Written byKhatuna Basiladze, hair stylist & makeup artist · 8 min read

How to Choose a Hair Colour That Actually Suits You

Choosing a colour is more than a technical decision. It is the one thing you leave the salon with that you will see every day, in every mirror, for months. It is worth twenty minutes more thought than it usually gets.

The short answer: the right colour is decided by three things, and fashion is not one of them — your skin’s undertone (warm or cool), your natural depth, and how often you are genuinely willing to come back to a salon. That third factor matters as much as the first two. A beautiful colour you cannot maintain looks neglected within three weeks.

Three questions to answer before you open a photo album

1. How far from your natural colour are you prepared to go? Up to two shades is easy to live with. More than four is a lifestyle, not an appointment.

2. How often can you come in? Monthly, quarterly, or twice a year? The answer changes the recommendation directly.

3. What condition is your hair in today? If your ends are splitting or the hair snaps, the colour conversation pauses. Repair first, colour after — in that order, not the reverse.

Warm or cool undertone: how to tell at home

Undertone is not the same as how light or dark your skin is. Deep skin can have a cool undertone; fair skin can be warm. Three simple tests:

The vein test. Look at the inside of your wrist in daylight. Blue or purple veins mean a cool undertone. Greenish means warm. A mix means neutral.

The jewellery test. Which lifts your face more, silver or gold? Silver reads cool, gold reads warm.

The white fabric test. Hold pure white and cream fabric next to your face. Whichever makes your skin look healthier is the answer: white for cool, cream for warm.

What that means for shade selection

Undertone	Works well	Handle with care
Cool	Ash blonde, cool brunette, mushroom brown	Copper, golden blonde
Warm	Golden blonde, honey, caramel, chestnut	Very ash tones, blue-black
Neutral	Almost anything	Extremes in either direction

These are starting points, not laws. They are where the consultation begins, not where it ends.

If this is your first time colouring

A first colour should not be dramatic — and that is strategy rather than timidity. Virgin hair takes colour exceptionally cleanly, and getting back to it is always harder than moving away from it.

Sensible first steps:

A gloss or toner — adds shine and depth without changing your level, washes out in four to six weeks
Going one or two shades lighter — noticeable but not irreversible
Soft shatush or balayage through the ends — change without committing your roots

What is not a good first step: black to platinum in one appointment.

Dark to blonde: the realistic plan

The most common request and the most common disappointment. The reason is simple: dark hair is full of pigment, and removing it is a staged process.

What actually happens:

As pigment lifts, hair passes through red and orange stages. That is chemistry, not a mistake.
Reaching clean blonde in one appointment means putting an enormous load on the strand at once.
A plan spread over two or three appointments is slower — and your hair survives it.

Practical advice: instead of asking for a target that is one photograph, ask for a plan — how many appointments, at what intervals, what result after each, and what care in between.

Covering grey

Grey hair behaves differently: it is coarser, less porous and takes colour reluctantly. That is why an ordinary application often leaves pale wisps at the temples.

Worth knowing:

Full coverage needs permanent colour. Toners and ammonia-free formulas blend grey softly but do not cover it completely — which is a legitimate choice, not a failure.
Processing time is longer. Grey coverage done in a hurry goes silver again within two weeks.
Roots need attention every three to five weeks. That is grey’s pace and there is no way around it.
A lighter base makes regrowth far less obvious. With a lot of grey, a dark shade tightens your appointment schedule and a lighter one relaxes it. This single piece of advice changes how people live with their colour.

Why a salon visit after box dye costs more

Honestly and without blame: supermarket colour is not bad. It is built as one-size-fits-all, so it is loaded with dark pigment to make sure it works on any hair type.

The problem arrives later:

Pigment accumulates along the lengths and the ends get progressively darker
Removing that build-up is harder than lifting virgin hair ever was
The colour sits unevenly on the strand, so the result looks patchy

None of this is unrecoverable. It just means your first salon appointment may need more time and more steps. The important part is telling your stylist honestly what you used and when — it genuinely changes the plan.

Making colour last

Colour is washed out by water, heat and UV. On the coast you get plenty of all three.

Cool water when you wash. Hot water lifts the cuticle and lets pigment escape.
Sulfate-free shampoo for coloured hair. The same principle as keratin aftercare.
UV protection. Sun fades hair colour the way it fades fabric in a window.
Fresh water after the sea, every time. Detail in the summer care guide.
Lower your iron temperature. 180 °C handles almost everything.
A gloss in between. One toning appointment between two full colours makes the colour read fresh without adding chemical load.

If you are colouring your hair in a country whose language you don’t speak, this section matters more than any shade chart.

Describe the result, not the technique. Technique names travel badly and are used inconsistently from salon to salon. “Two shades lighter, cool tone, soft grow-out” is understood everywhere. A technique name may not be.

Photographs are the shared language. Bring images where the starting hair resembles yours, and bring one or two you actively dislike. “Not this” is often clearer than “this”.

Agree the level in numbers. The 1–10 depth scale is used internationally, so “level 7, ash” is genuinely universal vocabulary and worth learning.

Repeat the plan back before work starts. “So: lighter by two levels, cool, roots stay darker, about three hours, this price.” Thirty seconds, and it prevents almost every misunderstanding there is.

Ask about the follow-up. How long before it needs redoing, and what should you buy for home care? Get that answer written down or typed into your phone before you leave.

What a good consultation covers

A consultation is not a formality. Whether it lasts five minutes or twenty, it should cover:

Your hair’s history — everything chemical from the last twelve months, box dye included, honestly
A physical check — hair touched wet and dry, ends examined
The realistic result — including “not in one appointment” where that is the truth
The maintenance cost in time — how often you will need to come back
The maintenance cost at home — which products, and roughly what they cost
What can go wrong and what happens then

If a consultation covers only points three and skips the rest, you are being sold rather than advised.

Frequently asked questions

Is ammonia-free colour safer? Gentler, yes — and weaker. It performs well for changing tone and adding shine, poorly for lifting and for full grey coverage. “Safer” here means “less powerful”, not “better”.

How often can I colour? Roots every four to six weeks. The full length far less often, only when genuinely needed. Every re-application through the lengths builds up pigment.

Can I colour my hair while pregnant? That is a question for your doctor, not your stylist. Many women continue, many postpone — make the decision with the people monitoring your health.

Is a patch test really necessary? Yes, especially for a first colour or a change of brand. It is done 48 hours in advance. A salon that skips it is in a hurry.

Why did my colour fade in two weeks? Usually one of three things: water that is too hot, a sulfate shampoo, or a toner where you expected permanent colour. All three are fixable.

Can I colour and have a keratin treatment? In sequence, yes. Colour first, then the smoothing treatment, with a gap in between. The other way round, no.

I’m visiting Batumi — can colour be done in one trip? A gloss, root touch-up or highlights, yes. A full dark-to-blonde transformation, realistically no — that needs staged appointments and is better started at home.

Next step

If you can send one photo taken in daylight, away from a window and with no filter, that is already a strong start. It shows your real base, which existing photos almost never do.

Message or call and we will work out which colour suits you — and which one you will still be happy with in three weeks.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, have allergies, a scalp condition or hair shedding from the root, ask a doctor first. Durations such as “3–5 months” are typical ranges, not a guarantee for your hair — I confirm them after seeing it.