We all know beautiful color we when see it, whether it’s vivid streaks or subtle sombre, some colors just work. But choosing your own pallet can be tough, and the wrong choices can lead to disappointing results. Maybe you’ve asked for subtle highlights and ended up with color so understated you can barely see it, or maybe you’ve wanted bold pieces of blonde, but found the result shockingly garish. Whatever color trauma you’ve experienced in the past, knowing some basic rules about selecting complementary colors can help you pick successful pairings to ensure gorgeous future looks. Click the style notes to learn more. –– Laura Martin
For high-contrast looks, keep it all in the family. If you like to contrast light and dark, don’t go crazy with tone. Monochromatic looks will allow you to play with dramatically different levels.
For natural highlights, use contrasting tones. If you like to keep things subtle with highlights that are only a shade of two lighter than your base color you need to use a contrasting tone or the lighter bits will disappear. Ash brown with caramel, cool red with copper, or chocolate with cool beige are great examples.
Never use more than 3 highlight colors. No matter how much you love dimension more than three shades will only look busy or m
Special thanks to Laura Martin for this post. Laura is a professional hair stylist, former senior educator at ARROJO cosmetology school, and a creative non-fiction MFA student at Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA