Overview
Picking the perfect color for your locks takes some consideration. It's not just about finding the right color for your skin type, although that's important; you've got to know a little bit about color types and mixing. Otherwise, you could end up with a funky color you didn't plan on.
About Ash Tones
Before you know how to mix your colors, you need to know the different categories of hair color. At their basic level they're separated into cool and warm tones. Another term for cool colors is "ash." You'll see the word "ash" on certain boxes of dye from brown to blond. Though you can't tell with your naked eye, these colors have blue, green or purple undertones. Ashy colors have a "dirty" look to them, and women with cool undertones rock them for a natural-looking hue.
About Warm Tones
Warm-toned colors are on the opposite of the color spectrum. Unlike the word "ash" you're not likely to see a box of dye called "warm brown." Instead there are a score of terms that warm colors fall under. Caramel, chocolate, honey and golden are just a few adjectives used to describe certain brown and blond colors. If you have a warm undertone to your skin, these are the colors for you. They'll bring out your eyes and make your skin glow.
Don't Mix
Mixing warm tones with ash tones can absolutely turn your tresses green, which is why it's not a good idea. If you have a warm-toned base color like auburn or golden blond and decide on medium ash-brown low or highlights, the results could be disastrous. If you want to go ash, you should see a professional stylist to strip the areas of your hair you want to color before you add that ashy hue. On the other hand, If your base color is cool-toned, you're good to go. Feel free to do a home job and skip the expense of the salon.
Other Considerations
Cool-toned women should stick with cool colors while warm-toned ladies should stick to warm tones. There's an easy way to tell for sure which one you are. Look at the underside of your wrist. If your veins look green you're warm toned. If your veins look blue or purple you're cool toned. Another color mixing step to avoid is dyeing warm-brown or black locks with a color that's intended to lighten them, like blond. Even if it's a warm blond, you're going to end up with brassy, orange hair.
