Spring hair colors for Light, Warm and Bright Springs: which golden, honey and clear shades suit each sub-season, and which calendar trends I would skip.
By Lisa Routa
Don’t pick a hair color because it’s spring.
Don’t pick it because a photo looks good.
Pick it because of your sub-season.
Hair color trends for spring are written for the calendar. Your hair has to work with your face, and your face doesn’t change in April.
Spring hair colors do exist, though. They belong to the Spring season in color analysis, and that season has three sub-seasons that ask for three different things. A honey that lights up a Light Spring may look flat on a Bright Spring.
No. A calendar trend is a mood. It names a finish, a technique or a fashionable tint, and it was photographed on one person under one light.
A Spring shade is something else. Spring is the season of warm, light, bright and clear colors, with low to moderate contrast. Three axes sort it into sub-seasons: temperature, lightness and intensity. Lightness is also called depth, and intensity is also called clarity.
Hair matters because it sits against your face all day. It casts its color on your skin. Golden warms it, ash cools it, and a shade that fights your temperature leaves the skin yellow or gray.
A trend isn’t a shade. It’s a way of applying one. You can borrow the technique and still choose the shade from your sub-season.
Your hair color doesn’t decide your sub-season either. I explain why in the guide to hair color and season.
Light Spring is slightly warm, very light and fresh, with low contrast. Your hair, eyes and skin sit close together, so your hair should stay in that family.
Look for golden blond, honey, light strawberry blond and bright highlights. Put the highlights around your face, where they lift the skin.
Two things work against you. Very dark colors create a contrast your face can’t carry. Ash tones take out the warmth and leave you looking gray.
Light doesn’t mean washed out. In my view, the target is a light shade with freshness in it, not a faded one.
Warm Spring (also called True Spring) is the heart of the season. It is very warm, medium to light and bright, with moderate contrast. Yellow gold beats silver on you, and golden, coppery or honey tones often show up in your natural coloring.
Your shades are golden blond, honey, light copper and golden brown. Choose the depth you like. Then check that every one of them carries warmth.
Ash blond is the usual trap. It dims your natural tones, and a cool cast makes your skin read yellow instead of golden.
Keep copper light and clear. Deeper, more muted warm tones belong to your neighbor, Warm Autumn.
Bright Spring (also called Clear Spring) is neutral to warm, medium in lightness and very bright, with high contrast. Your eyes are very defined. Unlike the other Springs, you can carry light and dark together in one look.
Your hair can follow. Think clear golden blond, bright warm brown or brown with golden tones, all crisp and shiny. Shine counts as much as shade, because a flat finish blurs the sharpness of your face.
Skip ashy effects. They gray out the brightness that makes you look awake.
Keep a little warmth in every shade, since your base leans warm and not cool. Push too cool and you drift toward Bright Winter.
Yes. Brown hair doesn’t rule out Spring, and neither does red.
Brown has a place in two of the three rows. A Warm Spring wears golden brown. A Bright Spring wears a bright warm brown, or brown with golden tones. A Light Spring stays with light, golden shades, and very dark ones work against it.
Red hair neither confirms Spring nor rules it out. Light strawberry blond and light copper are the two red-leaning shades in the Spring rows, for a Light Spring and a Warm Spring.
Blond hair in Spring runs golden: golden blond and honey for a Light or Warm Spring, clear golden blond for a Bright Spring. Ash tones suit the cooler seasons, and the Summer hair colors article covers the Summer sub-seasons.
If a saved photo shows icy, ash-toned blond, check it against your row. It may look lovely on someone else. It isn’t a Spring shade.
| Sub-season | Shades to look for | Shades to leave | Neighbor season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | Golden blond, honey, light strawberry blond, bright highlights | Very dark colors, ash tones | Light Summer, cooler and more powdery |
| Warm Spring | Golden blond, honey, light copper, golden brown | Ash tones, any cool cast | Warm Autumn, deeper and more muted |
| Bright Spring | Clear golden blond, bright warm brown, brown with golden tones | Ashy effects | Bright Winter, cooler |
The “leave” column is short on purpose. The three sub-seasons share a warm base, so what to skip is mostly a cool or heavy cast.
A trend that fits your row is yours to take. A fashionable name tells you nothing about temperature. Ask what is under the name.
You don’t have to dye to find your direction. Wrap your hair in a plain cloth, since your current color muddies everything. Face a window with no makeup on.
Hold a camel or honey-colored fabric under your chin, then a cool gray one. Watch your skin. Does it smooth out, or turn yellow or gray? Repeat on another day.
Fabric shows direction, not shine, length or texture. Treat it as a direction and nothing more.
If your color already runs golden and warm, keep it. Change one step at a time: a few highlights near your face, a gloss, a shade lighter. The big move is temperature, from ash to golden or back. Take that one slowly, and ask your colorist to show you the shade in daylight.
My advice: give your colorist three words. Temperature, lightness, intensity. “Golden, a shade lighter, crisp.”
Then add what to avoid: “No ash.” That helps more than a photo of someone else’s face.
Clear golden blond, bright warm brown or brown with golden tones. Your features are defined and your contrast is high, so a muted, matte result works against you. Choose shine and crispness, and keep the warmth.
Golden blond, honey or light strawberry blond. With low contrast, one heavy shade tips the whole look, so lean toward softness and freshness. If you’re unsure, start with a few highlights near the face and adjust at the next visit.
Golden brown, honey, golden blond or light copper all work. Pick the depth that feels like you, as long as the shade stays warm. A cool one pulls your skin toward yellow. If two shades tempt you, choose the one that looks more like honey or gold.
Yes. Your skin’s reaction decides, not your natural color.
Cover your hair, hold warm, clear colors near your face and watch. Warm and Bright Springs both have brown shades in their range. A Light Spring’s range stays light and golden, and very dark brown works against it.
Only if you want to. The calendar isn’t a reason, and your sub-season doesn’t shift with the weather. If your color already fits your temperature, keep it and freshen it with a gloss or a few highlights. If it works against you, change the shade, not just the date.
Keep one idea: the calendar picks the mood, and your skin picks the temperature.
If you don’t know which Spring you are yet, start with the free color analysis quiz. It points you to a likely Spring and the page that covers it. Read that page before you book, and walk in with your three words. If you love a shade outside your row, wear it, and keep your clothes and makeup in your palette.
With all my heart and passion, Lisa
Keep reading
Seasons mentioned in this article
Take the free quiz for a first hint of your season, then explore the 12 seasons to see your palette.
