What Hair Colour Will Suit Me?
Choosing a hair colour that actually suits you is not about following trends. It is about understanding two things: your natural base colour and your eye colour. Once you know those, the right direction becomes much clearer and the wrong ones are easy to avoid.
We use a simple framework at NOCO to have this conversation with clients. It cuts through the noise and gets us to the right answer quickly. Are you a blender or a contrastor?
Blenders and contrastors
These are the two natural colour types we work with. Understanding which one you are is the starting point for every colour conversation.
Why eye colour matters more than people think
Eye colour is one of the most reliable indicators of what will work on your hair. Light eyes create natural contrast against darker features. That contrast gives the face a lift and means the hair can carry lighter tones without looking flat or washed out.
I went grey at around fifteen years old. Dark natural base, light eyes. For years I coloured my hair. But when I eventually had more salt than pepper, something clicked. The light eyes balanced the lighter hair. It worked because the contrast was natural, not forced. That is exactly what we are looking for when we sit down with a client.
Natural balayage at NOCO Hair Bristol. Colour placed to work with, not against, the client’s natural base.
What happens when you push too far
When a blender, someone with dark hair and dark eyes, goes dramatically lighter, the result tends to look disconnected. The hair and the face stop speaking to each other. The colour draws attention to itself rather than enhancing the person wearing it.
The way around this, if a client with a darker base wants lighter tones, is to keep some depth around the hairline and face. Darker pieces framing the face maintain the natural connection between the hair colour and the person’s features. Lighter pieces can then come through the lengths and ends without the whole result looking wrong.
The hair colour level scale
Hair colour is measured on a scale of 1 to 10. Level 1 is the deepest black. Level 10 is the lightest blonde. Understanding where you naturally sit on this scale, and how far a colour direction moves from that point, is the foundation of every colour decision we make.
Real colour results at NOCO
Every result below started with understanding the client’s natural base and eye colour first. The colour was designed to work with their colouring, not against it.
What we look at in a consultation
Before we recommend any colour direction, we assess your natural base shade, your eye colour, your skin tone and your colour history. We look at what your hair can safely achieve and what would actually suit you rather than just what is popular right now.
The consultation is where colour goes right. Skipping it is where colour goes wrong. A colour that suits someone else’s colouring is not automatically right for yours. The diagnosis has to come before the design.
