Light Summer: Hair Dye

Hair dye isn’t just about altering your look—it’s a striking way to express your personality, confidence, and creativity. Whether you’re concealing greys, enhancing your natural shade, or experimenting with bold, unconventional colors, it’s a reflection of your mood and identity. For many, it also serves as a confidence boost, helping them feel more like themselves or marking a new beginning.

In Light Summer, we see fair to medium blondes as well as light and medium brunettes. Colours tend to be 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 Light 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 Light 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.

Light Summer individuals generally have naturally blonde or brunette hair. As a dominantly light subtype, these colours tend to be fair and ethereal.

They belong to a season influenced by muted chroma, which gives them a softly glistening shine.

Those who lean closer to Light Spring may be able to handle golden and honey colours. However, those leaning towards Cool Summer will need to opt for the deeper ash variations.

BLONDE HAIR

A telltale sign of a Light Summer individual is often blonde hair. Where those with naturally brunette hair may enjoy a total change, those who are already blonde may wish to enhance their natural colour.

Example one shows a light ash blonde, which looks effortlessly natural on June. The high value matches her contrast level and the cool hue draws out the pink undertones in her skin. A good option for light ash blonde would be Garnier Olia Permanent Hair Dye in 10.1 Very Light Ash Blonde.

Medium ash blondes, like Clairol Colour Strong Permanent Hair Dye in 8.1 Medium Ash Blonde. also work well for Light Summer as seen in example two. This colour has more depth than the previous example but still lights up June’s appearance. 

The dark ash blonde in example three is where it starts to get tricky for this subtype. Note that there are now shadows forming on June’s face that were not apparent in the previous examples. This is because the depth is starting to oppose her contrast level. It isn’t terrible and could still be balanced with light makeup, jewellery and clothing. You could try Clairol Nice'n Easy Crème Hair Dye in 7A/7C Dark Ash Blonde.

If we now look at the golden variations in examples four, five and six, we can see how disharmonious these  colours are with June’s image. 

Where the warmth of all three examples throws yellow on her skin, the dark golden blonde in example six is also ageing. She needs light, cool colours to refine her delicate appearance. This deep, warm hue dulls her natural glow.

brunette hair

We see some Light Summer individuals with naturally brunette hair, particularly in those of darker ethnicities. However, these tend to be light or medium in depth in keeping with the subtype’s dominantly high value.

While it isn’t as effective as the blonde dyes, the light ash in example one is the strongest variation for June here. It is the only colour that allows her to retain her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. A good option would be Revlon Colorsilk Beautiful Color in Light Ash Brown.

The medium ash in example two, which is similar to Revlon Colorsilk in 40 Medium Ash Brown, isn’t terrible but we would prefer a lighter colour for June. She appears overpowered by this depth, evidenced by the way it creates shadows on her skin and darkens her eyes. This would be a good option for a Light Summer individual leaning towards Cool Summer. 

Dark ash is tricky. As seen in example three, it blanches June’s image slightly indicating that it is too deep for her light appearance. Again, it would be suitable for a Light Summer individual leaning towards Cool Summer as this subtype has a higher contrast level. Products such as Garnier Nutrisse Permanent Hair Dye in 3 Darkest Brown may work for these individuals. 

Like with the golden blonde examples, we can see that golden brunette colouring does not work for Light Summer. 

The light golden brunette in example one may work for a Light Summer leaning towards Light Spring but would need to be balanced with cool jewellery, makeup and clothing. For examples of this product, see the 'Light Spring: Hair Dye' article.

Examples two and three are too dark for June and also throw yellow on her skin making her look sickly. 

other hair

Light Summers best colours are cool pastels - many of which are readily available as box dyes.

In example two, we see a cool pink colour. This is a good alternative to the rose gold variations we see recommended for warm seasons. The colour emphasises June’s rosy undertones and draws out the blue of her eyes. A product such as Schwarzkopf Live Lightener + Twist Permanent Hair Dye in Cool Rose 101 may work well.

The soft lilac in example three and cool blue in example four have a similar effect. For lilac, we would recommend Schwarzkopf Live Pretty Pastels in P120 Lilac Crush and, for blue, you could try Adore Shining Semi Permanent Hair Colour in 196 Sky Blue.

As a very light and cool blonde, these individuals can also tolerate greyish platinum variations such as Schwarzkopf Live Intense Colour in B15 Platinum Blonde. June’s image is lit up by this fair colouring. Care must also be taken to ensure this does not fade yellow or brassy. Therefore, purple shampoos and conditioners are recommended to maintain its cool hue. 

Colours we do not recommend for Light Summer include auburn and black. This is because auburn is too warm for cool seasons, whereas black is too dark and harsh against a delicate appearance.

The black in example six throws white on June’s face and gives her a green tinge. We also see the auburn in example five reflect yellow onto June’s skin. 

Styling

Light Summer has a low to moderate contrast level. This means their best colour combinations are low contrast and blend with the individual’s natural palette rather than opposing. 

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 Light Summer's delicate appearance. It is recommended to seek advice from a professional hair stylist. 

Example one shows sister accents using a light ash blonde and dark ash blonde. These could be combined as highlights or using the light blonde as a base colour and the other evenly dispersed as lowlights. This could also be done with monochromatic mixing as shown in example three where we have used a a light ash blonde with a medium ash blonde.

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 cool pink. Again, this can be achieved with highlights and lowlights or perhaps a gentle ombre effect with the pink delicately drawn through the ends.

Light Spring belongs to a season influenced by bright chroma. Due to this, we often see glossier 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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Light Summer - Hair Chart [Digital Download]

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