How Light Summer Goes Grey

August 8, 2010 by  

Effortlessly.

These women were often blond as children. They like being blondes and feel right that way. It seems sometimes as though everyone wants to be blonde, but the question is “Do you want to be blond or do you want to look good?”. As long as it’s the right blonde, and not a toffee color, Light Summers make great and very believable blondes.

In 12 Season Color Analysis, the Light Summer is a Summer more than anything else. Spring plays a small role, so the personal colours palette become lighter, clearer, as though lit by the earliest sun.

The highlight

Their best highlight is beige to light yellow, interlaced in the natural base color. For some, a more yellow highlight works better than others. Staying closer to beige than yellow is better. On all Summers, too yellow hair flushes the skin tone red.

Louise, in Louise and Stevan Are Light Springs, has this same base color. She could look odd in an overall head as light and yellow as some Light Summers. On the other hand, a highlight that’s too ash would be draining because of the amount of yellow in Light Spring skin. The variations among individuals are endless. This game is all and only about how the skin drapes. That’s the key that gives you answers that might surprise you.

L to R, Light Summer, True Summer, True Winter

The test drapes for Light Summer show the best highlight color for this Season. I put True Winter’s stark white on the right side, just for comparison. This Season looks fantastic in their pale vanilla white.

The base hair color

The natural base is usually a medium ash brown, not golden blonde (which implies red and warm). On everyone, the more of the base that shows through, the less harsh and processed the whole head looks, and the more real and effortless the woman appears. Dealing with roots takes a fraction of the time and money, especially if the colorist didn’t start the highlights right at the part in the top layer. For many women, highlights can often get bigger and bigger till the head is one big highlight. They’re supposed to be woven in like fibers of light, but it gets away from us.

This is my favorite Light Summer hair, before she got over-blonded and over-yellowed.

Going grey

The skin cools with age and it’s expected that the hair cools. Grey feels inherently cool so it’s more difficult to make this transition for the pure warm Seasons of True Spring and True Autumn. It’s easier for the other 10 Seasons, once your mind is in a place where you can accept yourself with gray hair. The pure cool Seasons are already there. Dyed hair may be competing more with the skin than grey would.

The Neutral Seasons have warmth and coolness in the skin. They can wear silver jewelry. They might choose more grey clothes and makeup as hair grays. Gray hair virtually disappears into this head. It just looks like more blonde. They can be in their 60s with still a lot of color left in the hair, because “gray hair” is just white. Light Summer just asks for less and less highlight, and eventually just goes to the salon for a cut.

This is my sister Sonja’s hair, from Sonja Is A Light Summer. She’s 47, with some gray in there. She’ll probably look much like this when she’s 57.

There is nothing that can make it better. It’s fresh, light, and real. There is no tension in the viewer of feeling like they have to react to an exaggerated effect. Where highlights are concerned, no good comes of being an overachiever.

Remember that ANY Season can have ANY hair color. I’ve seen Light Summers with very cool, medium dark, red hair. Almost more of a pinkish brown. Leave that gift alone.

Edit August 11: I was asked to show Sonja’s part. Here it is:

Related posts:

  1. Matching The Swatch Book : Light Grey
  2. Kip Is A Light Summer
  3. Light Summer Looking Serious
  4. Sonja is a Light Summer
  5. Light Summer CE And Being Not Pale

Filed under: More Topics For The 12 Seasons, Summer Colours
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Comments

7 Responses to “How Light Summer Goes Grey”

  1. Jelena on August 8th, 2010 4:03 pm

    Christine, I really find the color comparisons that you typically do between neighbouring seasons very helpful. It’s so hard to really SEE a colour as it truly is as you see it in comparison to something else. Looking at the whites of the summers compared to the winter white, it’s very obvious how much yellower light summer is compared to the true summer white. I am actually very surprised by how much of a difference there is between the true summer white and the true winter white. I always assumed that the True Summer white was almost like true winter;s, but slightly more greyed. In the pic above, the True summer white almost looks light it has the slightest tinge of grey-ed brown, and not regualr grey.

  2. Cora on August 9th, 2010 8:10 am

    I found your site yesterday and it’s been like a revelation finding what season I am (Summer, still don’t know which). Of course, I’ve been wearing the wrong colors most of the time. I’ve always loved light pinks and pearls (and cameos!) but I always thought I was not pretty or feminine enough to wear them. Like watching a party from a fence wishing I was invited and I really just had to dare to step in.
    Your post here has inspired me to wanting to go natural with my graying hair. Right now I’m an redhead (henna) who looks like a ghost in photographs.
    Thanks for making this site, it’s being really instructive.

  3. Shirley on August 12th, 2010 11:30 am

    Christine. Wish you’d show Sonja’s part area.

  4. Christine Scaman on August 12th, 2010 4:10 pm

    Shirley – done, addendum to article.

  5. Shirley on August 15th, 2010 9:38 am

    Thank you very much Christine.

  6. Tara on October 13th, 2011 10:38 am

    The drape comparisons are very helpful here! I feel as though I am waivering between Light Spring and Light Summer. Would LSp’s white be slightly more yellow or creamy than LSu?

    p.s. At 28, I do seem to find the greys coming through, but consider them my free highlights. :)

  7. Kirsten on October 30th, 2011 2:26 pm

    This is that rare article about hair that I can relate to. Thank you for encouraging me to enjoy my natural hair color!

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