Ash vs Neutral Hair Color – How to choose & use them properly
Ash vs neutral hair color. When is it appropriate and when is it not?
Nobody wants to wear a hair color that washes out their skin, makes them look too pale, or make their skin look too pink and rosy.
Ash and neutral hair colors can both, when used correctly, balance out that skin color and give your appearance an extra pop! Complimenting your God-given tones.
What is the Difference Between Ash vs Neutral Hair Colors?
The difference between ash vs neutral hair colors has to do with the color wheel.
On the color wheel you have primary colors and secondary colors.
Primary colors include yellow, red, and blue. All colors can be made with these three. But secondary colors are when we see color tones come through.
Reds, yellows, and oranges are warm tones.
Purples and blues are cool tones. AKA ash tones.
Neutral color tones mean that the tone isn’t either warm or cool. It’s perfectly balanced in the middle.
The difference between ash and neutral color tones is that ash is cool and neutral isn’t either cool or warm.
What does Neutral mean in Hair Color?
Neutral hair color means that it compliments those with both cool skin tones and warm skin tones.
People with warm skin tones can wear neutral hair colors without it making their skin look more rosy and pink. And cool skin toned people can wear neutral hair color without it washing them out and looking too pale.
Neutral is the perfect balance between warm and cool tones that beautifully compliment all other skin tones.
What are Ash Tones in Hair Color?
Ash tones in hair color means that in good lighting, natural light such as sunshine, there are no warm or red, copper, orange, or yellow tones in the hair.
Ash hair color is when in natural light the hair will look slightly gray, a hint of blue, green, or purple.
But when ash hair color not in the light it can look brown, gray, black, even blonde.
What Undertones does Neutral Hair Colors Have?
On the color scale, neutral leans neither on the warm or the cool side. It is perfectly in the middle. So when lightened, neutral colors are still neutral!
Can you Lighten Hair with Just Developer?
Shade vs Tone – Ash vs Neutral Hair Color
Hair shade vs Hair tone is simple.
Tone is when the hair is either warm, red, gold, or brassy. Or if it is ashy, cool, white and blue tones, whether they be whispers of color or shockingly obvious tones.
Shade is when it is light, dark, medium and if it has a tint of warm or cool.
For example, a platinum shade of blonde is when the hair is very light but also has ashy tones, giving it a more white appearance.
Or rose-gold is a warm toner that can be place on medium or light shades of blonde.
When Should Use an Ash Hair Color? Who Should Wear Ash Hair Tones?
Ash is another way of saying cool toned, right? Cool skin tones mean that when you look at the veins in your skin they appear blue, not purple or green.
Wearing cool tones in your hair with ash toned skin will make the wear-er seem even more cool toned which usually means more white and pale. Most people don’t want that affect because it makes them look ill.
When should you use ash tone for hair color is in the winter and summer. Winter is the coolest season, cool tones in hair reflect less light and compliment the season. Warm tones reflect brighter light, which compliments the warmer seasons better.
Ash hair tones in hair look the best and are the most complimentary on warm and neutral skin toned people.
To know if you have warm or neutral skin tones look at the veins in your hand, if they appear purple, it means that your skin is more pink (and typically turn rosy fairly easily but not bright red) and you have warm toned skin. Neutral skin tones are similar but can also make the veins seem greenish under the skin too because of a more golden-yellow skin tone.
What does Ash Color do to your Hair?
Ash isn’t necessarily a color, unless it’s directly blue or purple making (though some purples can have more red in them and become more warm than cool).
Ash colors typically make the hair more white or gray looking.
Though sometimes you can put an ash color on a warm color to neutralize it. Though it would not at that point be ash but just cancelled out the warm tones making the hair neutral.
When Should You Use Ash Hair Color?
- You have warm toned skin
- There is too much warmth to your hair and you prefer neutralizing it
- You like gray and white blonde colors
On the color wheel the opposite of red is green. Green -being made with blue- tends to be a more cool color, thus ash, and cancels out red.
The same goes for purple and yellow. So if you have too much gold (golds are warm tones) in your hair, you can put an ash (undertones of purple) on it and the hair will become perfectly balanced and neutral.
Finally, blue and orange are the last opposites on the color wheel. When the hair is too brassy and looks orange, ash blue toner can be put on the hair to neutralize it.
Who Can Wear Neutral Tones?
Neutral tones are complimentary to all skin tones. It looks great on both warm and cool tones and does not wash out cool tones or make warm tones too bright.
Neutral tones are a go-to for stylists when it comes to toners because it makes the hair look beautifully soft and compliments every skin tone.
How to Keep up Maintenance for Ash vs Neutral Hair Color Tones
Ash hair color tones need to be maintenanced with purple shampoos or glaze treatments so that they don’t fade to warm shades and tones.
Purple shampoo helps strip build-up of product that can make the hair look yellow and tones the hair keeping an ash look. But if a purple shampoo is used too often it will start to look purple-tinted.
Neutral hair can be washed with purple shampoo as well but not regularly. Every once in a while, maybe once a month or so to remove build-up but any more often than that will make the neutral color more cool-toned.
If Neutral is in the Middle, What’s the Opposite of Ash?
Again, see the color wheel. The opposite of blue (which is the base of ash tones) is yellow.
Yellow on the hair is what we call gold.
Gold colors and shades on the hair are neither ash nor neutral. They are most common in blondes and light browns to give the hair a more sunshine-y appearance.
The opposite of ash is gold.
To tone out gold, or to balance too much ash, you can achieve neutral by putting a toner of the opposite color on the hair.
FAQs Ash vs Neutral Hair Color
How to Keep Ash Brown Hair from Fading
Preventing ash brown hair from fading isn’t terribly difficult, only a few minor adjustments to a regular routine will help the color last longer.
- Wash less frequently – The more you wash the more the ash brown hair color fades
- Rinse with cool water – Not hot water because heat lifts the cuticle and cold keeps the cuticle down to seal in the color longer
- Use color safe shampoo – To protect the color from being stripped with products that aren’t color safe, simply use a color safe shampoo and conditioner
- Always apply leave-in conditioner – Moisture will keep the cuticle down and lock in the ash brown hair color in longer, if the hair is dry the cuticle will lift and make the color fade
Natural vs Neutral Hair Color
Natural color doesn’t always mean that it’s neutral.
Just like your skin, if you have warm skin tones usually your hair is warm toned as well. If your skin is naturally cool toned, your hair probably is too.
Neutral color means that your hair is neither warm nor cool.
Hair Color for Neutral Skin Tone
Neutral skin tones are beautiful and so easy to choose colors for!
Because neutral skin is neither warm nor cool toned you can wear both cool and warm tones in your hair easily without it washing out your complexion or making you too rosy.
Is Ash a Neutral Color?
Ash has undertones of blue and any color made with blue- purple and green too. Neutral tones fall exactly in the middle of the color wheel where they neither look warm or cool thus complimenting the wearers complexion, making them seem more rosy or more pale.
Mixing Ash and Neutral Hair Color
Mixing ash and neutral hair color does not make an ash color neutral. It simply makes a neutral more subtly ash.
If ash directly is too harsh for the wearer’s skin tone but they want more pop and more white or gray tones than neutral allows, you can mix an ash and neutral hair color together.
Ash vs Brass Hair Tones
When toning out ash vs brass again you must consult the color wheel.
Brass is another way of saying orange. Copper is another term we use in the salon for orange undertones.
On the color wheel, the opposite of orange is blue. So toning out too much brass, simply put an ash on top but be sure that it’s the same color level to achieve the same shade in a neutral or opposite tone.
If your hair is too ashy, and is looking too gray or dull for you, put a tiny bit of brass or copper tones on it to neutralize. Keep in mind however that orange (brass and copper) are made with red and yellow, which means that a little bit goes a long way. If you use too much copper to tone ash you will end up with red hair instead of neutral tones.
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