Amidst all the chaos that last year brought, one thing I loved seeing was how creative people were getting with their hair. More specifically, people were going wild with hair color. I know you probably had the itch to do something drastic to your hair and sometimes giving yourself a haircut just doesn’t quite satisfy that itch. Hair color, especially brighter hair color, gives the perfect sensation of instant gratification. Will you recognize yourself after the dye job? From the significant two instances I have changed my hair color, there was a weird period where my brain tried to make sense of who it saw in the mirror. Let’s just say you will experience some mild identity confusion for a few days. Will you develop a slight god complex after settling into your new look? Only if you get one that suits your tone.

Let me explain.

Have you ever seen a person and their look is just radiant? They look so put together and they are wearing the most minimal outfit. There is seemingly not much to them and you can’t put your finger on why their look just works. Simply put, hair color that matches your undertone instantly creates a failsafe accessory to any and all of your looks.

Finding your undertone is easy. There are three basic camps that you could fall in line with. Cool-toned, neutral-toned, and warm-toned. Cool-toned people usually have a pink undertone in their skin, neutral-toned people aren’t particularly pink or yellow (that’s why they’re neutral), and warm-toned people normally have a yellow or olive undertone. There are two ways you can figure out your undertone. First, you can look at the veins on your wrist. If you have blue/purple veins, you are cool-toned. Blue/purple veins on the wrist, but green towards the upper part of your forearm means you’re neutral-toned. And lastly, if you have green veins, you are warm-toned. The second way to check which undertone you are is by holding jewelry up to your face. Silver jewelry flatters cool-toned people whereas gold jewelry flatters warm-toned people. As for neutral-toned people, both suit you.

Photo via Stitch Fix

Now that we have your undertone sorted out, it’s time to figure out what options you have for hair color. I don’t want to complicate this (because it can get so much more complex when you add the element of seasons to the undertone). If you are cool-toned, the best practice is to stick with icy, ash-toned colors. It will complement the pink tones in your skin in a way that is flattering and doesn’t wash you out. Think gray, lavender, platinum blonde, pastel pink, you get the idea. If you are warm-toned, colors like coral, teal, rose gold, and dark red are all colors that will add to the glow of your complexion.

Of course, you can choose whatever color you want. The best part about experimenting with hair color is finding out what works best for you and what suits what you are looking for. Sometimes, matching just isn’t it, and clashing colors can be just as satisfying. Whatever color you choose, just know that hair is just hair. It grows back and eventually you can try something different. Anyway, happy coloring!