Your Starting Colour

To see where you can take your hair colour, you need to know your starting colour, which is your current shade. Clairol colour experts devide hair colour into 12 shades, form blondes to brunettes, reds to black, and even 50% or more grey. These include all the light, medium and dark ranges of each shade. Use the chart here to find the shade that is closest to the shade you are right now - not the one you were born with!

The general rule of thumb is that you'll get the prettiest, most natural-looking results when you stay within two levels of lighter or darker of your starting colour. If your hair colour is light brown, for example, you can go up to dark or medium blonde, or down to medium or dark brown. If you want to make a more dramatic change, you should consult an expert.

Your Tone

Warm tones are based in the gold/copper colour family. If you have warm colouring, your skin will have a yellow undertone. You'll probably look better in orange or peach than you do in fuchsia or lavender, and gold jewellery will be more flattering for you than silver. Hair colour shades for you include the words 'golden', 'bronze' and 'copper'.

Cool tones are based in the blue/violet colour family. If you have cool colouring your skin will have a pink undertone and you'll look great in colours like navy or black as opposed to beige or brown. Silver jewellery will be more flattering for you than gold. Your hair colour shades will include the words 'cool' and 'ash'.