Red Hair Colour Ideas: Best Shades & Red Hair Trends

The key to home hair dyeing is working with your skin tone, not against it. If you have pale skin, red hair can be a great natural look for you, giving you that ultra-fashionable Celtic goddess vibe. It's certainly easier to find a red if your skin is porcelain or pale pink. Even pale complexions vary though, with some featuring warm hues like pink and others cooler in tone with yellows.

In fact, it's the 'temperature' of your skin tone that matters most – that is, whether you have 'cool' or 'warm' skin. Cool skin tones are not necessarily pale – you can have ebony skin and still have cool undertones – they simply have undertones of pink, red, blue and violet. Warm-toned skin, by contrast, has yellow, peach or golden undertones. 

To help you decide which one you are – cool or warm – try the classic jewellery test. Which suits you better, silver or gold jewellery? If it's silver, you probably have cool undertones; if gold, then warm. 

If all jewellery suits you – lucky you – then look yourself in the eye. If the flecks of colour in your irises are blue or brown you have cool skin; if they're gold or yellowish, your skin has warmer undertones. Simple.

Best Red Hair Shade Ideas for Cool Skin Tones

Cool undertones will always look fabulous with deep true reds. You can even carry off a spicy intense copper, verging on tangerine: a super trendy shade at the moment. If you go too light you risk washing out your pale complexion, so opt for bright vibrant coppers rather than pale blondes.

Here are some of our best red hair colour ideas for cool skin tones:

• Vibrant copper – Garnier Olia 7.40 Intense Copper
• Sizzling hot red – Garnier Nutrisse Ultra 6.60 Fiery Red
• Bold red – Garnier Olia 6.60 Intense Red

If you have warm undertones with pale skin, freckles and light eyes, then strawberry blonde and coppery reds will look fantastic on you. If your olive, tan or brown skin has warm undertones, your best red hair shades will be mahogany reds and dark auburns. You could even try a rich burgundy, like Nutrisse Crème Deep Red, another hugely fashionable colour.

Here are some of our best red hair shade ideas to try if you have warm skin tones:

• Golden copper blonde – GOOD 7.43 Turmeric Copper
• Red wine hair – Olia Red Laquers 5.52 Glossy Merlot
• Luscious red chocolate – Garnier Nutrisse 3.6 Deep Reddish Brown

Trending Red Hair Shades

Want to try out some of the hottest red hair trends? This year, the internet has gone wild for red hair colours. Which ones will you try?

Cherry Cola Hair Colour

The undisputed queen of red hair colours this year is cherry cola, with searches for “cherry cola hair dye” up a sizzling +350%. But what does cherry cola hair look like, and will you suit this trend?

If you’re after black and red hair colour ideas, this trend’s for you. Cherry cola is a deep, rich, dark chocolate red hair colour, reminiscent of a cherry cola drink. Thanks to its full-spectrum undertones, ranging from cool red to warm chocolate, it looks fabulous on pretty much any skin tone – which is why we absolutely love this cherry cola hair trend!

The cooler cherry tones enhance light, more pink-hued complexions, while the rich chocolate cola tones bring out olive or darker skin tones. It’s a win-win colour for all.

Want to try it yourself? Go for our signature dark cherry dye Garnier Nutrisse 2.6 Ultra Dark Cherry Red

With +500% more searches in 2025, calico hair is proving to be a real showstopper. But what is calico hair?

Want purr-fect hair? This feline-inspired hair colour is all about mixing it up – just like the patchwork fur on calico cats. So, if you’re looking for blonde and red hair colour ideas – this one’s for you! To achieve the calico hair trend, you’ll need three different colours: brown, red, and copper or blonde.

What distinguishes calico hair is its application technique. This red hair trend focuses on creating bold, distinct hair sections, each with a different colour. The result? A bold hairstyle that’s truly unique. Plus, thanks to its colour variety, it can suit all skin tones. Just pick the three shades based on whether you’re cool or warm-toned.

We recommend the following hair colours to achieve this daring look:

• For the copper hair chunks: Garnier Olia 7.40 Intense Copper
• For the red hair sections: Garnier Olia 6.60 Intense Red
• For the warm brown strands: Garnier Olia 5.35 Rich Chocolate Brown

Ready to make your hair pop with a vibrant red hair colour? Thanks to our red hair colour ideas for cool and warm skin tones, you’ll be able to find the perfect red shade for you.

Interested in knowing what your favourite red hair shade will look like on you? Don’t forget to use our Virtual Try-On feature to see what shade best suits you. Find out more on our Virtual Try-On homepage at the end of this article, or by clicking on one of our products with the 'Try It On' icon.

Make sure the colour you try on works on your hair. Take our 1-minute hair colour quiz to be certain.