Does copper hair suit cool skin tones?

Pure orange copper usually makes cool, pink-toned skin look ruddy. Cool skin can still wear copper by choosing a cooler, deeper version, rose copper, copper auburn or a copper brown with a hint of mahogany, and by keeping the depth close to natural. A full bright copper is best left to warm skin.

What copper shade suits fair skin?

Light copper, strawberry copper and copper gold flatter fair warm skin; a classic copper also works if the skin has a peachy glow. Very fair cool skin should choose rose copper or a light copper brown rather than a bright orange copper.

Does copper hair suit olive skin?

Warm olive skin suits copper brown, dark copper and cinnamon, deeper coppers with brown in them, beautifully. Bright orange copper can make the olive cast look sallow, so keep the shade rich and slightly deep rather than bright.

What eye colors look best with copper hair?

Green, hazel and warm brown eyes look most striking with copper hair because copper sits opposite green on the color wheel and echoes the gold in hazel and brown. Blue eyes look lovely with lighter, strawberry-leaning coppers.

What color season can wear copper hair?

True Autumn and Deep Autumn are copper's natural home, and Soft Autumn suits a muted copper brown. True Spring and Bright Spring can wear light, bright copper. Summers and Winters are cool seasons and generally look better in cool or neutral hair colors; if they want copper, the rose or auburn-leaning versions are the safest.

Which Skin Tones Suit Copper Hair? Analyst's Guide

Q: Which skin tones suit copper hair?

Copper suits warm and neutral-warm skin from fair to tan, peachy fair skin, golden light skin, warm medium skin and warm olive all glow beside it. The classic match is warm fair-to-medium skin with green, hazel or warm brown eyes. Cool pink skin and very cool deep skin are the tones copper tends to fight.

In a sentence: copper hair suits warm and neutral-warm skin from fair to tan: peachy, golden and warm olive complexions, especially with green, hazel or warm brown eyes, and cool skin should choose a rose copper, copper brown or copper auburn rather than a bright orange copper. Skip to the skin-tone table, the shade chart, or find your undertone from a photo.

Copper is the hair color people want most and trust least. It's the shade in every salon window, and the first question I'm asked about it is always the same: will it suit me? The honest answer is that copper is one of the most flattering colors on the planet for about half of people and one of the least flattering for the other half, and the dividing line isn't how brave you are. It's your undertone.

Copper is warm. It's orange with gold and red in it, and it sits directly against your face. On warm skin it acts like a highlighter, the skin looks peachy, the eyes light up, the whole face reads healthy. On cool, pink-based skin the same copper reflects orange into a face that has no orange in it, and the result is ruddy cheeks and a slightly sunburned look. This guide sorts out which side of the line you're on, which copper to choose, and how to wear copper anyway if you're cool. For the general rules, see hair color for your skin tone and the existing copper hair color guide.

Who copper suits, in one table

Skin tone	Suits copper?	Best copper shades
Fair, warm (peachy, freckles, golden)	Yes, the classic match	Light copper, strawberry copper, copper gold
Fair, cool (pink, porcelain)	With care	Rose copper, light copper brown
Light-medium, warm (golden)	Yes	Classic copper, bright copper, copper gold
Light-medium, neutral	Yes, in moderation	Copper brown, cinnamon
Medium, cool (rosy)	Rarely	Copper auburn, deep copper brown
Olive, warm	Yes	Copper brown, dark copper, cinnamon
Olive, cool or neutral	With care	Copper auburn, dark copper
Tan, warm	Yes	Dark copper, copper auburn, cinnamon
Deep, warm	Yes, in deeper versions	Dark copper, copper auburn, copper balayage
Deep, cool	Rarely	Deep mahogany-copper only

The pattern: warmth in the skin, yes; the deeper the skin, the deeper the copper.

How to tell if you're warm enough for copper

Three quick checks in daylight:

Gold or silver? Hold each against your jaw. Gold flatters → warm → copper is yours. Silver flatters → cool → go for the rose or auburn versions.
Peach or pink? Hold a peach top and a cool pink top under your chin. If peach makes you glow, copper will too. If pink does, copper will fight you.
How do you tan? Golden-tan and freckle easily → warm. Burn pink, tan slowly → cool.

Two out of three warm results and copper will look like it grew there. If you'd rather not judge it in the mirror, a photo-based analysis reads undertone, depth and contrast together, and tells you the whole hair-color family, not just this shade.

The copper shade chart

Copper hair color chart with hex codes, light copper, bright copper, copper gold, classic copper, copper brown, dark copper, copper auburn, strawberry copper, rose copper and cinnamon, with the skin tones each suits, by ToneLala — Which Skin Tones Suit Copper Hair? A Color Analyst's Guide, every shade with its hex code.

Shade	Hex	Best on
Light Copper	`#D08A5A`	Fair warm skin, blue or green eyes
Bright Copper	`#C9652E`	Light-medium warm skin, high-contrast coloring
Copper Gold	`#C5803A`	Fair to medium golden skin
Classic Copper	`#B5552E`	Light-medium warm skin, the definitive copper
Copper Brown	`#9A5636`	Neutral and warm olive skin; the most wearable copper
Dark Copper	`#7E3E24`	Olive, tan and deep warm skin
Copper Auburn	`#8A3A25`	Cool-leaning and medium-deep skin; the "cool copper"
Strawberry Copper	`#D9926B`	Very fair warm skin
Rose Copper	`#C27A6A`	Fair cool skin, copper with pink in it
Cinnamon	`#A65E38`	Warm olive and tan skin; spiced, not orange

Skin references: Fair Warm #F0D5B4, Light Peach #EBC4A4, Medium Warm #D3A277, Warm Olive #C6A880 and Tan Warm #B8875B.

Not sure if you're warm or cool? Find out from a selfie

Find your color season →

Copper for cool skin tones

Cool skin isn't banned from copper; it just needs copper with something cool in it. Three routes:

Rose copper. Copper with a pink lean, it bridges cool skin and warm hair. Best on fair and light cool skin.
Copper auburn. Copper deepened with red-brown, the red reads cooler than orange does, so it sits more comfortably against pink skin. Best on medium and deeper cool skin.
Copper balayage on a cool base. Keep your natural cool brown at the root and face, and put the copper through the mid-lengths and ends. You get the color without it reflecting onto the skin.

What to avoid on cool skin: bright orange copper, copper gold and all-over light copper, the three that reflect the most orange.

Copper by color season

True Autumn: copper's home. Classic copper, bright copper, copper gold: anything.
Deep Autumn: dark copper, copper auburn, cinnamon; keep the depth.
Soft Autumn: copper brown and a muted cinnamon; bright copper is too loud for soft coloring.
True Spring and Bright Spring: light copper, strawberry copper, bright copper, clear and warm.
Light Spring: strawberry copper only; deeper coppers overwhelm light coloring.
Summers: rose copper if fair, otherwise cool or neutral browns will flatter more. See Soft Summer.
Winters: copper auburn or mahogany-copper at most; Winter coloring is cool and looks best in cool depth. See Deep Winter.

Eyes, brows and makeup with copper hair

Copper makes green and hazel eyes extraordinary (copper sits opposite green on the wheel) and warms blue eyes. Brows should move warm with the hair, a soft auburn or warm taupe pencil, not ash. Makeup follows the warm rule: peach or apricot blush, warm nudes, coral, brick and terracotta lips, bronze and copper eyes; cool pinks and blue-reds fight the hair. The best colors for red hair guide covers the wardrobe, teal, olive, cream, denim and forest green are the ones to buy first, and red hair with green eyes goes deeper on that combination.

Upkeep

Copper fades faster than any other family because red and orange pigment molecules are large and wash out. Color-safe, sulphate-free shampoo, cool water, a copper or red color-depositing conditioner every week or two, and a gloss every six weeks keep it vivid. Expect a refresh every five to eight weeks, and remember that copper fades warmer and lighter, so a slightly deeper shade at the salon lands at the color you actually wanted a fortnight later.

Putting it together

Warm skin, any depth: copper is yours, light and bright if fair, classic if medium, dark and cinnamon if olive or tan. Cool skin: rose copper, copper auburn or copper kept away from the face. Green or hazel eyes: go for it. Find your undertone before the appointment, bring the family rather than the photo, and copper stops being a risk and becomes the color people ask you about.