How to Make Black Hair Look Natural

Black hair dye can make your hair look artificial and wash out your face if the shade isn't exactly right for you. If you've dyed your hair black and it doesn't look natural, but you want to keep the basic dark colour, there are ways to tone down the harshness of the black and make your skin tone richer to compensate. If you haven't yet coloured your hair black, choose a shade that is more suitable for your skin tone.

Don't use blue-black, which is the harshest shade of black, if your skin tone clashes with it. Look at your skin in natural light. If you have olive skin, blue-black may suit you and look natural. If you have naturally dark hair, black will appear more natural on you than if you have lighter brown, red or blond hair.

Ask your hairdresser to bleach out an unsuitable black, if you are prepared to tweak the colour slightly, and then ask her to dye the hair a very dark brown. The dark brown colour will appear black in most light and is the colour used by a lot of pale-skinned celebrities who appear to have black hair.

Highlight the hair. Adding very subtle highlights will break up the one-color expanse of black and subtly lighten the hair to a more natural hue. One of the reasons black hair colour appears unnatural is that it lacks strands highlighted by the sun that add depth to the colour.

Ask a beautician to dye your eyelashes and eyebrows a darker colour if they are clashing with your hair. This process will have to be repeated regularly to keep the facial hair the same colour as the head hair.

Keep the roots from showing by colouring the roots regularly. Having different colour roots will immediately give away your colouring secrets and will look completely unnatural. Follow recoloring instructions on the hair colour box if you are self-colouring. If you apply the colour to the ends of the hair at the same time as the roots, the roots will appear lighter and the ends can look even darker.

Subtly alter the colour of your face by using make-up if the black hair still washes out your face and draws attention to any little flaws. Use foundation and face powder to even out your skin and cover any blemishes. Bronzers and blushers will warm up your skin and reduce the contrast between the dark hair and a pale face. Use sparingly as too much will make your face, instead of your hair, look an unnatural colour. Keep your skin looking flawless and the dark hair will simply highlight the clarity of your skin instead of showing off the flaws.