Natural looking red hair on different skin tones!

[LovingLife]

I know the wide variety of red heads on here :)
What's the trick to making red hair look natural on all skin tones?
For example dark skin, pinkish or olive?

[Lianna]

Find pictures of natural redheads (or natural looking) with similar skin tone/darkness as yours. Pick your favorite hair color among those.

I'm pale with pinkish undertones, a coppery henna blend used to work for me. Or a coppery level 6 hair dye. Reference picture (http://media4.onsugar.com/files/2011/01/02/0/192/1922153/6832e3a2b81adb37_Amy-Adams.larger/i/Amy-Adams-Golden-Globes-2011.jpg)

[LadyCelestina]

Well... I'm so sorry to say it,but in my opinion,red hair just doesn't look natural with darker / tan complexions - sure it can look GOOD,but it doesn't look NATURAL.
Even people with lighter complexion and dyed red hair mostly don't look very natural,if you ask me.
I'm not bashing - I have red dyed hair myself and it's surely far from natural :D

What shade of red do you mean ?
orange or orange-red tones mostly suit warm toned complexions. Cooler red or burgundy tones suit people with cool toned complexions.

[LovingLife]

Jade thompson is one with a tan complexion and her shade of red seems pretty natural looking?

[Lianna]

I just posted this in another thread. Let's keep this in mind, if possible.


"Wrong" it is not. Red hair and cool skin is a natural combination. You might just have to find the right shade.

http://us.fotolia.com/id/15527250
http://shutterviewphoto.blogspot.com/2010/03/awaiting-spring-few-more-beautiful.html
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-redhead-child-outdoors-image12160927
http://urbanhairstyle.net/mini-redhead/
http://images.newfaces.com/userimages/big/redhead8-redhead8-d9ee.jpg
http://shutterviewphoto.blogspot.com/2010/05/bright-and-happy-sisters-redheaded.html

[LovingLife]

Thank you very much! :)

[Lianna]

What shade of red do you mean ?
orange or orange-red tones mostly suit warm toned complexions. Cooler red or burgundy tones suit people with cool toned complexions.

A lot of natural light redheads/strawberry blondes have pink undertones. I was not a "dramatic" redhead, but I looked natural. I agree a lot of hair colors don't look natural, but a lot do, you just think it's natural. ^.^

ETA: this (http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-2856631/stock-photo-having-a-massage) darker shade can work with a lot of skin tones in my opinion.

[LadyCelestina]

Aha,so here goes a misunderstanding - I see that darker hair photo you posted as warm browns and auburns ,same goes for Jade Thompson :D


I imagined something lighter and brighter under RED hair ^^. I'm sorry.

[LovingLife]

Aha,so here goes a misunderstanding - I see that darker hair photo you posted as warm browns and auburns ,same goes for Jade Thompson :D


I imagined something lighter and brighter under RED hair ^^. I'm sorry.

OH!
You must have meant orange or something :)
Its okay!
Simple misunderstanding

[luxepiggy]

The best place to begin is with an assessment of the skin's undertones (warm/neutral/cool), not the overtones (olive, dark, etc.). Overtones are unreliable because changing the hair colour often results in a corresponding shift in perceived skin tone. When I dyed my hair from dark brown to blue-black, I had to buy all new makeup because my old stuff no longer matched my skin.

Reds that contain golden tones, like copper, auburn, or warm mahogany are best paired with warm-toned skin. Reds that contain blue tones, like red wine or cherry, are best for cool-toned skin. True reds and red-browns are more neutral and can often be worn by a broader range of complexions. This hair color chart (http://www.karamel-shop.ru/data/files/PM-swatch-chart-full-size.jpg) is an excellent reference. The colours are arranged in columns according to their predominant base tone.

[Charybdis]

There are so many shades of red that I think most people can find one that works. Not everyone, though. My mother has pale skin, and when she was a young woman her hair was black (or close enough to make no difference). I cannot imagine a shade of red that would have ever looked good on her hair. My sister and I have lighter hair that looks good with a variety of red tones, which still astounds my mother.

[LadyCelestina]

OH!
You must have meant orange or something :)
Its okay!
Simple misunderstanding


Yeah,I was thinking about really orange/really red :D

Oh,and I hope you didn't misunderstand my earlier post - I'm not saying dyed bright red/orange hair is not pretty,in fact I love it and I had both red and orange hair for a while. I just think it's "unnatural" in a way like smokey eyes or nail polish is. Beautiful,yet not exactly what nature would give you :) .

[Orangerthanred]

This is coming from a natural redhead. :D

I have super pale pinkish skin and freckles. My hair is naturally orange- almost like a crayon in the summer. I've tried temporary dye before, and I look better with auburn hair because it makes my skin look less red.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I'm a natural redhead with a neutral skin tone. A lot of people have told me that my hair color compliments my skin tone very well and vice versa. I've seen a lot of people with dyed red hair that doesn't look natural at all, mostly the cool burgundy/wine colors, and I've seen people with dyed red hair that looks pretty natural. It really depends on skin tone. Though the cooler reds aren't natural looking, they look really pretty on someone with cool undertones. If a person with darker skin was looking for a red color that looked natural on them, I would go with a warm red that brings out the warmth in your skin, rather than a cool red that would pale you out.

[candycandace]

If you don't have red hair naturally, and your skin is dark, I don't think there is really a way to make it look natural. Generally speaking, there are not a lot of dark skinned people with red hair, so it wouldn't be very convincing if you were walking around with hair like diamond.eyes. I don't mean to sound rude in any way, but why would you want people to think your hair is naturally red when it isn't? Isn't that lying?

[dwell_in_safety]

I have olive skin, warm undertones, and currently the majority of my hair is dyed a dark auburn color. It's only really visible as red in good lighting, and it looks very natural on me. The trick with making dyed hair look at least somewhat natural in general is to keep it within two or three shades of your natural color, or so I've heard. If you have an olive skin tone, auburn is the way to go if you want some red, at least according to the way I look. :D

[Avital88]

Well... I'm so sorry to say it,but in my opinion,red hair just doesn't look natural with darker / tan complexions - sure it can look GOOD,but it doesn't look NATURAL.
Even people with lighter complexion and dyed red hair mostly don't look very natural,if you ask me.
I'm not bashing - I have red dyed hair myself and it's surely far from natural :D

What shade of red do you mean ?
orange or orange-red tones mostly suit warm toned complexions. Cooler red or burgundy tones suit people with cool toned complexions.

yes, this is one reason i color my hair.. im not official redhead, but im a reddish auburn and a darker skincolor,which imo looks very weird haha.so i agree with you

[Kaelee]

I'm a hennahead, and I often get asked if my haircolor is natural or people think that it is- even though it's rather glowing orange in the front/top and deep purplish burgundy on the bottom and I think it is in no way natural looking (I've never seen this particular shade naturally on a human head, ever. lol)

[cmg]

If there are other redheads in the family or even greater circle of relatives, one might check their colors for comparison. Sometimes this will give clues as to what colors might work.

[Diamond.Eyes]

but why would you want people to think your hair is naturally red when it isn't? Isn't that lying?
I don't appreciate it when people think I'm dumb enough to believe them when they lie about their natural hair color, and I don't think anyone else would either. It's a pretty undignified thing to do.

[Lianna]

Whenever someone asked about my hair color I told the truth, it doesn't mean I can't have natural looking dyed hair. And people just passing the street just THINK it looks natural. I was having a converstation with some new class mates and I happen to mention, "oh, I dye my hair too!" and they both were quite surprised.

I'm actually growing it out now, however my roots aren't very obvious even though I have ashy natural color and somewhat of a copper glow from faded henna. Soon I'll be "obvious dyed". But it's okay because I'll keep my hair short for this period. :)

[Diamond.Eyes]

I'm all for people having their hair look however they want it to :). The only thing I don't like is when people lie to my face about their natural hair color, and then come to find out they just dye it that color. It doesn't make sense to me. Why lie about it?

[Amber_Maiden]

I have (or had, I should say, until I got pregnant) auburn hair that was very red. I would lightly henna it to bring out the red even more. It look pretty natural. I have very pale olive skin and it worked. That said, as soon as I went darker with my henna it looked very bad, and my skin started looking greener. I didn't have to worry for long though- I got pregnant and my hair colour changed completely, like it did for my mom when she got pregnant with me- she lost her auburn hair and it went dark dark brown, like it's doing for me... So, now I have no auburn hair and am planning to stay away from henna- I feel if I hennaed now it would be too far away from my natural colour now.

[LovingLife]

I don't appreciate it when people think I'm dumb enough to believe them when they lie about their natural hair color, and I don't think anyone else would either. It's a pretty undignified thing to do.

I wasn't at all planning to lie about my hair colour :)
However for some people dying their hair its better to look more natural maybe because they perfer not to be washed out or they cant have unnatural hair colours..

[cmg]

Apparently I had a very unnatural (red bordering to auburn) hair color when I was younger. People kept asking me all the time if I was dyeing it and what color I used. I am pretty sure there were more than one person that thought that I was lieing about my natural hair color. And when I really was dyeing it, noone asked! Even hairdressers guessed wrong. Lots of people thought I had the color I was wearing those times. Today I dont really know if it looks natural or not, and I dont really care. I feel comfortable in it and I feel it enhances my personality. I also know that I look more than 15 years younger than my age, judging from peoples guesses. I think it would shock everyone, if I turned up one day with my naturally white hair :D I will, some day. But for now I am having some fun with my looks!

[LovingLife]

Its a bit strange to say only pale freckled people can have ginger hair :(
So can tan and even darker people,
In fact I bring up Malcom X and Jade (Britans next top model winner) as two people who are not pale who are naturally redhead and whom it looks natural on.
I get that obviously it will be hard if you do not naturally have red hair but there are people who do great jobs :)

[LovingLife]

Some examples of 'natural looking' or natural shades on darker hair!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltu06yELPM1r5caogo1_500.jpg
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/auto/r/350x0/7/3/732db-270442_f520.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.stylelist.com/media/2011/01/khloe-kardashian-red-hair-peoples-choice-awards-2011-590-1294787593.jpg
http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/250/draft_lens14891901module129907481photo_1288455177r ed_hair_shade_olive_skin
http://www.realbeauty.com/cm/realbeauty/images/25/rby-color-treated-hair-red-de.jpg

[julliams]

I get asked all the time if my hair is natural. I don't know if that means that it doesn't look natural???? I have golden undertones in the skin on my arms but my face does have some red/pink in it. People often comment that I have a "peaches and cream" complexion but I have no idea what that means - never have.

Sometimes people ask me where I get my colour done. I guess it's because most of the woman walking around where I live do dye their hair.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6093/6381915301_3ec315ca87.jpg My husband has quite tanned skin so you can see the difference here between his and mine. I'm greying quite a bit around the temples which actually comes across as more blonde. I wish I could skip all that and just go straight to white...

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2179/5705565435_e9639c4629.jpg

[morrigan*]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2179/5705565435_e9639c4629.jpg

Your hair is beautiful :)

[teal]

I thought red tones in hair were a genetic thing. ie. You either have it or you don't. If your genes support red hair then you can dye your hair with red tones and have the rest of your looks support it in general. (That would probably vary depending on how natural the red tone is! :p)

For example, I would look completely normal with red hair. My hair has quite a bit of red in it though my hair tone overall is dark brown, and when bleached my hair goes strawberry blonde. DH, on the other hand, would look unnatural with anything other than black or very dark brown hair.

[FrozenBritannia]

I would love to have red hair..... Absolutely love it. But I have no red in my hair, and the two times I tried dying it red, my husband didn't like it and while if I liked it I wouldn't give a fig about his preference, but the mirror said he was right and it's not a good colour for me. Oh well. I can gaze in wonder at the red heads in here.:)

The chart was confusing as heck, I couldn't figure out what I was at all,except it is one of the cold blue violet ones, or the grey blue ones, and somewhere around the 7.

[katsrevenge]

I have cool skin. I'm very pale, no red or warmth really. I have 'blue' tones to me. My hair is ash brown or a dark ash blonde (By that chart that was linked here I was in the A or CB range and in the 5-6 region.).

When I say ash hair.. I mean ash. No red. No warmth. I just added an old picture of it to my henna album. It makes me look older and a bit yellowy. I was born white-blonde but I went dark-dark. I'm also rather grey in bits (a lovely silver I'll he happy to own in 30 years!) and right now.. I just don't want it.

The only hair color I cannot look natural in is a deep blue-black. People have assumed I was a natural dark blonde, a natural honey brown, a dark brown, a warmer black then the 'blue-black' and all the shades of red. The strawberry shades were pushing it but the rest looked pretty good.

Henna, on me anyways, looks very natural. Well, at least until I pop into the sunlight and my hair catches fire! So if you are cool toned, don't fret. Chances are pretty good you can find a red you like and that looks nice.

I (personally) think that the olive/yellow skin tones are the hardest to match to non-brown/black shades of hair. You can be pale skinned but olive toned and not look good in a red but someone who is dark and cool or red will look very nice in red.

[prettyhairisred]

I die my hair myself. It can look very natural and pretty :) Espcially if you have green eyes. It REALLY brings them out. Also pale skin is a must! In nature thats just the gentic code for it :P the same genes that give tan skin don't contain the red haired mutation

[UltraBella]

My skin is cool undertoned and so is my natural hair color. I really miss my red hair, I liked it better on me with my complexion. The root upkeep was terrible though. *Sigh. Want to be red naturally !!!

Here's a pic of my with red hair, and another with my natural :


http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/100_1047edit.jpg


http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/photobucket-22331-1318564857967.jpg

[McFearless]

UltraBella, your hair is really pretty red but I think your natural suits your face much better. Its such a unique colour too.

[Piyo]

People often comment that I have a "peaches and cream" complexion but I have no idea what that means - never have.

A lot of people just use the term to describe fair girls, but it should be used for those who have warm undertones (after all, both peach and cream are warm colors). You do have a lovely complexion. I'd say your face has more pinkish undertones.

[KahRistAhn]

UltraBella, just wanted to say that you're ultra gorgeous. :)

[Kelikea]

Pale skin is not always a must for red hair. The genes for hair color and skin color are not the same. I used to know these two boys at my pre-school, that were 1/2 white and 1/2 asian, very tan skin, and auburn/red hair. It made a beautiful combination!
http://www.hairfinder.com/celebrityhairstyles/alex-kingston.jpg Alex Kingston has red hair and she's not very pale.
http://www.mpp3.net/photo1/cdicker2.jpgCintia Dicker--I just love her hair and I think most complexions could pull off this color because it is very multidimensional.

[Lianna]

Some examples of 'natural looking' or natural shades on darker hair!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltu06yELPM1r5caogo1_500.jpg
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/auto/r/350x0/7/3/732db-270442_f520.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.stylelist.com/media/2011/01/khloe-kardashian-red-hair-peoples-choice-awards-2011-590-1294787593.jpg
http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/250/draft_lens14891901module129907481photo_1288455177r ed_hair_shade_olive_skin
http://www.realbeauty.com/cm/realbeauty/images/25/rby-color-treated-hair-red-de.jpg

Those are great! Thank you for taking your time to search it and share it with us.


I thought red tones in hair were a genetic thing. ie. You either have it or you don't. If your genes support red hair then you can dye your hair with red tones and have the rest of your looks support it in general. (That would probably vary depending on how natural the red tone is! :p)

Sometimes the hair doesn't have red tones (ashy) but the skin still suits a shade of red. If people really search for it (example above) a lot of people could find "their perfect red". :)

I'm just like UltraBella, natural ashy color (avatar), pinkish skin and I looked good in almost every shade of red.

ETA: I personally like the red on her better (like many others), but she's great in any color. :)

[UltraBella]

Thanks Lianna, KahRistAhn, and McFearless !

I like that the red brings out the reddish/amber colors in my green eyes. I really really do miss it.

[LovingLife]

Aww UltraBella! Your red hair is gourgoes :)
Do you think you could get the effect with henna and cassia?

[tigereye]

I'm not so sure about the cool skin = cool hair thing.
I, for one, have rather pale, cool coloured skin, with pink and blue undertones, but my hair has always been a warm brown, with natural redd-ish tones in it. With me having now hennaed it, the colour is still very warm, and yet it still looks natural enough on me for no-one who doesnt know me well to comment. The people who do know me well only comment because my hair is a different colour to what it was before.
However, as natural as it may look, I refuse to lie if someone asks me about it.

[Isilme]

Ultrabella you look gorgeous with red hair! It really looks spectacular.

[cmg]

I liked the darker redhaired picture too. I'm wondering if perhaps hazel or even chocolate or golden darklights in your virgin hair might bring out the green in your eyes?

[Kira94]

This is so fun to find this thread! I've always wanted red hair, and been sad that it wouldn't work with my olive skin. Nice to see it can sometimes. :)

[LovingLife]

This is so fun to find this thread! I've always wanted red hair, and been sad that it wouldn't work with my olive skin. Nice to see it can sometimes. :)

Thank you! :)
Also I believe that its not about skin shade its about 'tone' :)
And also about taking risks and not choosing an unnatural red :)

[katsrevenge]

This is so fun to find this thread! I've always wanted red hair, and been sad that it wouldn't work with my olive skin. Nice to see it can sometimes. :)


If you are your avatar I think you'd look very nice in an auburn or a rich red-brown. It's not the skin color but the tone you have to worry about playing up or down.

[cmg]

I agree to that. Those tones (thanks for reminding me this difference, I think I write this wrong most of the time) coult be great for olive tans!

[CorinaS]

I think burgundy/violet red/mahogany look great with olive skin. Rihanna is the only example I can think of right now, but there are others. I would recommend getting a dark red colour, otherwise it's going to create an unpleasant contrast to your face, eyebrows and roots. And please be careful not to damage your hair if you do it with chemical dies, because they had a horrible effect on mine and your curls are so cute, it would be a shame to have to cut them.

[LovingLife]

I think burgundy/violet red/mahogany look great with olive skin. Rihanna is the only example I can think of right now, but there are others. I would recommend getting a dark red colour, otherwise it's going to create an unpleasant contrast to your face, eyebrows and roots. And please be careful not to damage your hair if you do it with chemical dies, because they had a horrible effect on mine and your curls are so cute, it would be a shame to have to cut them.

Only thing is rihanna's hair doesn't usually look very natural!

[CorinaS]

Only thing is rihanna's hair doesn't usually look very natural!

In this pictures it looks quite natural:

http://www.google.ro/imgres?q=rihanna+burgundy+hair&um=1&hl=ro&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=824&tbm=isch&tbnid=DebbDm2z70dVHM:&imgrefurl=http://sg.lifestyleasia.com/en/features/style/celeb-style-rihanna-elie-saab-haute-couture-lace-gown-american-music-awards-6759/&docid=8R-A4OtyFkaNyM&imgurl=http://www.lifestyleasia.com/c/images/articles/original/21/214190.jpg&w=433&h=594&ei=NSPuTtnjOMO_8APM552ICg&zoom=1

http://www.millionlooks.com/images/rihanna-2010-American-Music-Award.jpg

[3azza]

i guess it is wise to use henna in this case because it adds the redness to your hair without changing your natural hair tone which usually complements your skin tone.

[3azza]

My skin is cool undertoned and so is my natural hair color. I really miss my red hair, I liked it better on me with my complexion. The root upkeep was terrible though. *Sigh. Want to be red naturally !!!

Here's a pic of my with red hair, and another with my natural :


http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/100_1047edit.jpg


http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac282/beyondbeauty76/photobucket-22331-1318564857967.jpg
UltraBella i think both colors look good on you, but the way i see it is that your natural hair color perfectly fits you. If i were you i would not wish for anything else.

[LovingLife]

In this pictures it looks quite natural:

http://www.google.ro/imgres?q=rihanna+burgundy+hair&um=1&hl=ro&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=824&tbm=isch&tbnid=DebbDm2z70dVHM:&imgrefurl=http://sg.lifestyleasia.com/en/features/style/celeb-style-rihanna-elie-saab-haute-couture-lace-gown-american-music-awards-6759/&docid=8R-A4OtyFkaNyM&imgurl=http://www.lifestyleasia.com/c/images/articles/original/21/214190.jpg&w=433&h=594&ei=NSPuTtnjOMO_8APM552ICg&zoom=1

http://www.millionlooks.com/images/rihanna-2010-American-Music-Award.jpg

Yes it does! :)
Thank you for contributing those to this thread :)

[StormVixen]

Just wanted to say that one of my sisters friends daughter who is from african decent has beautiful orange ginger tightly curled hair :) sorry no pics.

[xoxophelia]

I get asked all the time if my hair is natural. I don't know if that means that it doesn't look natural???? I have golden undertones in the skin on my arms but my face does have some red/pink in it. People often comment that I have a "peaches and cream" complexion but I have no idea what that means - never have.

Sometimes people ask me where I get my colour done. I guess it's because most of the woman walking around where I live do dye their hair.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6093/6381915301_3ec315ca87.jpg My husband has quite tanned skin so you can see the difference here between his and mine. I'm greying quite a bit around the temples which actually comes across as more blonde. I wish I could skip all that and just go straight to white...

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2179/5705565435_e9639c4629.jpg

Um you and your husband are a pair of hotties :)

The only thing that confuses me is that compared to your hair mine is also pretty red naturally.. This is a nonflash photo and shows the color pretty true..
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=121316

I'm correct in not considering myself a.. red.. head.. though right? That would be so weird O.O

ETA: ugh you are so gorgeous!!! :D