How To Know If You're Neutral Undertone

How to Know if You're Neutral Undertone: A Complete Guide

Determining your undertone—whether it's warm, cool, or neutral—is crucial for choosing flattering makeup, hair colors, and even clothing. While many people easily identify as warm or cool, figuring out if you have a neutral undertone can be trickier. This comprehensive guide will walk you through several methods to help you confidently identify your neutral undertone.

Understanding Undertone

Before we dive into the methods, let's clarify what undertone actually means. Your undertone is the subtle hue beneath your skin's surface. It's different from your skin tone (light, medium, deep), which refers to the overall shade of your complexion. Undertone significantly impacts how colors appear on your skin; choosing the wrong undertone can make you look washed out or even sickly.

Methods to Determine Your Undertone

Several methods can help you determine if you have a neutral undertone. Try a combination of these techniques for the most accurate results.

1. The Vein Test:

This classic method involves examining the color of your veins on your inner wrist.

• Cool Undertone: Veins appear blue or purple.
• Warm Undertone: Veins appear green.
• Neutral Undertone: Veins appear a mixture of blue and green, or a muted bluish-green. This is a key indicator of a neutral undertone.

Important Note: This method isn't foolproof. Lighting conditions and individual variations can affect the results. Use this as one piece of the puzzle, not the sole determinant.

2. The Jewelry Test:

This test involves observing how different metal colors complement your skin.

• Cool Undertone: Silver jewelry makes your skin glow, while gold jewelry can make your skin appear dull.
• Warm Undertone: Gold jewelry complements your skin, while silver might make you appear washed out.
• Neutral Undertone: Both silver and gold jewelry look good on you. You'll likely find that both metals enhance your complexion without making you look drained or sallow.

Pro Tip: Pay close attention to how the metals reflect light on your skin. A subtle glow is a positive sign.

3. The White Paper Test:

Hold a piece of pure white paper next to your face in natural daylight.

• Cool Undertone: Your skin appears pinkish or bluish against the white background.
• Warm Undertone: Your skin looks yellowish or golden against the white background.
• Neutral Undertone: Your skin appears neither noticeably warm nor cool against the white. You might see a subtle blend of both, or a relatively even tone.

Consider the Lighting: Accuracy depends heavily on natural daylight. Avoid harsh artificial lighting.

4. The Sun Exposure Test:

Observe how your skin reacts to sun exposure.

• Cool Undertone: You tend to burn easily and rarely tan.
• Warm Undertone: You tan easily and rarely burn.
• Neutral Undertone: You tan gradually and might experience some burning, but you don't burn severely.

Identifying Your Neutral Undertone with Confidence

If you've performed these tests and noticed a consistent pattern of mixed results, or if you find both gold and silver jewelry flattering, you likely have a neutral undertone. This means you're lucky; you can experiment with a wider range of colors in makeup and clothing than someone with a strongly cool or warm undertone.

Beyond the Tests: Seek Professional Advice

If you're still unsure, consider consulting a makeup artist or skincare professional. They can offer personalized advice based on a thorough examination of your skin.

Remember, identifying your undertone is a process of elimination and observation. Don't get discouraged if the results aren't perfectly clear-cut. The key is to combine the methods above for the most accurate and confident assessment. Enjoy experimenting with different colors and finding what truly makes you shine!