Winter hair colors depend on your sub-season, not the calendar. See the dark, cool and vivid shades for Deep, True and Bright Winters, and where blond fits.
By Lisa Routa
“What hair color should I get for winter?”
You’ve typed something like it. Maybe with “ideas” at the end.
It sounds like one question. It’s two.
The first is about the calendar: richer, deeper shades when the days get short. The second is about you: which shades work with your skin.
Only the second one gives you a color you’ll still like when the weather changes.
Winter posts push deeper shades and richer tones. Trends change. And the photo that sold you a shade was taken on someone else’s skin.
Your hair sits right next to your face. It reflects its color onto your skin. A cool shade flatters a cool complexion. A golden shade may turn it yellow or gray.
So the calendar isn’t the filter. Your sub-season is.
Winter is cool, bright, clear and dark, with moderate to high contrast. Three things describe it: how warm or cool a color is, how light or dark, and how clear or muted. Each sub-season stresses a different one: Deep Winter its darkness, True Winter its coolness, Bright Winter its brilliance.
In my view, a trend should be a way to wear your color, not a reason to change it.
Deep Winter (also called Dark Winter) is dark, neutral to cool and saturated, with high contrast. Think of a winter night: midnight blue sky, evergreens, garnet.
Your hair shades are cool dark brown, black and very dark brown.
Black suits a Deep Winter even near the face, so a very dark color sits comfortably. It gives your face a frame as deep as your colors.
The trap is lightening with gold. You lose the definition that makes your look.
A cool burgundy or plum lip looks right beside these shades.
True Winter (also called Cool Winter) is very cool, medium to dark and saturated, with high contrast. Think of a snowy landscape under a blue sky: white, black, bright blue, red berries.
Your hair shades are black, cool brown and ashy dark brown. The key word is cool.
Gray or white hair looks superb on you too.
The common mistake is warming the color with caramel or honey. Silver and a raspberry or fuchsia lip look easy on you. A honey strand next to them looks like the odd one out.
Bright Winter (also called Clear Winter) is neutral to cool, medium in depth and very bright, with very high contrast. Think of a city at night: neon, shop windows, reflections on ice.
Your hair shades are crisp and shiny: cool brown, black, or a very light cool blonde.
Finish matters here. Blended, golden effects soften the very thing that defines you. Muted colors dim a Bright Winter, and hair is no exception.
A bold lip in fuchsia or clear red keeps up with a sharp, glossy color.
Each sub-season has a neighbor next door. A hair color that wanders in that direction stops speaking Winter.
| Sub-season | Look for | Skip | Closest neighbor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Winter | Cool dark brown, black, very dark brown | Golden or coppery tones | Deep Autumn, warmer |
| True Winter | Black, cool brown, ashy dark brown | Caramel and honey warmth | Cool Summer, softer and lower in contrast |
| Bright Winter | Cool brown, black, very light cool blonde | Blended, golden effects | Bright Spring, warmer |
Yes. Bright Winter’s hair shades include a very light, cool blonde, so blond hair doesn’t close the door on Winter.
What counts is the kind of blond. Cool, very light and crisp points toward Winter. Honey, golden or soft and blended points the other way.
For Deep Winter and True Winter, the hair shades listed are dark, and no blond appears among them. Draping decides, not a rule.
So drape before you decide.
Hold a pale, icy fabric under your chin with your hair covered. If your face stays clear and your eyes keep their definition, the idea is worth a conversation. If your skin looks flat, weigh that too.
If you do go light, ask for cool and crisp. A cool blond with sharp edges reads as Winter. A soft golden one reads as someone else’s palette.
If you want the full story on blond, red and gray hair, read whether hair color decides your season.
The calendar doesn’t move your sub-season. Cold weather doesn’t make you a different Winter.
If your hair already sits in your direction, keep it. If it drifts warm, one swap may be enough: cool for gold.
If you’re a brunette, the question is the cast of your brown more than its depth. A cool brown and a warm brown can be equally dark and do opposite things to your skin.
My advice: change the tone before you change the depth. A new tone is easier to judge than a big leap in darkness.
For the logic behind warm, cool and neutral shades, see warm, cool and neutral hair shades.
Bring three words to your stylist: temperature, depth, clarity. Add what you want to avoid, such as “no gold.”
A photo helps less than you think. It shows another person’s skin under another light. Describe the cast you want, cool or golden, and say whether you want the finish blended or sharp.
Black, cool brown or an ashy dark brown. A Cool Winter is very cool and saturated, so the shade should read clean, with no honey or caramel warmth in it. Gray or white hair also suits this sub-season naturally, so you can let it show.
Stay dark and cool: black, very dark brown or cool dark brown. Your contrast is high, and a dark frame keeps your face as sharp as your colors.
Pick a cool brown, black or a pale cool blond, with a clean, glossy finish. Your colors are electric and your contrast is very high, so blended or golden effects dim you. If you lighten, check that the blond reads icy, not honey.
Warm, golden ones: caramel, honey, copper and any soft golden blend. They can turn a Winter’s skin yellow and blur contrast. Treat that as a direction, not a ban. If you love a warm shade, set it against cool clothes near the face.
Not because of the calendar. Your sub-season is the same in January and in July. If your hair already sits in your direction, keep it. If it drifts golden, one swap to a cooler tone may be enough, and a new tone is easier to judge than a big jump in darkness.
Sit by a window in daylight, bare face. Cover your hair with a neutral cloth.
Hold a black fabric under your chin, or a pure white one. Then hold a warm, golden fabric as a deliberate foil. Watch what happens to your skin: smoother and clearer, or yellower and more tired.
Redo it another day. Then judge for yourself.
Don’t know your sub-season yet? Take the free quiz. Ten questions, about two minutes, and it points you to a season and a sub-season to check in your mirror.
Note which fabric leaves your skin clearer, and take that cast to your stylist.
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.
