Dark Autumn: Hair Dye

Hair dye goes beyond just altering appearance - it’s a dynamic way to express yourself. Whether covering greys, enhancing your natural tone, or diving into daring, bold colours, your chosen shade reflects your personality and mood. It can also be a strong confidence enhancer, helping you feel more authentic or symbolising the start of an exciting new chapter in life.

In Dark Autumn, we see medium to dark auburns and brunettes as well as brown-black. Due to its neutral-warm hue, these colours tend to be golden or reddish in tone.

In this article, we’ve used a variety of blonde, brunette and fashion colours to demonstrate which hair dyes we’d advise for Dark Autumn 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 Dark Autumn 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.

Dark Autumn individuals typically have naturally brunette or auburn hair. These colours tend to be golden or reddish but ash is possible due to bordering Winter.

They belong to a season influenced by muted chroma, which makes them softer than those we see in Dark Winter.

Those who lean closer to Warm Autumn may be able to select lighter, warmer variations. However, individuals who lean closer to Dark Winter will need to select the deeper, neutral hair colours.

BLONDE HAIR

As a dominantly deep subtype, blonde hair is tricky for Dark Autumn. These colours must be deep to match the individual’s natural intensity.

In example one, we have shown a dark golden blonde similar to L’Oréal Excellence Permanent Hair Dye in 6U Dark Blonde. It works for Hazel because it is dark enough to verge on a light brunette. Note how her eyes sparkle and her golden glow is drawn out.

Dark ash, such as Revlon Colorstay Longwear Permanent Cream Colour in 7.1 Dark Ash Blonde, may also be possible for those leaning towards Dark Winter. In example two, Hazel’s image is slightly blanched by this cool colouring. It isn’t terrible but is certainly not as effective as example one. She would need to pair ash colouring with warm makeup, jewellery and clothing to create balance.

Looking at examples three and four, we can how light variations clash with her natural depth. We see the colour before we see Hazel, which indicates an imbalance. The light ash in example four also pales her in comparison to the golden colour in example three. Some depth makes a cool colour possible as we’re opposing her secondary characteristic rather than her dominant. However, opposing both does not work. 

The medium golden blonde and medium ash blonde in examples five and six are also unsuitable. She also has a greenish tinge paired with the medium ash in example five. This suggests her golden tones are clashing with the blue of the ash. 

brunette hair

Brunette hair is found naturally in many Dark Autumn individuals. This makes it an ideal choice for a subtle update or total image transformation.

Hazel’s strongest option here is the dark golden brunette in example two. This may be likened to Garnier Nutrisse Permanent Hair Dye in 4.3 Dark Golden Brown. This has both the depth and subtle warmth to balance her colouring. It lightens up her face, making her eyes sparkle.

The medium gold in example one has a similar effect but we can see how the added depth makes a difference. Product recommendations for medium golden brunette include Garnier Nutrisse Permanent Hair Dye in 5.3 Golden Brown.

As this subtype borders Winter, they can make use of some ash variations provided they have the depth for the required intensity.

In example three, we see a dark ash variation similar to Clairol Nice'n Easy Tone+Gloss Hair Dye in 511/77 Medium Ash Brown. Hazel’s golden glow is not as apparent in this example but it still lifts her image. Again, she would need to use warm makeup, metals and clothing to ensure balance.

Brown-black, as shown in example four, is also a great choice for Dark Autumn. Despite their dominant dark value, black clashes with Autumn’s warm hue and soft chroma. This is because it is a cool and bright neutral recommended to Winter individuals. Brown black is considered a better option due to the brown softening the overall intensity. You could try Schwarzkopf Oleo Intense Hair Dye in 2-10 Black Brown.

Brunettes that are not recommended to Dark Autumn include light variations. This includes the light golden in example five and the light ash in example six.

Where the light golden reflects some yellow on her skin, the light ash gives her that green tinge we saw in the dark ash blonde example in the section above. The priority for neutral subtypes is to maintain the dominant characteristic. In Dark Autumn’s case, this would be depth. Despite possessing the necessary warmth, the light golden colour in example five opposes this depth.

other hair

Aside from brunette, the Dark Autumn hair dye chart includes a range of red and purple colours.

In example one, we see a deep auburn similar to Clairol Colour Strong Permanent Hair Dye in 4.46 Intense Dark Red. The depth of this colour along with its warm reddish tone work well for Hazel. We see her before we see the colour and it looks effortlessly natural.

Compare the effect of this colour to the copper in example three. Here we see the orange reflect onto Hazel’s skin making her look sickly and uncomfortable. Copper is best recommended for Warm Autumn as it is intensely warm and we’re looking for depth for Hazel.

The warm purple in example two also works well for her as it verges on red. Her eyes sparkle here and her teeth look whiter. This indicates a colour balance. Product recommendations for purple hair dye include John Frieda Precision Foam Colour in 3VR Deep Cherry Brown.

Other colours we do not recommend to Dark Autumn include black, grey and rose gold.

In the section above, we recommended brown black over intense black due to this subtype needing a softer intensity than Winter. Hazel is overpowered by the black in example four - it reflects white on her skin and ages her dramatically

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Similarly, the silver grey in example five blanches her image as it is too cool. This colour is best recommended to across Winter as well as some Summer individuals.

Finally, rose gold tends to be light and either too peachy or too pink for Dark Autumn. The variation in example six washes Hazel out. She has no golden glow and her eyes are muted. 

Styling

Dark Autumn has a high to intense contrast level. This means their best colour combinations oppose what is in the individual’s palette rather than blending with 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 ombre, which maintain Dark Autumn’s intense colour depth. 

Example one shows how dark neutrals such as dark golden brown can be paired with light neutrals such as light brown highlights. This could also be done in reverse with a light auburn as a base and dark brown black as subtle lowlights or a root stretch.

Another way to achieve this effect is to pair opposing hues such a plum purple with a golden brown. Again, this can be styled as highlights and lowlights or a gentle ombre effect with the plum purple drawn roughly through the ends. 

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