If the chameleon-colored strands of celebrities like Rihanna have taught us anything, it’s that there is an entire world of hair color, beyond blonde, brunette and redhead. L'Oréal Professionnel Artist and co-owner of Ted Gibson Salons, Jason Backe recently educated us on what to consider before taking the plunge with color, but how does one decide exactly what color will look best on them? T-o-n-e. Skin and hair tone are huge factors on how flattering your new hue will be, so to guide us in our decision making process, Backe shared his expert tips on the right color for your complexion.

If You Tan Easily and Have Brown Eyes…

“You can get away with a more golden shade, whether you’re blonde or brunette. However, if you’re thinking about being a redhead, it’s the opposite. You want to stay away from anything that’s coppery or golden, and you want to go towards more of a garnet, or crimson sort of red,” Backe advises.

If You’re Fair with Light Eyes…

“If you have fair skin that gets pink very easily and light eyes, then you should stay away from gold and do things that are more neutral to ash because gold will exaggerate the pink tones in your skin. If you’re going red you can get away with doing a lot of copper. If you think of Nicole Kidman when she was sporting the red, she’s so fair, and light eyed, that she could pull off that really coppery red,” Backe explains.

If You Have Dark Skin…

“Stay away from gold, if you’re going lighter. If you think of Beyoncé, she always has a lot of blonde in her hair, but it’s always a very wheaty, neutral, or ash blonde, there’s never a lot of gold in it, so that’s why it works. For darker skin if you’re going red, it’s all about garnet and red-red, like when Rihanna did that red-red, where there’s really no orange in it at all, and it looked great on her skin,” Backe says.

Have any other hair color tips for our experts? Leave them below and they could be answered in an upcoming article!

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