Cool Summer: Hair Dye

Hair dye isn’t just about changing your appearance - it’s a bold expression of personality, confidence, and creativity. Whether you’re covering greys, enhancing your natural colour, or trying out vibrant, unconventional shades, your choice reflects your mood and identity. For many, it’s also a powerful confidence boost, helping them feel more authentic or symbolising a fresh start.

In Cool Summer, we see medium brunettes to brown-blacks as well as dark silver greys. Colours are ash in tone as this emphasises the cool hue of the overall season.

In this article, we’ve used a variety of blonde, brunette and fashion colours to demonstrate which hair dyes we’d advise for Cool Summer as well as those that should be avoided.

Affiliate links have been used to provide additional visual examples. These products have been physically tested on our clients in order to provide the most accurate recommendations but results may vary. We always advise a patch test prior to dyeing your hair. To achieve some of these colourings, you may need to lift your natural colour or strip back any residual dye. This is something a professional stylist could help with.

Please note, this advice is generic for all Cool Summer individuals and recommendations will vary based on your unique colouring. Some trial and error may be required in order to find the best hair dye for yourself. For personalised advice, we suggest purchasing a Colour Analysis package with the hair option.

Cool Summer individuals typically have naturally brunette or grey hair. As a dominantly cool subtype, these colours are ash in tone with no gold or reddish accents.

They belong to a season influenced by light value, which makes them fairer than we see in Cool Winter.

Those who lean closer to Light Summer may be able to handle lighter variations. However, individuals who lean closer to Soft Summer will need the ash variations to maintain their muted influence.

BLONDE HAIR

Cool Summer individuals have a moderate to high contrast level. This means blonde is generally too light for them.

In example one, we see a dark ash blonde similar to Clairol Nice'n Easy Crème Hair Dye in 7A/7C Dark Ash Blonde. The combined depth and cool hue of this colour make it just suitable for Jasmine. She retains her pink glow and her grey green eyes still sparkle.

Compare this with the light ash in example two where her image is blanched. This is because the light value of the colour reduces her contrast and creates an imbalance. It is  markedly better than the light golden blonde in example four, which is reflecting yellow on her skin and making her look sickly.

However, this does not render the light ash a suitable option for her.

The medium ash in example three is also better than the previous example. It would work better for a Cool Summer leaning towards Light Summer if it was balanced with deeper makeup, jewellery and clothing.

Examples five and six show medium gold blonde and dark gold blonde. Like the light golden blonde in example four, these warm variations reflect yellow on her skin. 

brunette hair

Most Cool Summers have naturally brunette hair, which makes it an excellent choice for a subtle change. This colour also has the moderate depth for balancing this subtype’s contrast level.

Whilst the light ash brown in example one works well for Jasmine, her strongest variations are the ash and dark ash in examples two and three.

The dark ash, which is similar to L'Oréal Paris Excellence Cool Crème Permanent Hair Dye in 4.11 Ultra Ash Brown,  really refines her appearance. Note that her cool undertones are emphasised and her eyes really pop. Her features are refined by this cool and deep variation.

This effect is reduced in example two but is an improvement on example one. 

Ultimately, those leaning towards Light Summer would benefit from the light ash and ash variations, which may be likened to Clairol Nice'n Easy Crème Hair Dye in 6A Light Ash Brown and Clairol Nice'n Easy Crème Hair Dye in 5A Medium Ash Brown respectively. 

Brunette variations that Cool Summer need to avoid include golden and reddish hues. These warm colours clash with a Cool Summer’s natural hue and make them look yellow and sickly. This is apparent in examples four, five and six. 

other hair

Beyond blonde and brunette, Cool Summer’s moderate contrast level allows them to shine in the deeper fashion colours readily available as box dyes. 

In example one, we see a silver grey. This colour appears naturally in some Cool Summers, which is why it works so well for Jasmine. It’s crucial to select one a deeper variant with a cool blue undertone as yellowish greys will clash with the skin and eyes. We would recommend a product such as Schwarzkopf Live Urban Metallics in U72 Dusty Silver.

Blue-black, as seen in example two, is also a strong option as this colour has both the cool hue and depth required to balance Cool Summer’s natural appearance. Paired with this hair colour, Jasmine’s cool hue is emphasised. There are a variety of these colours included on the Cool Summer hair chart as a substitute for pure black. A good option would be Schwarzkopf Live Intense Colour Hair Dye in 090 Cosmic Blue.

Due to their cool hue, purples such as L'Oréal Paris Preference Vivids (Colorista) in Violet 5.26 can work very well for this subtype. In comparison to other Summer subtypes, these colours have more depth to maintain their natural contrast level. The violet we see in example three lights up Jasmine’s image without reflecting any colour onto her face - this indicates balance.

Colours we do not recommend to Cool Summer include coppers and other reds as well as platinum blonde and intense black.

The copper in example four is too warm for Jasmine. It gives her skin a yellow tinge and makes her look sickly. These colours are better suited to Spring and Autumn individuals. We do see cherry red in Winter but this is a brighter variation that soft seasons cannot handle. Therefore red is best avoided.

When we looked at suitable blondes for Cool Summer, we concluded that they need to be dark and ash to maintain both contrast level and cool hue. The platinum we see in example five may have a blue undertone but is too light for Jasmine and reduces her contrast level. We also see the hair before we see her face, which suggests a colour imbalance.

Finally, black is not included on the Cool Summer colour chart as it is considered a bright hue. It is overwhelming on individuals with muted chroma. In example six, Jasmine is visibly overpowered by this bright neutral. It reflects white onto her skin and makes her look overly powdered. 

Styling

Cool Summer has a moderate to high contrast level. This means their best colour combinations complement those in the individual’s natural palette rather than blending or opposing them.

The above visual demonstrates how to effectively combine colours to repeat this contrast level if you choose to style your hair with a mix of highlights and low lights. This also applies to styles such as balayage, which maintain Cool Summer's delicate appearance. It is recommended to seek advice from a professional hair stylist. 

Example one shows neighbouring hues using a medium ash brown and silver grey. These could be combined to your natural colour as highlights or using the ash brown as a base colour and the silver grey evenly dispersed as lowlights. This could also be done with monochromatic mixing as shown in example three where we have used a dark ash blonde with a dark cool brown.

Another way to achieve this effect is with the use of a bright hue and a dark neutral. In example two, we have used a dark ash blonde with a violet purple. Again, this can be achieved with highlights and lowlights or perhaps a gentle ombre effect with the pink delicately drawn through the ends.

Cool Summer belongs to a season influenced by soft chroma. Due to this, we often see glistening hair shines. This can be maintained with the use of conditioning hair masks, argon oil and shine spray to help boost the hair's reflectivity.

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