...says reader D.C. She seeks help determining her season, and also wonders whether she should make her hair darker or lighter. When a woman tells me she hates her natural color, I immediately suspect she's a muted season - i.e., a Summer or an Autumn. Those are the seasons whose colors are in-between, hard to describe, often nameless. We think with language; I believe we dislike in-between colors in ourselves because we don't have the language to conceptualize them. Here's the thing: If you think your hair is "blah," chances are the rest of your coloring is similarly subtle and blended. Putting Crayola-colored hair next to your blended skin will only make you disappear. Keep your hair as muted as your skin, and surround the whole vision with similarly quiet colors, and watch everything suddenly come into focus. Your natural hair color flatters you more than any other color can, and its subtle beauty is always revealed when it's placed in the context of your best colors. Compare Lady Gaga in unnatural hair colors, on the left, to Lady Gaga in something more like her natural hair color on the right. Which of these ^ women looks the most healthy? Which looks the most comfortable in her skin? Which looks the most confident? Which woman isn't afraid to be real with you?
Unnatural hair color is a look, for sure. It makes a statement. But it may not be the statement you want to make. Natural hair color says, "See ME. This is who I am. I know myself and I like myself. I am not afraid and I don't want to hide from you." That kind of power and presence isn't blah; it's beautiful. Original version published September 2015.
37 Comments
Charity
3/18/2019 03:49:32 pm
I have always hated my hair color. I was a lovely light blonde as a child and then it darkened into a mousy grayish-brown. I've had it red, blonde, brunette (I usually look best as a brunette), etc., and looking back at photos -- yes, you do have a point. Go as natural as possible to your own hair color.
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Miranda
3/18/2019 04:10:03 pm
I'm a Soft Summer with ashy brown hair (though it's gotten a lot of red in it the past few years). I've done many different colors over the years, most often deep henna red, TARDIS blue, or dark purple. I actually realized that I was wrong about my color season because I thought my hair had gotten dark and dull as an adult, and figured out that it was iron build-up. After a few clarifying treatments, my eyes (which I thought had faded with age) were suddenly deep blue again. I am *really* careful not to do anything to change the color of my hair now.
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Ing-Marie Koppel
3/18/2019 10:17:03 pm
Just found this in the Swedish paper Expressen. A Swedish couple had to pay 2376 crowns (257 us dollars) for miscolorings around the draining gutter in their bathroom. They were moving out of their flat and the purple/lilac stains on their bathroom floor was impossible to take away. The reason of the purple/lilac miscolorings were the dye she had used to color her hair.
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Miranda
3/19/2019 03:11:14 am
I sympathize. I once dyed a shower purple.
Lena
3/19/2019 02:02:03 pm
To be honest, I'm not sure what having to pay rental damages when moving out has to do with the topic of this article..? Except warning not to dye your hair purple / lilac maybe, though still a bit far-fetched ;) And I know Expressen is a tabloid, and I'd never credit anything tabloids say, in any case. ;)
Ing-Marie Koppel
3/18/2019 09:24:52 pm
This post is very much needed. Thank you. I'm one of those women who would never dye my hair in such stark artificial colors. My hair is natural golden brown with red pigments and has in recent years been loosing its pigments, getting paler and more yellowish and silver white. Am not so fond of how it turns out to become. But guess I must up with it and accept it.
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Christy
3/18/2019 10:16:06 pm
From a personal preference standpoint, I agree that Lady Gaga looks healthy and approachable with a more "natural" hair color, but I think that this discussion is more complex than that. Much like the "best lip color" discussion, some style IDs aren't complemented by a natural hair or lip color.
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Melina
3/19/2019 04:40:43 am
Agree with basically everything you wrote here, Christy!
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Miranda
3/19/2019 04:41:26 pm
As an REG, I adore my silvers. I think they suit my style ID very well.
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W.
3/21/2019 09:29:03 pm
I find the phrase "natural color" to be the confusing here. Does this mean the color that is currently growing out of my head? Or does this mean something that harmonizes with my seasonal palette?
W.
3/21/2019 09:31:10 pm
...Oh wow. Autocorrect butchered that post. Ah well. You know what I mean. Or maybe you don't, but whatever
Melina
3/19/2019 04:32:16 am
Hmm, while I agree with most things stated on this site, I can't agree with "Your natural hair color flatters you more than any other color can". There are actually many, many people to whom another color than their natural one is more flattering! For example, many famous blondes or brunettes are actually known as redheads, even if it's not their natural color; it's their trademark, so to speak. And also, this article showcases only very artificial unnatural colors, like blue or green, not naturally occurring hair colors (that just don't happen to be the ones that grows from someone's head), which I feel distorts the matter in question. ;)
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Victoria
3/19/2019 12:22:56 pm
I didn't really get the impression that she was saying one should never ever dye their hair. I thought she was specifically addressing the softer seasons' displeasure with their own natural hair colors? Perhaps pointing out that dying one's hair and having it come out within the correct color season is often difficult to achieve, and also (more to her direct point), that if you are a muted season, dying your hair something unnaturally bright isn't going to be a better look. I didn't think she was 100% talking about wearing the color you were born with, but rather the importance of picking a "natural" color rather than an "unnatural" color, especially for soft seasons. I can see the confusion with the word natural having different meanings in this case. That was just my interpretation...
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Melina
3/19/2019 01:30:40 pm
You were probably replying to Christy's comment, as I didn't actually claim in my comment above that she had said "never dye your hair"? :)
Kels
3/19/2019 03:15:33 pm
Y’all are reliably passive aggressive in the comments. Lord.
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Victoria
3/19/2019 04:11:04 pm
I was just replying at the bottom of the thread because that's where the reply button was.
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Melina
3/20/2019 04:48:17 am
Victoria, I mean no offense whatsoever, so please don't take it that way, but just to explain the way the reply function works in here :) If you click the "reply" button under any message, your message will show as replying to that message; to reply just generally, if that's one's intention, it's better to use the "Leave a Reply" option at the bottom of the thread. :)
Ninja
3/19/2019 08:12:49 pm
Kels, you must be bored, obviously...I write this comment to check if there is this passive agressive system that keep me clicking five series of pictures again. So I'm adding a comment here and the blog might be still active so that the online shop is still available- thats what this blog is, not for information and discussion. Old, boring posts over and over again...bleh
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Kels
3/19/2019 10:30:50 pm
So you’re here to siphon off information that obviously adds to your life whilst having an attitude about it? I’m amazed at the lack of cognition. The sheer lack of self awareness. But hell, that crack rock’ll take you on a ride, I hear. More power to you.
Nancy
3/20/2019 03:50:17 am
Ninja, I agree with you. I guess the passive agressive system is there to keep you from commenting. Rachel is not interested in her readers. She is just innterested in money.
Ninja
3/20/2019 04:25:18 am
Yes Nancy, it' ugly true about Rachel and Rachel writes here comments-these obnoxious, aggresive, naive and angry attacks from a person who writes here as Kels here is probably Rachels. Kels-Rachel you are obnoxious person and your attack to me just confirmed your dullness. Stop talking nonsense, you've been constantly offending readers.
Lena
3/20/2019 04:01:15 am
"Passive aggressive"? No idea what that (fairly rude) comment by Kels is referring to... She seems to be the one here who is aggressive (plus this commented calling herself Nancy, whose comments have always been rude), though not so much passive ;)
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Holly
3/20/2019 05:21:54 am
Kels, highly sarcastic and aggresive reaction and tone of yours only shows how unrealistic and infantile you are. First think, then speak (write).Your blatantly words were narcissistic - what do you mean by accusing a reader of 'siphoning information'? Since when readers of blogs are 'siphoning information'? (WTF?) - and how anyone would 'siphon' any information from this blog when there is NO information? Rachel is only trying to siphon money. you are attacking a person who noticed this blog is empty for long time - learn to talk, not attack when you don't have an argument. Your words are only defending scam. You must be juvenile or you must be the blogger.
KC
3/19/2019 05:03:45 pm
Personally, I think Gaga looks gorgeous with a more "natural" hair color. That being said, it seems like she goes more for personal expression and shock value with her appearance, regardless of whether it makes her skin look healthy and whatnot.
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Melina
3/20/2019 04:41:29 am
KC, what you say about hair dyes being very hard on your hair is true regarding chemical permanent or semi-permanent colorants, but *not* herbal hair colors - they in fact make hair healthier, shinier, and stronger than it otherwise is! I know, I used them for years, and my hair hasn't been even near as strong & shiny ever since I grew out my natural color (even though I do like it)... Needless to say, I'm tempted to go back to henna & other herbals ;)
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KC
3/26/2019 06:08:54 am
I forgot about henna!
Molly
3/19/2019 10:04:36 pm
My natural hair color is a soft honey/caramel color, and rather pretty, with curls with natural highlights. My skin, on the other hand, has a ruddy Celtic complexion, which was never meant for the Arizona Desert I grew up on. I look rather better when it's cool and rainy out, which for most of my life has been about two weeks a year.
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Melina
3/20/2019 04:27:08 am
I love henna & herbal colors too! Though one has to be careful not to apply full-strength henna, so as not to get day-glo / bozo orange :) I'm always tempted to go back to henna & herbal coloring, even though I love my natural color now, like I mentioned in my earlier comment... They are so good for hair.
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Trisha
3/20/2019 05:08:43 am
I think the comments were originally directed towards Soft types of women who felt their hair colour to be a bit lacking in interest?! I have two friend, one soft and warm, the other soft and cool, who both look wonderful because they have not been tempted to go too blonde or extreme; in fact I've always admired that soft, blended glow they have about them. As someone who always had very dark (espresso) warm brown hair and pale skin, I was the exact opposite of them, quite high contrast, which I was equally happy with - it was me. However, and this touches the second point people are bringing up, not wanting to go grey, I have gradually lightened that colour over the decades as other components in my colouring have softened with age. My darkest olive green eyes are now grey/yellow mix and I am light golden brown/dark blonde depending on how much the sun bleaches out my colour! In fact, my very wavy, thick hair actually looks better with this colour, showing the texture more. I have gone from feeling distressed about grey hair and fading eyes to accepting and now loving these changes and whole new set of clothing colours. Of course I can no longer wear the darkest olive greens and burgundies they look hard on me, so I have moved to gentle camels and corals and replaced black near my face with a deep navy, which never worked before. I do take the point that you look best if every component goes together - as it does naturally in Nature. Not sure what season that makes me now, any ideas anyone?! I
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Christy
3/20/2019 10:08:34 am
Bear with me, this will be a bit long. I just feel like my comments were misinterpreted, and clarification is warranted. And don't think it is lost on me that this discussion is, in part, about whether or not Lady Gaga was "Born this Way."
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Janet
3/23/2019 01:36:31 am
Christy, I really appreciate what you wrote here and above. I love Rachel's advice in this post and others because it's a good reminder that you can trust your natural coloring to work for you. Just in general, I love coming back to this blog because it makes me appreciate how much variety there is in human beauty, both style and coloring.
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Christy
3/24/2019 03:22:31 pm
Thanks for your comments, Janet. I am holding off on the whole gray thing right now. I would suspect that you can try out some purple or blue shades in your hair through wigs or clip on hair pieces. There is so much available that way, these days, and you can dye pieces like that yourself to get a more customized color to play with.
Megan
3/20/2019 06:08:56 pm
As others have said, it seems really easy to go wrong when coloring your hair (too warm, dark, light, etc). But I like Christy's points about considering style ID, and I think there are instances when dyed hair might actually look more harmonious with one's ID.
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Christy
3/20/2019 08:08:01 pm
Megan, I am totally with you on the "What Not to Wear" type of show. It would really help to know how to shop and adjust my colors/style ID for my actual body. Of course, as an EDC, most of my best looks seem out of reach from a cost perspective, but achieving the look on a budget would be great.
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Claudia Murray
8/8/2020 04:16:18 pm
If you want to see what to wear or not on YouTube there’s a lady on called Ally Art who does this for the 5 Kibbe Types. I’m working on this as well but check Ally first.
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3/29/2021 03:56:58 am
Dark blackish brown with unintentional streaks of white/gray starting to become more prominent. No one else notices them but me though. I love my natural hair color (without the gray).
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