Preparation
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Choosing a hair dye depends largely on skin tone. There are two types of skin tones — warm and cool. Warm skin tones usually have yellow undertones, and turn golden brown when tanning. Cool skin tones have blue or pink undertones. There are a couple ways to assess whether you have a warm or cool skin tone. Look at the veins in your arm; if they appear green, you have a warm skin tone. If they appear blue, you have a cool skin tone. Also try holding a white piece of paper up to your face while looking in the mirror. See if your skin looks more yellow or bluer than the paper.
Going Brunette
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If you’re tired of being the blonde bombshell and want to add a little mystery to your look, becoming a brunette may be the right choice for you. Before you go out and buy a box of home hair color, decide which shade will be the most flattering on you. Blondes with pale skin may not want to go too dark, since this can wash out the skin and make you look pasty. The color choice should also coincide with your skin tone.
If you have a cool, fair skin tone, try an ash brown or a light beige. This will complement your skin tone without going too dark. Keep in mind that when changing your hair to a darker color, your makeup routine will also have to change. Eye shadows should be deeper, and lining your top lid with a black pencil will also make your eyes stand out. For cool skin tones that are deeper, such as an olive complexion, feel free to try ash or beige colors that are darker. For an ultimate change, try a blue-black.
For warm skin tones, try any type of brunette dye with the word “golden” in it. Rich chocolate and auburn colors also look great against warm skin tones.
Going Red
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Red hair color will look bold and brilliant when applied to blonde hair. Because your hair is already so light, the pigment of the dye is more apparent. Red hair color tends to fade quickly; on blondes, red will eventually fade to a strawberry color. A good way to keep your red locks bright is by adding a little pre-mixed dye such as Manic Panic to your shampoo. You can also buy shampoos specifically designed for red hair.
Dyeing your hair red is the same as going brunette; base your color choice on your skin tone. Blondes with cool skin tones should probably avoid orange-based red hair altogether. This will wash you out. If you do have cool toned skin and want to try red, go for a purplish-colored red. This will match the blue undertones in your complexion.
Chunked Color
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Adding chunks of color to select pieces of hair is easy to do when you have blonde hair. Adding punk stripes in pink, blue or purple will look brilliant and edgy without having to bleach the hair first. When coloring your hair unnatural colors like pink, try using a semi-permanent dye that will allow you to change the color as often as you’d like.
Chunked highlights or frosting are both easy looks you can achieve. Use a frosting cap or foils to choose select pieces of hair and apply a cream hair bleach. Because your hair is already light, you will only need to let the bleach set for about 10 minutes. It is best to check on your hair every five minutes when bleaching; just because your hair is lighter doesn’t mean you can’t over bleach it and cause damage.
Beauti ~n~ Brainz 