How to Choose the Right Shade of Red for Your Color Season?
- Jun 11
- 6 min read
Red hair is vibrant, eye-catching and absolutely gorgeous! It’s a surefire way to change up your appearance and, for some seasons, to really make your features pop like no other color.
But red is also one of the toughest colors to get right and depends so much on the tone. The wrong color of red can be dreadful and it’s also so hard to get the red pigment out of your hair if you’ve made a mistake.
Hence, choosing the right tone and shade from the get-go becomes even more important. Knowing your color season and choosing based on that can save you from hours of color correction and hundreds of dollars.
Below is a guide on how to choose the right shade of red for your color season.
Shades of Red for Springs
Since red is inherently a warm color, naturally it suits the warm seasons like Spring and Autumn best. Spring is also a season where natural redheads are found.
Reds for Light Spring
The natural hair color of Light Springs is typically around the level 6-9 range with neutral-warm undertones. Some Light Springs may have naturally Strawberry Blonde hair, but like any red shade, it’s rarer.
Strawberry Blonde is a fantastic shade of red for Light Springs.
As a rule of thumb, stick to shades of ginger that are light and softer, staying away from Deep Cherry reds and anything that looks unnatural. If you’re not sure if you want to take the plunge just yet, adding peach-toned highlights, balayage or ombre, can be a good way to test the waters.
Some great red tones for Light Springs include:
Strawberry Blonde
Peach-Toned Blonde
Light Amber
Light Rose Gold
Peachy highlight, balayage or ombre.
Tip: Keep the color light and soft.
Avoid:
Unnatural shades
Reds that are too dark like Deep Cherry or Mahogany.
Red Shades for True Spring
True Spring, along with True Autumn and Bright Spring, is one of the few seasons that pull off warm and vibrant ginger, amber and fiery red colors. Most people who are natural redheads are either True Springs or True Autumns.
As a True Spring, you can rock vibrant shades of ginger, just make sure the color is on the lighter side and still natural looking. Stay away from anything too dark, like Cherry Red, Mahogany or unnatural reds.
Some shades of red that suit True Springs include:
Strawberry Blonde
Amber
Copper
Ginger
Strawberry Blonde, Copper or Amber highlights, balayage or ombre.
Tip: Always keep the tone warm, light and bright.
Avoid:
Unnatural shades
Reds that are too dark like Deep Cherry or Mahogany.
Red Shades for Bright Spring
Bright Springs are one of the most versatile seasons when it comes to hair color, with natural colors ranging from black to medium brown to auburn.
Bright Springs can handle intense shades of red like no other. Shades that would overpower most seasons can make a Bright Spring shine.
Some shades of red for Bright Springs include:
Vibrant Auburn
Bright Mahogany
Bright Copper
Bright Amber
Glossy reddish-brown
Copper, Auburn, Amber or Mahogany highlights, balayage or ombre.
Tip: Make sure the color is vibrant and glossy.
Avoid:
Gingers that are too light like Strawberry Blonde.
Shades of Red for Autumns
Like Spring, Autumn is a warm season, so red hair can suit Autumns well. You'll also find some natural redheads who are Autumns, particularly True Autumns.
Reds for Soft Autumn
The natural hair colors for Soft Autumns can sit in the levels 4-7 range and typically has neutral-warm undertones. It’s rare for a Soft Autumn to have naturally bright red hair, but you can definitely find Soft Autumns with natural reddish brown or caramel hair.
If you're not a natural redhead and want to go red, stick to softer shades like:
Soft Reddish Brown
Soft Copper
Soft Copper or Amber highlights
Highlights, balayage or ombre can work better than all-over red. It can allow you to test the waters and provide a softer frame.
Tip: Keep the color soft and natural looking.
Avoid:
Unnatural reds.
Anything too bright, vibrant or intense like Deep Cherry, Mahogany, Bright Red.
Reds for True Autumn
True Autumn is the season for auburn hair. This is where you'll find gorgeous natural auburn, copper, ginger, or reddish brown hair.
If you're not a natural redhead, then as a True Autumn, you can absolutely rock these tones:
Auburn
Cowboy Copper
Mahogany
Reddish brown
Copper highlights /balayage /ombre
Tip: Keep the tone soft and natural and on the slighly darker side.
Avoid:
Strawberry Blonde or Peach (too light).
Unnatural reds.
Red Tones for Deep Autumn
The natural hair color of Deep Autumns is typically a level 1-4 black/brown and can have some reddish undertones. A deep mahogany or auburn can look amazing!
Some shades that are perfect for Deep Autumns include:
Mahogany
Deep Auburn
Deep Chestnut
Reddish brown
Auburn highlights / balayage /ombre
Tip: Keep the color rich and on the darker side.
Avoid:
Strawberry Blonde (too light)
Pure Ginger (too light).
Unnatural shades.
Shades of Red for Summers
The cool seasons, Summer and Winter, struggle a bit more with red, given that red is such a warm color. Generally, cooler shades work better.
But if you do want to add some red to your hair, then there are options!
Light Summer
Since Light Summer sits close to Light Spring and is neutral-cool, then you could try something like:
light strawberry
peach
strawberry highlights in blonde hair.
Avoid:
Dark reds Cherry Red, Mahogany, Deep Auburn (too dark)
Unnatural Reds (too bright)
Fiery Red or Ginger (too warm).
Soft Summer
Soft Summer sits next to Soft Autumn and is also neutral-cool. Some subtle coppery tones can be borrowed from the Soft Autumn season.
Soft Copper
Soft Caramel
Soft Copper or Caramel highlights/balayage
Avoid:
Dark reds Cherry Red, Mahogany, Deep Auburn (too dark)
Unnatural Reds (too bright)
Fiery Red or Ginger (too warm).
True Summer
True Summer is a fully cool season, so red hair should generally be avoided if you want to maintain a harmonious look. There are plenty of shades of blonde or brunette to choose from though!
Red Shades for Winter Seasons
Like Summer, Winter is a cool season but there are options for red that can work.
Deep Winter
Deep Winters typically have natural level 1-3 black or brown black hair. If you want to go red, make sure to keep the tone deep and rich. Generally reds with a purple-ish/blue-ish undertone (cherry, mahogany, plum) can work better than ones with a more orange base.
The following colors can work well:
Cool mahogany
Deep cherry red
Plum red
Brown-black with a mahogany undertone
Mahogany or cherry red highlights or balayage.
Tip: Keep the tone in the level 2-4 range.
Avoid:
Strawberry blonde (too light)
True ginger (too warm)
Soft copper (too muted).
Bright Winter
Bright Winters sit next to Bright Spring and are neutral-cool. As a Bright season, you need your hair color to be high chroma, vibrant and glossy. The natural hair color will usually be quite dark, in the level 1-3 range.
If you want to add some red to your hair, good options include:
Deep glossy mahogany
Deep plum
Deep cherry
Mahogany, plum or cherry highlights or balayage.
Tip: Keep the color vibrant and glossy.
Avoid:
Strawberry blonde (too light)
Fiery ginger (too warm)
Copper (too soft).
True Winter
True Winter is a fully cool season, so red hair should generally be avoided if you want to maintain a harmonious look. There are plenty of shades of blonde or brunette to choose from though!
Tips for Choosing Your Tone of Red
Regardless of your season, a few universal principles apply when venturing into the world of red:
1. Maintain Your Undertone: Red can be tricky if you're a cool season (Summer or Winter). Opt for a shade that has slighly cooler undertones (although reds will almost always have some warmth in them). If you are a Spring or Autumn (warm seasons), then congratulations, you get to choose from a wide range of reds. Read more about temperature (cool vs warm) here.
2.Respect Your Depth: If you're a lighter season (Spring and Summer), stick to lighter shades (levels 6-10). If you're a darker season (Winter and Autumn), choose darker tones (levels 1-5). In order to preserve your natural hair and minimise damage, it's better to stay within two levels of your natural shade anyway.
Similarly, don't try to go against your natural contrast level. If you're high-contrast you'll want to stick with darker hair colors in order to keep that contrast alive. If you're low contrast, you'll want to keep your hair color in a similar range as your skin.
Not sure about your contrast level? Read more about how to determine your contrast level.
3.Chroma Matters: Your chroma, or the clarity/softness of your coloring, should also guide your choice. Bright seasons need vibrant and glossy reds, while soft or muted seasons will look best in blended, soft and less intense coppers. Read more about chroma.
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