Best hair color for warm olive skin

Research has found that over half of women have burst into floods of tears after paying an impromptu visit to the hair salon for a colour overhaul, while even more lament swerving professional treatments for DIY dye-jobs over their bathroom sink. Yep, that's a lot of regret!

Just like shopping for the perfect foundation, choosing a hair colour that complements your skin tone is detrimental to your look, and no matter how many times you pin that snap of Sienna Miller with fairy-like, rose gold tresses to your Pinterest page, it might not be the best match for you - especially if you have olive skin.

Thanks to both the yellow and green undertones, cool and even warm blondes have a tendency to make skin appear sallow and that's before we've even touched on the army of reds and newly coined shades like blorange (blonde-orange, and totally a thing) not to mention splashlights (bold highlights mid-length).

While switching up your strands might sound like a bit of a minefield, we've done all the hard work for you and enlisted the best colourists in the business to spill the beans on which hues those with olive tones should definitely try. The best part, though? There isn't a peach wash in sight.

Take that, Instagram.

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Auburn

"Not many olive-skinned girls ask to go auburn, because from experience, most don't think they suit copper tones," says Smithssenior colourist Gemma Smidmore, "but they really do."

"For this look to work, the undertones shouldn't be orange or red, but more chestnut, because otherwise, it can look tacky and two-dimensional. Olive skin has a tendency to look slightly green, so anything too red will clash - that's why a muted auburn is the perfect shade if you want to switch things up."

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Cinnamon

Not just for lattes, Fashion Week catwalks have been awash with fiery, cinnamon tones, and yep, it's also one for those with olive skin - if you stick to the rules.

"Naturally, nine times out of ten, girls with olive skin have hair with some kind of warmth in it," says hairstylist and colourist Mark Pellicciotte, "so anything cool will be going against what suits you. Every Fashion Week we get a feel for what is going to come into style and what will filter down to Instagram, and then into the salons, and this year it's warm cinnamon."

With that in mind, colourist and hairstylist Daniel Galvin mentions that you don't have to go all-out - just a few flecks throughout the lengths are enough to enhance olive skin.

"It's important to use hair colour as a cosmetic and for an olive skin tone, bronze-y highlights like these should be used sparingly and applied in a sun-kissed manner. It'll soften the colour of naturally dark brown hair and give the it movement. This will instantly make the skin look more radiant and the colour of the eyes stronger."

Caramel

"Caramel tones work a treat but if you want to go lighter, I wouldn't suggest going for an all-over look," says Mark.

"I'd definitely suggest some ashy highlights to create a balyage effect, though. Colours like these complement olive tones beautifully when they aren't right up against the skin. If you want a colour that goes up against your skin, the cooler the better, so it doesn't make your skin so yellow."

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Platinum Blonde

Believe it or not, you can go platinum blonde if you have olive skin - just think Rita Ora and Pia Mia. In fact, senior colourists Dominique Burgess and Fie Karayiannis at Jo Hansford salon say hitting the bottle (of bleach, obviously!) could be quite a clever move.

"It is not always necessary to add warmth to your hair in order to inject warmth into your skin tone," they say. "Sometimes, depending on the tone of your olive skin, you can use the reverse of your natural colour to achieve a warmer complexion."

Mark agrees but mentions that you have to commit. "If you're going to go blonde, you have to go blonde. There is no in-between for olive skin otherwise it'll just wash you out. Kylie Jenner is a good example. The platinum pops against her skin, but anything slightly ashier or grey wouldn't look as striking and fantastic. It has to be white - you can do it!"

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Mocha

"Mocha shades are beautiful on olive skin, " says Smiths' Gemma. "and it's all thanks to the green undertones.Women with olive complexions ask for coffee shades the most, especially in the winter months, because it's all about breathing life into a dull complexion - but the best part is that these shades cancel out yellow or green tones, and that makes your overall look appear luxe and expensive."

...just don't go any darker.

"Less really is more when it comes to olive skin and rich chestnut to mahogany brown is a much better shade spectrum to opt for than black. Onyx may be everywhere at the moment, and yes, it tends to suit celebrities and models because they have their make-up and tans topped up daily, but for an ordinary gal, especially one whose skin can sometimes appear slightly yellow, it isn't worth the time or the money."

Dominique and Fie at Jo Hansford agree: "These cool browns work so well on light olive skin tones, especially, and deep olive skin looks so radiant underneath espresso and mahogany shades."

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