hair quandary poll

[Viola]

Please help me pick a colour for my hair.

I have very light skin, fairly pinky. I do not tan, I burn and then go back to being light pink. I have green eyes.

This is me with coppery red hair. I think my natural pallor makes it more convincing.

This sort of auburn-ish light brown is pretty much my natural colour - maybe slightly less warm than this pic but considerably more reddish than my avatar, which really needs to be colour corrected - that wall I'm standing in front of is ACTUALLY pale yellow but you'd have no idea - but I plan to scrap this avatar altogether when I have my new hair.

Do I want to do red, like the first one, a dark chocolate brown, or black? The hairdresser is pushing for chocolate but I don't know if that's for special aesthetic merit or if its his default answer - he just said it would make my hair look richer and shinier. My husband would like black and Bettie Page all the way, and I think of red as the safe pick, mainly because I've seen myself that way before.

This is a rather severe stoplight red but I sort of like it. I think it could be cute in a sort of Bettie Page-ish pinup style I count bright bright red as a separate vote from a naturalistic copper.

Or should I be doing something else, and what should that something be? Help. All opinions gratefully received.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A deep reddish-brown might be a better choice than pure chocolate -- if you've got green eyes, I think reddish/auburnish hair is definitely the way to go.

 

[C-dot]

A deep reddish-brown might be a better choice than pure chocolate -- if you've got green eyes, I think reddish/auburnish hair is definitely the way to go.

Agreed - It will set off the colour of your eyes, and in a deeper hue, will make your skin appear alabaster.

 

[lolly_loisides]

Agreed, auburn looks great on you.
fftopic: Have you considered getting your hair cut into a Louise Brooks style bob? I think it would look fab & it's also really practical as the weather is getting hotter here. BTW I found a fantastic vintage hairdressers in Surry Hills. Sterling Hairdressers & Barber Shop. Great cutters & reasonably priced (for Sydney anyway).

 

[HadleyH]

Hello Viola!!!

These are the red tones I'd chose for you! Nothing too bright or too orange or too strawberry but more deep as mentioned above! I think these colors would look great with your complexion! Good luck! ( oh, and I would not cut too much, you have lovely hair!)

 

[Viola]

Thanks so much for the help, everyone! I really do appreciate it.

Lizzie, does deep brown with red mean the auburns like Hadley posted, or more like: this lady, whoever she is I like both, and was just wondering.

Lolly, I love tight retro bobs like that on everyone who has the hair texture and the bone structure for them... alas I am not one of those people. I'd have a really round face with my coarse, wavy hair constantly menacing small suburbs in its bid to build up for a swing at Tokyo.

Also my husband would have a little cry. And no one wants that. His reaction to the picture was "...on you? Not on you..." He says this is as short as I should go.

That hairdresser looks amazing, though.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That photo of the unknown gal, yes -- that's what I had in mind. There's a shade that Garnier puts out called "Sangria," or Dark Reddish Brown #59, which is just about the same as that -- I used to use it myself and was very pleased with the results.

 

[Viola]

Excellent, thanks. Okay. I was just checking because EVERYONE was saying deep/dark red and I wanted to make sure I had everyone on the right page.

Garnier Nutrisse is really good. Hard to find most colours here (*sob*) but I used their auburn and their Pomegranate red had absolutely shocking staying power and richness, considering how fast even my hairdresser-applied-red like in my first photo washed out. I haven't seen it in stores here. I'll keep an eye out for Sangria but they seem to only like to stock like five colours (three blond!) at my local shops.

 

[scarlett]

Another vote for deep dark red. With your skin tone and green eyes -vavavoom!

 

[Grant Fan]

I have red hair to be like Rita... I think you should so a shade like mine, I use Loreal Intense red copper It is a great color. And I too am very fair I use the lightest make up I can get my hands on

 

[Viola]

Grant Fan, I hear you on the makeup. Some companies, even their "ivory" is rather dark on me. At least in winter. I'm torn on whether I should embrace the sun and try to "tan" down to a normal colour - or protect my skin since I burn so much.

Looks like red is winning. I was going to go to the beauty parlour today but my husband seems to have an impressively vintage ailment - looks like whooping cough! (or maybe pneumonia) But it looks like I have a plan for during the week, at some point. I promise pics and a new avatar.

 

[fortworthgal]

I think the red would look best, with your fair skin and green eyes... but I can also see you working the dark brown a la Jane Russell. I'm not a fan of unnatural looking colors for hair, so I don't like the stoplight bright red, or the dark reddish brown - many times dark reds pull burgundy and just look "off" IMHO. Also, a really vivid or unnatural color like flame red or dark burgundy or blue-black really needs a made-up face. If you tend to go without makeup often, or wear light makeup, it can make you look very washed out.

I'm anxious to see what you decide!