlights to give your hair body and nuance or go bold with stark blond streaks on dark brown hair or pink and blue highlights on your blonde tresses.
Blond
Stick with blonde color if you have a light or olive complexion and medium length hair. Blonde hair is especially effective for showing off great cheekbones and can really make your eyes pop. Blonds can do a lot with their 'dos and still look cute and put together. Pull it back with cute barrettes or flip it on the ends for the schoolgirl innocent look. A drawback of going blonde is that you'll probably have to touch up the roots more often unless your natural hair color is really light.
