The Weekend Read✨Does Your Hairstyle Reflect Who You Are?

Jenny Goldsmith | Read in about 11 minutes

Hello!

We've all been there. You leave the hairdresser clutching your handbag, smiling politely and telling everyone how much you love your new haircut. Your hairdresser thinks it looks fabulous; the cut is technically brilliant, the colour is beautiful, and you've spent a small fortune achieving it.

But when you get home and look in the mirror, something isn't quite right. It's not that you dislike your hair, it just doesn't feel like you. Perhaps it's because your hairdresser has given you a gorgeous hairstyle, just not one that tells your story.

We spend a lot of time talking about how our clothes communicate who we are. Our clothing personalities, the colours we wear, the shapes we choose and even our accessories all send subtle messages about us. But what about the part that sits right at the top of our outfit? Our hair!

This week, following requests from several of our readers, we're looking at how hair colour, shape and style contribute to our overall appearance. And we're tackling a few of those outdated hair rules along the way.

Your Clothing Personality Doesn't Start at Your Neckline

Here's something you may never have considered. You can be wearing all the right colours, beautifully proportioned clothes and accessories that perfectly reflect your personality, but if your hairstyle is telling a completely different story, the overall look can feel slightly disconnected.

Imagine a woman with a Romantic clothing personality who loves flowing fabrics, feminine details and soft shapes. Now picture her with a very severe, angular, geometric haircut. Or a Dramatic personality who loves striking silhouettes and bold accessories but wears her hair in delicate, youthful ringlets. Neither hairstyle is necessarily wrong, but they create very different impressions.

At House of Colour, we explore six clothing personalities, and the characteristics of each can offer wonderful inspiration for our hairstyles:

Dramatic: Think strong shapes, sharp lines, sleek finishes, asymmetric cuts and statement hairstyles. Hair that makes an entrance!
Classic: Polished, balanced and beautifully maintained. Precision bobs, elegant shoulder-length styles and smooth finishes that look effortlessly sophisticated.
Natural: Relaxed, textured and unfussy. Loose waves, soft layers and hairstyles that look fabulous without requiring an hour in front of the mirror.
Gamine: Playful, quirky and full of character. Textured pixies, choppy bobs, interesting fringes and cuts with a little attitude.
Ingenue: Delicate and softly detailed. Loose waves, wispy fringes and lighter, softer shapes that create a fresh, feminine impression.
Romantic: Softness, movement and femininity. Flowing layers, beautiful curls, soft waves and styles that echo the curves and softness of romantic clothing.

Of course, most of us are a combination of clothing personalities, so our hairstyles can reflect that blend. A Romantic Classic, for example, might love a beautifully cut bob but prefer it with movement rather than a severe, poker-straight finish. The important thing is that your hair should feel like an extension of your personality, not a separate accessory.

The Weekend Read✨Does Your Hairstyle Reflect Who You Are?

When Your Hair Colour Is Fighting Your Complexion

Now, this is where things get particularly interesting for us as colour analysts. Have you ever admired a gorgeous blonde on a friend, asked your hairdresser for exactly the same shade, and then wondered why it doesn't look nearly as good on you? The answer is your skin's undertone.

Just as wearing the wrong colour next to your face can make your complexion appear tired or uneven, an unflattering hair colour can have a similar effect. And unlike a jumper that you can simply take off, your hair colour is framing your face every single day.

Let's talk blondes. There are golden blondes, honey blondes, strawberry blondes, ash blondes, platinum blondes and countless variations in between. For those of us Springs and Autumns with warm colouring, a very cool, ashy blonde may make our complexion appear less vibrant. Equally, Summers and Winters with cool colouring may find that an overly golden or coppery shade competes with their natural colouring. You might notice that your skin looks a little dull, shadows under your eyes seem more obvious, or you suddenly feel the need to wear more make-up.

And it's not just about blonde. Brunettes can also be warm or cool. Reds can range from golden copper to cooler, violet-based shades. Even darker colours vary enormously in warmth, depth and intensity. The secret isn't simply choosing a fashionable hair colour, it's finding one that harmonises with your natural colouring.

Of course, undertones aren't the only consideration. Depth, brightness and contrast all matter too. And remember, what one salon calls champagne blonde, another might describe as beige. It's the actual colour that matters, not the name on the chart. Our advice? Take your House of Colour fan to your next colour appointment. It's a brilliant starting point for a conversation with your colourist.

The Shades of Grey

Grey blending has become one of the biggest conversations in hairdressing recently. More women are choosing to embrace their natural silver, while others are using highlights, lowlights and clever colouring techniques to soften the transition. And we think that's wonderful.

But here's something we feel strongly about: Going grey is a choice, not an obligation. There's no medal for embracing your natural grey, just as there's nothing wrong with continuing to colour your hair well into your seventies or eighties. Some women feel liberated by letting their natural colour grow through, whilst others feel more themselves with their signature blonde, brunette or red. Both are absolutely fine.

Grey blending can be a lovely halfway house, allowing natural grey to become part of the overall colour rather than something that needs covering every few weeks. But there's an important colour analysis point here. We've both been asked the question about whether going grey changes your season. Absolutely not. Colour analysis is based purely on your skin's undertones. You may remember from your own analysis that we may have covered your hair, showing that we don't take it into account when discovering your season. Your hair pigmentation changes as you age, but that doesn't change the underlying colour characteristics that determine your season.

A Spring can have beautiful silver hair and still look wonderful in warm, fresh colours. An Autumn can embrace her grey without suddenly needing a wardrobe full of icy pinks and cool blues. What may change is your overall contrast and how you feel wearing certain colours. If your hair has changed significantly, a colour review can help you explore which shades now feel particularly harmonious.

Does Turning 50 Mean It's Time for the Chop?

Oh, this old chestnut! For generations, women have been told that long hair becomes inappropriate after a certain age. Apparently, somewhere between our fiftieth birthday and receiving our first invitation to a retirement planning seminar, we're supposed to book ourselves in for a sensible, short haircut. Well, we have news for you: Hair doesn't have an expiry date.

Some women look magnificent with long, flowing silver hair in their seventies. Others look incredible with a cropped pixie in their twenties. The deciding factor shouldn't be the number of candles on your birthday cake. It should be your hair's condition, texture, density, face shape, lifestyle and, above all, your personal style.

What does sometimes happen as we get older is that our hair changes. During perimenopause and menopause, hormonal changes can contribute to thinning, dryness and changes in texture. Hair that was once thick and glossy may become finer, and previously straight hair might develop waves, while curls can become less predictable. And that hairstyle you've worn successfully for 20 years may suddenly become much harder to manage.

The answer isn't to cut it all off, but to find a shape that works with the hair you have today. A skilled hairdresser can help you adapt your style without losing your identity. And if you're experiencing significant or sudden hair loss, it's worth speaking to your GP rather than simply assuming it's part of getting older.

What About My Face Shape?

We've all heard the traditional advice. Round faces need length, square faces need softness and long faces need width. There's some useful thinking behind balancing facial proportions, but we believe the conversation should go further.

Imagine you're a Gamine who loves a short, textured pixie cut, but a face-shape guide tells you that you should wear your hair longer. Should you abandon the hairstyle that perfectly reflects your personality? Definitely not.

A good hairdresser can adapt the proportions, fringe, volume and shape of a haircut to complement your individual features. Your face shape helps determine how a haircut is tailored, and your clothing personality helps determine how that haircut should feel.

And don't forget your glasses. If you wear them every day, they're an important part of the overall picture. The shape and scale of your frames, your hairstyle and your clothing personality should all work together. The same applies to earrings, necklines and collars. A sleek bob can beautifully showcase statement earrings, while a soft updo might transform how a favourite dress looks. Sometimes changing how you style your hair can make an outfit feel completely different, no shopping required.

The Hairdresser Conversation We Should All Be Having

When did you last have a proper conversation with your hairdresser about the image you want to project? Not just whether you want another inch off the ends or a few more highlights. We mean a conversation about your personality, your lifestyle, your wardrobe and how you want to look and feel.

So many of us arrive with a photograph on our phone of a celebrity and announce we'd like the same hair style. Who remembers The Rachel from Friends? But that celebrity may have completely different hair texture, density and colouring, not to mention a professional stylist on speed dial.

Instead, why not start your next appointment by explaining how you'd like your hair to make you feel? Elegant? Relaxed? Modern? Feminine? Striking? Playful?

And be realistic about maintenance. If you're a wash-and-go girl, there's little point choosing a hairstyle that requires 45 minutes with a round brush every morning. A wonderful hairstyle should work for your actual life, not just the 20 minutes after you've left the salon.

This Week's Challenge: The Hair & Style Check-In

We have a little challenge for you. Find a recent photograph of yourself wearing an outfit you absolutely love. Now, instead of looking at your clothes, focus on your hair. Ask yourself:

Does my hairstyle reflect my clothing personality?
Does my hair colour complement my complexion?
Does the shape work with my face, glasses and favourite necklines?
Am I wearing this hairstyle because I love it, or simply because I've always had it?
Most importantly, does my hair still feel like ME?

You might discover that everything is working beautifully. Or perhaps you'll realise that while your wardrobe has evolved, your hairstyle hasn't quite kept up. And that doesn't necessarily mean booking a dramatic makeover. Sometimes a softer fringe, a slightly different parting, a change in colour tone or a few well-placed layers can make all the difference.

Final Thoughts: The Best Hair Style For You

We often talk about how understanding your colours and clothing personality can transform the way you dress. But personal style doesn't begin at your shoulders, it begins at the very top of your head.

Your hair is part of your identity and communicates confidence, creativity, elegance, softness or individuality before you've even said hello. And just like your wardrobe, it deserves to evolve as you do.

So whether you're in your 20s and experimenting with a trend-led haircut, 50 and navigating changing hair texture, or 70 and proudly wearing your silver locks down to your shoulders, remember this: The best hairstyle isn't the one that makes you look younger, it's the one that makes you look and feel most like yourself.

Best wishes,

Jenny & Judi xx

Next week, we'll be talking about how AI will affect the future of fashion and personal styling. Would you be happy with AI choosing your clothing?

Click Here For Colour & Style Inspiration