Reader Q: How Can I Change My Hair Color For Fall?

Reader Question: “Now that it’s fall, everyone keeps telling me to go darker with my hair color. What’s the best way to do that?”  ­– Sarah

The Answer: Let’s break some rules, shall we? It used to be that once fall hit you needed to go darker, warmer, more golden, but times have changed according to Brad Johns, celebrity colorist and color director for the Salon and Spa at Saks Fifth Avenue. “When winter comes, no matter where you live, you should make your hair different — but it doesn’t have to be darker.” These days, it’s perfectly fine to stay in the same color family, but subtle tweaks are definitely in order. I mean we change our entire wardrobe and makeup, so it’s a perfect time to adjust your hair. “If you’re a blonde and want to stay blonde, one easy update is to make your base deeper but add bigger, chunkier highlighted pieces to give your hair more contrast,” says Johns. For brunettes, you don’t have to be dark and all one color, like the typical fall change. Instead, Johns suggests you opt to shade the bottom inch tips of your hair a brighter, lighter brown, a more modern take on the ombré trend. For something on the classic side, brunettes can lighten pieces around the front of the hair and perimeter. For the gingers out there, hair can turn strawberry in the summer, so go for a more Irish Setter hue in the winter. Johns likes to use the colors of the leaves changing as inspiration, and you should too.

Will you change your hair color this season?

— Carrie Stern Kleiner