- While there's really no such thing as the 'wrong' hair color, choosing a shade that complements your skin tone can enhance your complexion and glow.
- For light skin, cool ash or sandy tones balance fair complexions; medium skin shines with warm caramels and chocolates; dark skin glows with rich espresso and berry brunette.
- To prevent high-maintenance upkeep, sticking to neutral tones is best.
When it comes to choosing the perfect hair color, the right shade can enhance your complexion, frame your features, and even make your skin appear more radiant. But make the wrong choice* and it can leave you looking washed out, tired, or battling high-maintenance upkeep.
*Though, to note, there is never really any 'wrong' choice when it comes to picking the hair color for you. Here at Cosmo, we encourage our readers to make beauty decisions that make them feel most confident—don't subscribe to the idea of a look just because it's trending or because color theory dictates it.
That said, if you do want to decode the world of tones, balayages, and blends, we asked Micky Kastly, hairstylist and founder of Blown London, to share her insider rules for finding your best match.
For lighter skin tones:
If your skin is on the paler side, Micky recommends leaning into cooler blends: "The lighter the skin, the ashier the hair color. For super blondes, you’re looking at going for more ash/cool blends and shades of hair like a cool ash blonde, a vanilla blonde, or sandy beige blonde, which is more or less a golden ash blonde."
But don't think this rule applies only to blondes. Brunettes with fair skin can shine just as brightly! "The same rocks for darker shades with lighter skin tones—keeping the hair slightly ash and going for a mocha mushroom brown will bring out the glow and radiance," Micky says.
The key takeaway: icy tones and muted shades balance fair skin and help prevent the hair from overpowering delicate complexions.
For medium skin tones:
Golden, olive, or slightly warmer undertones open the door to a wide spectrum of rich, warm hues. "Medium skin tones and complexions suit best a slight undertone of warmth in hair colour," Micky explains. "Think honeys, caramels, rich chocolates, reds or coppers – and red undertone chocolate brunette dreams or an elegant peanut butter or crimson."
If you’re not ready to commit to full-on warmth, Micky suggests a subtle shimmer: "Adding a touch of warmth in hair color shades like richer taupes, brondes, or chestnuts are the perfect colour match to medium warmer skin tones."
The verdict? Medium complexions radiate with depth, richness, and soft warmth—avoid anything too flat or ashy.
For darker skin tones:
When it comes to deeper complexions, Micky advises embracing richness and elegance. "Darker skin tones and complexions really deserve absolute richness and elegance—think tones, blends, and color pops rather than the complete opposite in brightness to what your natural hair color would be."
Super-light shades can be striking but tend to require a lot of maintenance. Instead, Micky suggests working with your skin tone. "The richer hair colors like a mystic jet black, espresso brown, or a berry-rich brunette brown can really boost the hair tones and perk up the skin’s natural radiance," she adds.
"The lighter the hair on a darker complexion, the more maintenance and colour top-ups it takes. Letting your darker complexion work with more sun-kissed, healthy blends and darker honey blondes of hair color creates a more natural color pop rather than a severe contrast once the brassiness kicks in," she explains.
However, if you're after something a little more low-maintenance, Micky advises sticking with a more natural look. "Keeping your hair more neutrally colored—like a few tones, pieces, babylights, lights throughout the hair or the perfect honey ombré balayage—blends out and grows out super chic, rather than a definitive root line. The more natural the colour pop for darker skin, the longer the hair colour lasts."
The takeaway:
Light skin tones: Cooler, ash-based blondes and soft mocha browns bring out radiance.
Medium skin tones: Warmth is your friend—caramels, chocolates, chestnuts, and aubergines add depth.
Dark skin tones: Rich, elegant shades like espresso and berry brunettes shine brightest, with balayage or highlights for a natural glow.
Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she’s an expert in recognising the season’s next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You’ll usually find her putting TikTok’s recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it’s true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
