Autumn season · Hair color

Hair colors for a Soft Autumn

Hair shades that flatter Soft Autumn coloring and the ones that flatten it — matched to your undertone, depth and contrast, with swatches.

The hair colors that flatter a Soft Autumn are led by Light Caramel (#B07B41), Copper and Auburn — 6 shades in all, scored against Soft Autumn's warm undertone and medium depth. 4 shades pull the other way, Platinum Blonde among them.

What hair color suits a Soft Autumn?

Soft golden depth: bronde, caramel balayage, warm light brown — avoid platinum and blue-black. That is the stylist summary. The list below is the computed one: every shade in our reference set scored against Soft Autumn's warm undertone and medium depth, best first.

  • Light Caramel#B07B41
  • Copper#A85426
  • Auburn#8C3B22
  • Golden Brown#7A5228
  • Chestnut#6B4326
  • Beige Blonde#DCC9A6
Hair shades that flatter a Soft Autumn
Light Caramel #B07B41warm tone · medium depth · warm mid-brown warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth
Copper #A85426warm tone · medium depth · clear orange-red warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth
Auburn #8C3B22warm tone · medium depth · red-brown warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth
Golden Brown #7A5228warm tone · medium depth · brown with gold through it warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth
Chestnut #6B4326warm tone · medium depth · rich warm brown warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth
Beige Blonde #DCC9A6neutral tone · light depth · balanced, neither gold nor ash neutral tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth

Can a Soft Autumn go blonde?

Yes — 1 of the 6 flattering shades sit at light depth: Beige Blonde. The condition is tone, not depth: Soft Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), so ask your colorist for that register rather than the depth alone.

Which hair colors should a Soft Autumn avoid?

4 shades score low enough to skip. Each one either fights the undertone or sits too far from Soft Autumn's natural depth to read as yours.

  • Platinum Blonde#EDE4D3
  • Ash Blonde#D9CDB4
  • Cool Dark Brown#2E2A29
  • Blue Black#15181F
Hair shades a Soft Autumn should avoid
Platinum Blonde #EDE4D3cool tone fights your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth
Ash Blonde #D9CDB4cool tone fights your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth
Cool Dark Brown #2E2A29cool tone fights your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth
Blue Black #15181Fcool tone fights your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth

Soft Autumn hair color: common questions

What hair color should a Soft Autumn avoid?

Platinum Blonde, Ash Blonde, Cool Dark Brown, Blue Black — 4 of the 19 shades scored come out low for a Soft Autumn. Platinum Blonde is the clearest miss: cool tone fights your warm undertone, sits one step off your medium depth.

Do ash or cool tones suit a Soft Autumn?

Rarely — only 0 of the 6 flattering shades are cool-toned, against 5 warm. Ash tones grey out warm (golden/yellow-based) coloring.

What is the safest hair color for a Soft Autumn?

Light Caramel (#B07B41) — warm mid-brown. It scores highest of all 19 shades for a Soft Autumn because its warm tone agrees with your warm undertone, sits exactly at your medium depth.

Does dyeing your hair change your color season?

No. Your season comes from undertone, which lives in your skin and does not move. Dyed hair changes your contrast level, which is why a Soft Autumn who goes several shades off their depth often feels like their old colors stopped working — the palette is unchanged, the balance is not.

More Soft Autumn guides

The other Autumn seasons