Soft Summer: Hair Dye

Hair dye is more than just a way to change your look - it’s a dynamic expression of personality, confidence, and creativity. Whether you’re covering grey hairs, amplifying your natural hue, or experimenting with bold, unconventional shades, your colour choice mirrors your mood and identity. For many, it also provides a significant confidence boost, offering a sense of authenticity or marking the beginning of a new chapter.

In Soft Summer, we see medium to dark blondes and light to dark brunettes. Colours are typically ash in tone as this emphasises the cool hue of the overall season. However, this subtype borders Autumn and we occasionally see a mix of characteristics between the two.

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

Soft Summer individuals typically have naturally blonde or brunette hair. As a neutral-cool subtype, these colours tend to be cool and ashy in tone.

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

Those who lean closer to Cool Summer may be able to handle deeper variations. However, individuals who lean closer to Soft Autumn will need to select the lighter, neutral hair colours.

BLONDE HAIR

Soft Summer individuals have a low to moderate contrast but border Autumn so their colours tend to be darker than those we’d find elsewhere in Summer. Blonde can therefore be tricky as it needs to create some shade variance with the skin and eyes. 

In example two, we see a dark ash blonde similar to Naturtint Permanent Hair Colour in 6A Dark Ash Blonde. This colour works for Poppy as the depth draws out her pink undertones. The medium ash blonde in example one has a similar effect but isn’t as effective. We would recommend Naturigin Hair Dye in 8.1 Ash Blonde as a suitable medium ash brunette. 

Compare the effect in these two examples to the light ash blonde in example three. This is far too light for Poppy and begins to reflect white on her skin as it reduces her contrast level. She would need to balance this colour with deeper tints from her personalised palette. Therefore, fair and very light ash blonde such as those recommended for Light Summer are not advised for this subtype. 

*There are some honey and golden blondes included on the Soft Summer hair dye chart for those individuals leaning towards Soft Autumn. These need to be balanced with cooler makeup, clothing and metals.

For those leaning towards Cool Summer, these warm variations are not recommended.

In example four, we see the light golden blonde blanch Poppy’s appearance and throw yellow on her face. Similarly, the golden blonde in example five and dark golden blonde in example six look unnatural against her cool appearance.

brunette hair

Many Soft Summer individuals are naturally brunette, which makes this colour a strong choice for a subtle change or complete image transformation.

In example one, we see a light ash brunette with a similar effect to the dark ash blonde in the section above. This is close to Poppy’s natural colour so refines her image. A good option would be Clairol Nice'n Easy Crème Hair Dye in 6A Light Ash Brown.

The ash brunette in example two, which may be likened to Clairol Nice'n Easy Tone+Gloss Hair Dye in 511/77 Medium Ash Brown, is a lot stronger as it draws out her rosy glow and makes her eyes pop.

Dark ash brunettes such as L'Oréal Paris Excellence Cool Crème Permanent Hair Dye in 4.11 Ultra Ash Brown are also a good choice for Soft Summer. Note how example three visibly lifts Poppy’s appearance and makes her look younger.

Golden brunettes are not generally recommended for this subtype. Again, if the individual leans towards Soft Autumn, they may be able to handle deeper variations. However, these require the correct makeup, jewellery and clothing to create balance.

Where the light golden variation in example four and medium gold in example five reflect yellow on Poppy's skin, the dark gold in example five overpowers her. Interestingly, it is not as deep as the dark ash in example three but demonstrates how the difference in tone can render a hair colour ineffective. 

other hair

Cool fashion colours can be effective for Soft Summer.

Example one shows a silver grey. As a dominantly muted subtype, grey works particularly well for Soft Summer as it emphasises their chroma. This colour also works for Poppy due to its combined depth and cool hue. Her image is visibly lightened and her eyes sparkle paired with this icy colour. Its best to focus on the 'dusty' variations rather than the metallic options as these will add too much shine.

It has a similar effect to the cool rose pink in example two and violet purple in example three. The purple is markedly stronger than the other two examples due to its dominant cool hue. Again, Soft Summer needs to prioritise softer variations over bright colours.

Colours we do not recommend for Soft Summer include copper, platinum and intense black.

Red variations are better suited to Autumn and Spring individuals as their warmth clashes with Soft Summer’s cool tones. Autumn reds are muted in comparison to those seen in Spring such as the copper in example four. This colour throws yellow on Poppy’s skin and makes her look sickly.

Example five shows a cool platinum colour, which completely washes Poppy out. As she borders Autumn, she needs more depth to create shade variance with her other features. 

Finally, black is not included in the Soft Summer colour chart as it is bright, cool and dark. This is why example six overpowers Poppy as it is too intense for her soft chroma. 

Styling

Soft Summer has a low to moderate contrast level. This means their best colour combinations blend with those in the individual’s natural palette rather than 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 Soft Summer's delicate appearance. It is recommended to seek advice from a professional hair stylist. 

Example one shows neighbouring hues using a light ash brown and a honey blonde. Mixing the cool and warm colours will help create balance. These could be combined to your natural colour as highlights or using the ash brown as a base colour and the honey blonde evenly dispersed. This could also be done with monochromatic mixing as shown in example three where we have used a light ash brown and a dark ash brown.

Another way to achieve this effect is with the use of a dark neutral and a light accent. In example two, we have used a light ash brown with a cool rose. Again, this can be achieved with highlights and lowlights or perhaps a gentle ombre effect with the pink delicately drawn through the ends.

Soft Summer has a dominantly muted 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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