Platinum, blonde, balayage, there’s a shade of blonde for everyone, but finding the perfect one for you can be tricky.
Working out which blonde will suit you all comes down to skin tone, and it’s much a case of colour science. Both the colour of your skin, and whether or not you have cool or warm undertones, will affect how flattering a colour will be.
Which blonde will suit my skintone?
First up you need to determine whether or not your skin has cool or warm undertones. ‘Cool’ is defined by pink, red or blush undertones, whereas ‘warm’ is defined by yellow, peachy, golden undertones.
An easy way to determine your skin type is by tying your hair back and draping a white towel over around your neck and shoulders, if your skin looks slightly red you have cool undertones whereas if your skin looks yellowish you have warm tones. Another handy hack for telling your tone is by looking at the veins in your wrist - if they appear blue you are cool toned, and if they are green you are warm toned. To complicate things even further, you may well be a combination of both, what colourists call neutral toned.
The key rule when choosing your blonde shade, is pick one that is opposite to your own skin tone.
Cool undertones
Choose ashy, creamy or white hues
Warm undertones
Choose honey, caramel or butterscotch shades
If you have neutral skin you’re lucky in the fact that most shades will look great on you.
For more tips on achieving that perfect blonde we quizzed Owner & Creative Director of Hare & Bone, Sam Burnett
What should you consider when choosing a shade of blonde?
The most important thing to consider when making the decision to go blonde is the condition of the hair. It needs to be healthy. Skin tone is another factor that is hugely important when choosing your blonde, especially when looking at the shade and placement of the colour.
Should you consider eye colour when choosing your blonde shade?
One of the amazing things about going blonde is that it suits a variety of eye colours. Traditionally, lighter colours such as blue and green are the most striking but it really is up to interpretation. eye colour and skin tone go hand in hand when deciding on your shade of blonde which your colourist will take into consideration when performing your consultation based on your personal style.
What is the best way to achieve a natural looking blonde?
A soft a balayage or baby lights will give you the most natural looking blonde. Your colourist can use a combination of multidimensional hues incorporating warm, cool and creamy blondes with your base colour for the most natural finish.
Is there anyone that should avoid blonde?
The only time blonde should be avoided is if the hair is extremely damaged. In this situation a treatment plan can be created using products such as Olaplex which is a great in-salon treatment that rebuilds the hair from the inside out.