The Best Pastel Hair Colors for Different Skin Tones
Published January 10, 2023
If you’ve been keeping up with the trends, you’d know that pastel colors are currently popular with men and women alike. It supposedly allows them to make a fashion statement since it’s not your typical hair color. Pastel colors are also excellent options if the client wants a softer look.
The issue with these colors is they can be harder to make work than regular colors. If you choose a suitable color, the results will be fantastic. Otherwise, the client may regret going to your salon.
Granted, the choice ultimately depends on your client, but you can at least prevent them from choosing an incompatible pastel color by providing recommendations. The best hair color generally depends on the person’s skin tone. So, to start with, let’s talk about skin tones.
What are the main types of skin tones?
Skin tone refers to the color of the surface of a person’s skin.
There are generally four classifications of skin tone. Different experts use different terms for each classification, but they have roughly the same connotation. These classifications include:
- light/fair,
- medium,
- olive/tan, and
- dark/deep.
They mean exactly as their names suggest. Those with a light or fair skin tone generally have white skin. Medium-skinned individuals are a bit darker, and so on. It’s usually fairly easy to determine one’s skin tone, but there will be times when you’ll find it particularly difficult.
How to determine a person’s skin tone
Each classification of skin tone can be classified further into different complexions. There are people with very light skin, but there are also those whose skin is barely light enough not to be medium-skinned. If your customer is one such person, here are tips to determine their skin tone:
- Consult your coworkers. It’s always better to have a second or more opinion.
- Look at the client from different angles. The color may appear differently according to the angle, so you must avoid looking at the client’s skin from only one angle.
- Focus on the jawline. A person’s skin generally doesn’t have a uniformly-colored skin. Some parts will be darker, and some parts lighter. The jawline, however, is less affected by these skin changes, meaning it’s the most accurate representation of one’s skin tone.
Best pastel hair colors for different skin tones
Once you’ve made your observation, all that’s left is to recommend a pastel hair color that fits their skin tone. It’s really only a matter of choosing from a predetermined list of hair colors.
In that regard, below are the matching colors for each type of skin tone:
Light/Fair
If the client is light- or fair-skinned, recommend pastel hair colors that are on the cooler side. If you have yet to touch upon cool and warm colors, a general rule of thumb is that the “coolness” of a color depends on the amount of blue in it. The more blue, the “cooler” the color.
Examples of cool pastel colors include pastel blue, pink, and lavender. These are great for light and fair skin because the blue hue offsets the pink hue that this type of skin tone typically has.
Medium
If the client is medium-skinned, your recommendations can have a bit of flexibility. Both cool and warm colors should be suitable for their skin. But make sure the hair color isn’t too pale.
Olive/Tan
If the client is olive- or tan-skinned, recommend pastel hair colors that are on the warmer side.
If the coolness of a color is determined by the amount of blue in it, the warmth of a color depends on the amount of orange in it. Examples of warm colors are pastel apricot and coral.
Warm pastel hair colors are excellent for olive and tan skin because the orange hue offsets the golden hue that this type of skin tone typically has, similar to how the blue hue offsets the pink hue.
Dark/Deep
If the client is dark- or deep-skinned, recommend pastel hair colors that are vibrant. Examples of vibrant pastel hair colors include royal blue, emerald green, and violet. These colors suit dark or deep skin mainly because bright colors are often the safest choice for those with darker skin.
Final Words
As much as you’d like to decide on the hair color of your customer yourself, it’s worth noting that the decision will ultimately come from the client. You can, however, provide recommendations, and this guide would be quite useful if you want to give the best and unbiased recommendations.
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About The Author
Lenard Arceo is an experienced writer who has written about a vast array of topics. His passion for beauty trends fuels his work for the Salon Suites of Palm Beach website and blog.
