Make your features glow with this seasonal hair color guide!
There’s a reason some hair colors make you look instantly more radiant while others fall short. Your eye color and skin tone make the guesswork easier, showing you exactly which hair shades and undertones suit you. Based on these characteristics, your hair can fall under one of the principal seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer, or Autumn. This time, you’ll learn about Autumn and its subtypes along with the most flattering hair colors for each.
From vibrant copper shades to luxurious golden browns, this comprehensive guide will help you map out your Autumn palette and find a matching shade to complement your features and elevate your entire look.
The Autumn palette is characterized by warmth and richness, with golden, bronze, and copper undertones dominating the color story. Unlike the cool-toned Summer and Winter seasons, Autumn types thrive in warm, earthy hues that complement their natural coloring.
Your skin likely has golden, peachy, or olive undertones, while your eyes might be warm brown, hazel, amber, or deep green. Natural hair colors for Autumn types range from strawberry blonde to deep chestnut brown, often with natural red or golden highlights.
Eyes: warm brown, amber, golden brown, topaz, or deep hazel with golden flecks
Skin: golden beige, warm ivory with peachy undertones, bronze, or warm olive with a natural golden glow
Best hair tones: rich copper, auburn, warm chestnut, golden brown, strawberry blonde, warm medium brown, coppery red, or golden highlights on a brown base
Shades to avoid: ash tones, cool browns, platinum blonde, jet black, or any shade with blue or violet undertones
True Autumn represents the purest expression of warmth in the seasonal color analysis system. If you’re a True Autumn, you possess the most warmth among all the autumn subtypes, with natural redheads and those with warm red undertones fitting perfectly into this category.
Jessica Alba, with her warm golden-brown locks and amber eyes, showcases how perfectly matched hair color can enhance natural warmth in True Autumn types. Similarly, Julianne Moore’s iconic copper-red hair against her fair, warm-toned skin exemplifies the True Autumn palette in all its glory.
Eyes: deep brown, dark hazel, warm chocolate brown, or deep green with warm undertones
Skin: golden olive, warm beige, bronze, deeper golden tones, or rich brown with warm undertones
Best hair tones: warm rich brown, deep chestnut, auburn with depth, dark copper, mahogany, warm brown-black, or bronze highlights on a dark base
Shades to avoid: cool ash tones, stark platinum, pure black without warmth, or light blonde shades that create too much contrast
Deep Autumn is the darkest and most intense variation of the Autumn palette. This subtype combines the warmth of autumn with deeper, richer tones that can handle more dramatic color combinations. Deep Autumn types have enough natural depth in their coloring to carry darker shades without being overwhelmed.
Celebrities like Shay Mitchell perfectly embody the Deep Autumn aesthetic with her rich, dark brown hair that has subtle warm undertones, complementing her olive skin and deep brown eyes. Zendaya also represents this category, often wearing deeper browns and rich auburn shades that enhance her warm skin tone and striking features.
Eyes: soft hazel, muted green, light brown, or golden brown with less intensity than other autumn types
Skin: soft beige with warm undertones, pale golden, dusty peach, or light olive with a muted quality
Best hair tones: medium golden blonde, soft golden brown, light chestnut, strawberry blonde, cowboy copper, warm caramel, or subtle golden highlights
Shades to avoid: high contrast colors, jet black, stark platinum, vibrant reds, or any extremely dark or light shades that overpower soft features
Soft Autumn is the most muted and gentle of the three subtypes. It’s known for a lower contrast level and balanced warmth of the Autumn and Summer seasons. So, your hair colors won’t create a harsh contrast against your delicate features.
Gigi Hadid, whose golden blonde hair complements her warm-toned skin and hazel eyes, is a perfect example of a Soft Autumn subtype. Drew Barrymore also exemplifies this subtype with her signature strawberry blonde and light golden-brown hair colors that enhance her gentle features without too much contrast.
As you can see, Autumn types should always lean toward golden, copper, or bronze undertones and avoid anything with cool or ashy qualities. Choose your hair tone based on these tips, and you’ll easily enhance your natural warmth. And if you’re still in doubt, try our Virtual Hair Color Changer and see whether these trendy shades suit you!
Featured images via @owixiwo and @hazelwatkins427.
