Tips for Customising Warm and Cool Tones for your Clients

As with haircuts and styles, colour trends are often cyclical—shifting from warm to cool shades. And for the last couple of years, we’ve seen a return to warmer tones and a departure from icy and ash tones.

“I think part of it is due to the fact that a lot of the styles in fashion right now are retro-inspired from the ’70s and ’80s, and the warmer colour trends were more prevalent then,” says Amanda Portelance, a Vancouver-based educator for Goldwell and colour specialist at Avant Garde Hair Studio. “We always see an ebb and flow between the tones. Plus, colour trends have been greatly affected by the pandemic with more people looking for low- maintenance, natural-looking colour; not everybody has the skin tone for ashier shades.”

We checked in with the experts for their take on this season’s trends, and for their tips on getting more creative with hair colour. 

PRO TIP

CONSIDER USING NEUTRAL TONES FOR “DIFFICULT” CLIENTS EG. THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO SEE GREY OR YELLOW IN BLONDE. 

1. Blondes

“We’re starting to see warmer, more buttery and creamier blondes.” — Amanda Portelance, Goldwell educator and colour specialist at Avant Garde Hair Studio, Vancouver

“The oat milk blonde trend is everything right now. It’s a mix of naturals and golds, so it’s not too cool and not too warm. It’s very welcoming and super-nice around facial features. Also, mushroom blonde is still big. For the fall, it’s nice to keep warmth in the hair to feel more alive.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“A huge technique right now is airbrushing—using a blowdryer instead of a tailcomb to blow out the little hairs, and lighten the strands that are left in your hand. It’s another way to get teasylights without teasing the hair. People will still gravitate to cooler and warmer blondes, but airbrushing gives a nice blend so you can transition from a full head of bleach- and-tone blondes—since everyone wants lowlights and shadow roots in the fall—so airbrushing creates a more diffused look.” — Bryanne Dyrland, educator for #mydentity and owner of Street Style West of the 5th, Eckville, Alta.

“REMEMBER: NATURE ALWAYS GETS IT RIGHT. IF YOU’RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A COLOUR COMBINATION—WHETHER IT BE A COMPLIMENTARY OR CONTRASTING ONE— DON’T BE AFRAID TO LOOK TO NATURE AND SEE HOW THOSE COLOURS PAIR TOGETHER.” — AMANDA PORTELANCE, GOLDWELL EDUCATOR AND COLOUR SPECIALIST AT AVANT GARDE HAIR STUDIO, VANCOUVER

“Clients are more open to warmer shades because they understand that there’s a very big difference between having yellowish blonde hair and gold, rich, buttery blonde hair, but it comes down to the knowledge we share with clients on how to maintain their colour at home.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“I think we’ll start to see a shift for the fall. As clients get out of the sun, they can maintain cool blonde tones a bit easier, so I think we’ll start seeing cooler and pearl tones coming back in the fall/winter. Some people want to go back to high- maintenance colour and feel that excitement of having fresh, expensive-looking colour again.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards 

Fashion Forward 

“Pink isn’t going anywhere. Pinkish blonde, peachy and coral are going to continue to be big.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“People still want easy, lived-in colour but they want to have fun with it. I’m noticing a lot of people are wanting to venture into fashion colours; asking for pops of it, especially jewel tones like teal and purple. I’m also seeing a lot of violets and sapphire blues. Plus, little hints of neon for fashion colours.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards

“Colour-blocking is one of the biggest colour trends and probably my number one technique that I use. I’ve done it in a pinwheel formation—triangular sections— and it can start from any pivot point on their head, and of the time I go from the crown so it creates a veil of colour so each triangular section is going to be a different shade. I also love doing quadrants with square blocks of colour, based on where they part their hair, and everything is done like a checkerboard formation with fashion colours and more subdued shades that are two levels apart.” — Bryanne Dyrland, an educator for #mydentity and owner of Street Style West of the 5th, Eckville, Alta.

“Colour blocking is huge; chunky, stripey and blocky colour. Within that, there may be some transitions happening with pixelating or marbling within that shade. Since you’re not working with the same colour for the entire head, having a smaller space to work in allows for more creativity.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards 

2. Brunettes

“The expensive brunette trend is holding steady, with more dimension since it’s such a beautiful way for brunettes to show off their brown hair. Remember: Not every brunette wants to be blonde.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards

“WHEN COMBINING WARM AND COOL TONES, YOU SHOULD REALLY WORK WITH YOUR CLIENT’S SKIN TONE AND NATURAL COLOUR. SOMETIMES, THEY NEED SOMETHING THAT’S WARMER OR COOLER AROUND THE FACE, SO YOU CAN REALLY THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT TO APPLY THOSE TONES.” — TANIA LACOSTE MAJOR, ELITE COLOUR PROFESSIONAL FOR MOROCCANOIL AND OWNER OF ATELIER MAJOR, MONTREAL

“Clients learned how to love their natural hair colour [during the pandemic] but they still want to enhance it with something fun or brightness, dimension and depth.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“It’s all about adding copper tones to other colours like brunettes, on the ends, etc.” — Amanda Portelance, Goldwell educator and colour specialist at Avant Garde Hair Studio, Vancouver

“I see a lot of coppery brunettes for fall. A cool chocolate beige with some balayage or highlights with some coppery tones.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“People tend to gravitate toward darker and warmer shades, such as warmer metallics, in the fall.” — Bryanne Dyrland, an educator for #mydentity and owner of Street Style West of the 5th, Eckville, Alta. 

Thinking Outside the Box

With supply chain issues still impacting salons across the country, here’s what to do if you run out of a colour.

“Don’t fall into a comfort zone. Maintaining a good inventory with back-ups can be a big investment but it’s worth it. With that said, it’s also important to take time at the beginning of every appointment—even if you’re doing the same client for 10 years—to ask if they want a change or anything. That way, you’re going to be motivated to use the whole portfolio so you can really play with colour.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“If you run out of a colour, you can still make shades out of others. For example, create a six by mixing a seven and a five. However, be transparent with your client and see it as an opportunity instead of an obstacle.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards

“Every colour line has an underlying tone chart, so as long as you know what the underlying pigment is in the colour that you’re out of, you can custom make it with other tones in the line. However, it’s all about understanding the colour wheel, which can be the hardest thing for new colourists. It can take a while so practice is key.” — Bryanne Dyrland, an educator for #mydentity and owner of Street Style West of the 5th, Eckville, Alta.

3. Combining Warm and Cool

“When you’re working with natural or creative colours, my rule of thumb is to stick with two cools and a warm, or two warms and a cool, so you have two complimentary colours and a contrasting colour. You can increase up to five colours, but anything more can get a bit muddy.”

— Amanda Portelance, Goldwell educator and colour specialist at Avant Garde Hair Studio, Vancouver

“If I’m working with a warmer canvas, I love to utilize BGs (Golden Blondes). They’re such well-balanced shades and suit so many different skin tones. Since they’re a sandy, beautiful beige, you’re just going to enhance a warmer or cooler shade, which is great for creating lowlights or shadow roots.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

“If they have a warm skin tone, they’re naturally going to look better with warmer hair colour. If you want to incorporate some cool, you can do a 2:1 ratio of warm to cool for someone who has a warmer skin tone, and a 2:1 ratio of cool to warm for someone with a cooler skin tone. Combining the two creates a more bespoke look—whether it’s a cooler pop around the face or on the ends of the hair. It’s about finding the right balance with the tones you use.” — Ilona Garson, owner of Jet Black Hair & Studio in Ottawa and 2023 Elite Artist winner of Wella’s Beauty Envision Awards

“We all have those clients who went for those heavy blonde services in the summer, so for fall they want a reverse balayage. I love to keep the blondes very warm and to add some lowlights on the cooler side.” — Tania Lacoste Major, elite colour professional for Moroccanoil and owner of Atelier Major, Montreal

PRO TIP

WHEN LOOKING AT YOUR CLIENT’S SKIN TONE, CONSIDER SKIN CONDITIONS SUCH AS ROSACEA, SINCE SOME TONES (ESPECIALLY AROUND THE FACE) MAY ENHANCE IT.

“You can mix metallic shades, such as rose golds with silver, but it’s with a certain clientele. Or you can opt for a mushroom brown with a violet base that’s not warm or ash as another way of mixing warm and cool tones.” — Bryanne Dyrland, an educator for #mydentity and owner of Street Style West of the 5th, Eckville, Alta.