Best Hair Colors for Brown Skin, Black, Brown, Eyes & Light
Are you a lady with brown skin complexion ? What are the best hair colors you? What is the best match if you have black or brown eyes?Read on to learn more in addition to specific shades for women of color for every eye combo and how to make the most of hair color for dark skin.
Best Hair Colors for Brown Skin- What’s a good Hair Color for Brown Skin?
What Women of color have is their own individuality and beauty. Choosing the right hair color for dark skin could supplement ideally the natural dark hues of the skin and create a matching result or an interesting contrast that brings the natural hues of dark skin and eyes. On the contrary, choosing the wrong color can make brown skin look shallow and washed out.
What hair colors are considered good for brown skin complexion and why?
Generally speaking women of color can sport a wide variety of shades from black to red, and even some certain shades of blonde. The only exception to this rule is although light blondes with strong ash or green undertones as these may look fake and wash out dark skin.
The choice of the proper hair color for dark skin also depends on how dark or light brown the skin is. For example, is it light golden brown like Jennifer Lopez or is it a deep dark brown like Lupita Nyong’o? As with any skin tone, there are multiple variations and brown skin is not an exception. The skin undertones also play a vital part on choosing the most appropriate skin color.
Shades of Hair colors for Brown Skins
The best shades for most Brown skin tones, starting from the darkest to the lightest:
Natural Black/Darkest brown.
Suggested brands and shades: Dark and Lovely in Jet Black (A glossy black shade with neutral undertones) and Clairol textures and tones in 1N Natural Black.
Dark chocolate brown.
This is a very dark brown with warn chocolate undertones that suits all dark skins and it’s an ideal shade to achieve from black as it doesn’t need any bleach.
Suggested brands and shades: Clairol textures and tones in shade 2N Dark Brown (Natural Dark Brown) and 373 Brown Sable (dark chocolate brown with neutral undertones).
A rich brown shade
This shade usually comes with cool plum undertones that look well on medium to dark skin and black or brown eyes.
Suggested Brands and shades: Clairol’s Textures and Tones in 3RV Plum and Dark and Lovely Reviving Color series in 393 Spiced Auburn.
Milk chocolate brown.
This is a shade that is a tad lighter and warmer than rich chocolate brown. This is great for warming up the skin tone of nearly every dark skin tone and it’s a great alternative to black and very dark brown.
Suggested shades and brands: Dark and lovely Brown Cinnamon (a warm cinnamon brown shade)
Medium Golden brown:
A rich brown shade with golden undertones that suits light to medium dark skin with golden undertones.
Suggested shades and brands: Clairol’s texture and tones on 5G (light brown) and Dark and Lovely (Chocolate Bliss shade) in shade 398 Toffee Kiss.
Dark Burgundy or Cherry red.
Although this shade is not very natural looking, it creates an interesting contrast with dark skin and eyes. The only skin tone that doesn’t match so great with this shade is light brown skin with strong olive undertones as it brings out the shallow yellow undertones of the skin and may look a bit ghastly.
Suggested brands and shades: Dark and Lovely (Red Hot Rhythm) and Clairol’s texture and tones in shade 4RC cherrywood.
Wine red
This is a very similar shade to dark burgundy, with slightly more cool red undertones.
Suggested brands and shades: Clairol’s Texture and Tones in shade blazing burgundy.
Dark copper
A dark rich copper with subtle orange tones is ideally for brightening up almost any dark skin tone. This also works perfectly with light brown or hazel eyes as it brings out amber hues.
Suggested brands and shades: Dark and Lovely in shade Radiant Copper
Light Copper Red
Light Red may sound a bit risky, but it really works pretty well with brown skin with any color combo (dark brown eyes, light brown eyes, hazel, or green eyes)
Suggested brands and shades: Dark and Lovely 394 (Vivacious Red) and Clairol’s Texture and Tones in 8RO/flaming Desire.
Dark honey blonde.
This shade of dark honey blonde is a warm shade of blonde with subtle copper blonde undertones.
Suggested brands and shades: Dark and Lovely in shade 378 Honey Blonde and Clairol’s Textures and Tones
Light Honey Blonde.
A shade one tone lighter than dark honey blonde with enhanced golden undertones. This shade has been the favorite shade of dark skinned celebs like Jennifer Lopez , Ciara, and Beyonce Knowles and suits light to medium dark skin with golden undertones,
Suggested brands and shades: Clairol’s Texture’s and tones in 6BV Bronze and Dark and Lovely in shade 10 Golden Blonde.
Shades that do not mesh well with dark skin and may look skin washed out: Blue Black, Light Golden Copper, Ash blonde, Gray hair and highlights, Platinum blonde, Blonde Sandre (green undertones), and crazy pastel colors like Baby pink, Baby blue, light green, etc.
The only exception to using the above hair colors for dark skin is to use them as highlights or to achieve an ombre effect. Platinum blonde tips for example are okay as long as you have a black or dark brown root/base color, like here in this picture above to the right:
Hair Colors for Brown Skin and Black Eyes
Brown skin and black eyes will look great with Black, Chocolate, and Dark Red hues as they match the black of the eyes best.
Hair Colors for Brown Skin and Brown Eyes
For brown skin and medium to light brown eyes, the shades of dark copper, golden brown, dark honey blonde, and light honey blonde will work best. Shades to avoid: Blue Black, Dark Plu, Platinum
Best hair color for light brown skin
For light brown skin, the best color is a Milk Chocolate brown as it has a warm undertone and will make light brown skin brighter. Dark copper may also be used to brighten up this skin color.
How to take care of hair color for AfroAmerican hair
- Since AfroAmerican hair and skin has its own set of special needs, most hair dye formulas specially formulated for women of color contain conditioning and nourishing agents. If you belong in this category, you may need additional color care to preserve your hair color and make your hair look healthy and shiny at the same time.
- Dark and lovely is a brand that carries apart from hair dyes additional color and hair care products to enhance the health of Afro-American hair. Their product ranges cover all hair processed categories at the same time: relaxed, permed, and bleached hair.
- If you have not prior experience in dying your hair, it’s best to start with darker shades rather than going initially for lighter shades. This is because experimenting with lighter shades first may cause uneven looking results and even induce hair damage. Therefore, if you want for example to achieve a blonde shade, it’s safer to start with a darker shade first and then gradually lighten your hair, one shade at a time.
- If you are going for an ombre effect, it’s best to visit a professional hair salon or colorist as this is risky to get at home—unless you have prior experience. There are some home kits for getting an ombre effect but results may look patchy and uneven if you are not careful. A good hair colorist will advise you on the perfect ombre shade for your dark skin and dark eyes.
- Semi-permanent hair formulas are ideal for achieving a subtle color change that’s one shade lighter or darker than your skin tone. If you are going for a light blonde shade, however, it would be impossible to achieve with no bleach. Women of Color may especially need to bleach their hair multiple shades gradually to get the light shade they are striving for. In any case, do not over-bleach your hair if it’s relaxed or permed as it may damage your hair and make hair cutting inevitable in some cases. If you have to bleach your hair, wait at least 1-2 weeks to dye your hair color a lighter shade. This is much safer than chemically processing your hair and dying same-day or around the same time.
- Be careful also when using hair oils as some may darken or remove some of the hair color you already have. The safest hair care oils for colored Afro-American hair are coconut oil, argan oil, grape seed oil and silkia camellia oil. Olive oil and some darker oils may darken your hair color a bit or weight your afro-american hair out.