You’re probably well on your way to flipping your wardrobe from summer to fall. But while trading sandals for boots and swapping shorts for jeans is fun, deciding what you’ll do at your next fall hair color treatment can be stressful. Luckily, Vakkar color specialists are here to help you choose a look you’ll love just as much as your favorite cozy crewneck.
1. Don’t Rush Through a Consultation
Whether you’ve been going to the same stylist for years or it’s your first time, your appointment for fall hair color treatment should begin with a detailed discussion. Your colorist will ask about what kind of look you’re going for, what color your natural hair is and the history of your current color, and how much maintenance you plan to dedicate to your fall style. A skilled colorist will be honest if the shade you want isn’t right for your skin tone and lifestyle, and will recommend fall hair colors that will work better.
Even if you’re excited to get started on your new look, take the time to evaluate her recommendations. Color specialists go through many hours of training to learn what’s best for their clients, but it’s still your hair. Just remember that choosing the wrong hair color treatment could put you back in the same chair for color correction in no time.
2. Bring Photos of Several Fall Hair Colors You Like
It’s hard for your stylist to imagine exactly what color you’re going for, so a visual is always helpful. But keep in mind that if your heart is set on the exact look of the celebrity in your photo, it might not be the best choice for you. Her hair may be thick while yours is thin. Her skin may be neutral while yours is cool. She may not mind visiting the salon every three weeks for touch-ups, while you only want to come in every two months.
Bringing in a few different photos of fall hair colors you love will expand your options. An honest stylist will be able to look at the pictures and weed out the ones that will wash you out and those that will require too much maintenance for your lifestyle (because she should have found that out in your consultation!). After eliminating those that won’t work, the photo that’s left will be the one that’s perfect for you.
3. Consider a Keratin Treatment
After absorbing hours of UV rays this summer, your hair’s natural keratin cells have been stripped away. This can make hair look dull and frizzy. A keratin treatment puts keratin back into the hair to boost elasticity and give it a smooth, lustrous sheen.
Since you won’t fully enjoy the benefits of new fall hair color with frizzy, dull hair, it’s a good idea to have a keratin treatment applied a week before your hair color appointment. That way when you step out of the salon with your rich, beautiful color, you’ll be completely satisfied with your lustrous locks.
4. Choose a Color That Won’t Wash You Out
As you browse through magazines in search of photos, it will help to know which fall hair colors are right for your natural skin tone. Chances are your sun-kissed tan is either starting to fade or completely gone, and you’re feeling a little pale. The key to choosing a fall hair color treatment is to not end up looking even more pasty.
How do we prevent that? By choosing colors that put depth and richness back into your hair and compliment your particular skin tone. Not sure what skin tone you have? Check the appearance of your veins in natural light. If they look blue or purple, you have a cool skin tone. If your veins look green or greenish blue, your skin tone is warm. And if you can’t really tell the difference, you probably have a neutral skin tone.
Fall Hair Colors for Cool Undertones
Brunettes with cool skin should look for deep velvety hues and avoid any hints of red. Dark chocolate also works great, and jet black is okay as long as your stylist adds blue undertones to keep you from looking washed out.
Blondes in this category can go with a french toast look because it blends in warm browns. Cozy blonde is also a good choice, with its copper-infused bronze tones and honey hues.
Redheads often have cool skin undertones. Auburn or cinnamon are good because they have a mixture of red and bronze that creates a warm and elegant hue.
Fall Hair Colors for Warm Undertones
Brunettes with warm skin look great in chestnut, or in chocolate brown with cocoa hues that bring out golden skin undertones. Adding caramel highlights around the face can also help to warm and soften facial features.
Warm blondes will want to tone down bright summer hair with honey or golden color and buttery warm highlights.
Redheads with warm undertones can easily pull off bold shades like burgundy, chestnut, rusty copper, and chocolate cherry. Mahogany is a subtle choice for anyone wanting to lean more toward brunette than red.
Fall Hair Colors for Neutral Undertones
Brunettes with neutral tones look stunning in dark, rich colors like cafe espresso. But they can also pull off medium browns like mushroom as long as it leans more brown than gray.
Neutral blondes can go with any color. “Bronde” or beige blonde is a nice blend for fall to bring out warmer undertones.
Redheads with neutral skin also have many options, but might want to try auburn for a vibrant complexion. Or for the ultimate fall treat, consider apple cider, a mix of warm, light auburn with subtle hints of gold and copper.
5. Think About Maintenance
Watching the leaves drastically change color might give you the itch to try something vastly different for your hair. But keep in mind that root growth starts to show within three to four weeks. If you’re not prepared to visit the salon that often, you might want to veer away from a drastic change and consider more subtle fall hair color treatments.
Highlights usually only need to be touched up about every eight to ten weeks, and lowlights can last up to 12. To add brightness to your skin without a lot of touch ups required, consider face-framing highlights two to three shades lighter than your natural hair color. Mixing in a few lowlights along with highlights is also a great way to add depth and richness to your overall color, and it doesn’t require much upkeep.
Or, try babylights, a trending fall hair color treatment this season. The finely-woven highlights are placed subtly throughout the hair, but can make a big difference in your color’s overall vibrancy. Unlike chunky highlights, they grow out almost seamlessly.
Ready to Enjoy Your New Fall Look? Give Vakkar a Call
We do our best to explain how to get the best fall hair color in our blog, but the best way to decide what you want is to talk to our color experts in person. Book a consultation and we will sit down with you to discuss all of the options you have to choose from. We can’t wait to make your vision come to life!