AF Blog — Iris Green

@berlinstacy in Arctic Mist Diluter, Virgin Pink, Sunset Orange, Cosmic Sunshine, Iris Green, Aquamarine, Purple AF, Violet Dream, and Poseidon 

What is the Color Wheel?

The color wheel is a visual tool to explain and visualize the relationship between colors. When it comes to coloring hair, the color wheel is your personal hack to understand how colors will combine or cancel each other out when you’re creating your dream shade!

Understanding the color wheel will help you better understand color theory so you can better predict how specific colors will mix together and how to avoid results you weren’t expecting.

Color Definitions

When speaking to the color wheel, there are a few terms to know.

Primary Colors - What we learn in Kindergarten! Red, yellow and blue. These colors cannot be made from any other colors.

@erez_ivan in Poseidon 

Secondary Colors - Two primary colors mixed together that create orange, green, and violet.

@kunailuv in Sunset Orange, Cosmic Sunshine, and Purple AF 

Intermediate Colors - One primary and one secondary color mixed together: blue-violet, red-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, and blue-green.

@lilygraceglam in Blue Jean Baby, Purple AF, Violet Dream, Poseidon 

What Are Complementary Colors?

Complementary colors are two colors that live opposite each other on the color wheel. For example: violet and yellow, red and green, orange and blue.

When mixing these colors, you will get a brown shade. We receive a lot of questions around natural shades from the Fox Fam, so this color wheel hack is good to know in case you want to go back to natural color OR to avoid mixing colors or applying over faded color that might yield a muddy result.

Knowing complementary colors can also be great in creating looks that are bold and contrasting, especially for split dyes or layering colors.

@ashley.smit17 in Space Cowgirl, Aquamarine, Virgin Pink, Violet Dream, and Purple AF

@hairwaytoheavennn in Poison, Phantom Green, and Space Cowgirl

What Is Your Base?

When choosing a color, it’s important to consider how your base shade will affect the final outcome. Using the color wheel and color theory, you can have a better educated guess on what might happen or how to plan to get the result you’re looking for.

Starting From A Natural Base

Your natural hair color will affect the outcome of your look. Learn all about hair levels here and which AF colors will work best for your natural base. 

Starting From A Processed Blonde

Most Arctic Fox hair dyes will look and perform best on hair that’s a level 9 or higher, for some, that will require processing. Using the color wheel to figure out the tone of your blonde will help determine which colors to choose to get the results you want. Most natural hair colors that are bleached to blonde will start with an orange undertone and may reach a yellow/brassy color at the lightest. There are multiple ways to cancel out unwanted yellow/orange tones. One option is to use a commercial toning product found at your favorite beauty supply store. A second option is to use the color wheel and “tone” with AF colors. If your hair is leaning toward the yellow side, pre-dye using Arctic Mist Diluter and Purple AF to create an extremely diluted purple color. If your hair is leaning toward the orange side, you might try pre-dyeing with Arctic Mist Diluter and Poseidon to create an extremely diluted blue. 

@salinesimon in Arctic Mist Diluter and Aquamarine

For example, if you want a Poseidon to appear as a nice true blue, but are starting out with yellow undertones, your color might pull green. Since we know that violet is opposite the color wheel from yellow, mixing in a little bit of Purple AF may help counteract those yellow tones.

Starting From A Faded Color

If you’re a DIY dye queen, you might already have a faded color on your hair. Using color theory, you can get to the next color seamlessly without creating a muddy mess!

This video by Stella Cini is a great example of how to use color theory to get your desired color or read this blog by Thuy Pham on how she shifted her hair from green to purple.

AF Colors Charted

Each of our colors have specific undertones. Knowing where our colors fall on the color wheel, can help you make decisions on which dyes to mix to get the results you’re looking for.

@nadine.xoo in Cosmic Sunshine and Sunset Orange 

@chjango_john.n115 in Violet Dream, Cosmic Sunshine, Sunset Orange, and Virgin Pink

@angelicabarragan3 in Space Cowgirl and Neon Moon

@_kenzurrito in Poison, Purple AF, Periwinkle, Aquamarine

@rubyhair3 in Wrath, Virgin Pink, Electric Paradise, Sunset Orange

Want to start getting creative with your AF shades and don’t know where to start? Well take a deep breath because you are exactly where you need to be 💕 The last thing we want to do is overwhelm you, so allow us to ease you into some information and a few of my favorite beginner friendly mixes to achieve a custom shade! 

Pro Tip ✨: It is important that before applying a mix of shades to your hair that you perform a strand test to be sure the outcome on your hair is what you’re looking for. It is much easier to adjust the shades in the bowl than it is after you’ve already colored your hair ☺️

Let’s first go over the 5 things to ask yourself before you color your hair and understanding the best AF colors for your undertone, as this is the best place to start, if you’re unsure. Now, if you aren’t familiar with the color wheel, here’s a full explanation on how to easily understand the magic of mixing! Once you’ve got an understanding of this, you’re ready to go.

Purple AF: Purple is a VERY versatile color simply because it’s a combination of warm and cool tones, made with red and blue. Just about any color or mix can include Purple AF for added depth and can also be used for color correcting, fixing brassy tones, adding to blue dye to counteract green results OR you can add a few drops to your conditioner to create your own purple shampoo! Moral of the story, if you’re a custom color addict like us or you’re just beginning your custom color journey, purple is a must-have so let’s jump right in!

For a deep cobalt hue, use a half-and-half ratio of Purple AF and Poseidon, or for a more pigmented shade use Aquamarine instead of Poseidon!

Adding in less purple will achieve this gorgeous blue, so I’d recommend starting with a base of Poseidon and adding in small amounts of Purple AF until you’ve reached your desired shade. 

However, for a more purple leaning shade, I’d recommend a base of Purple AF and slowly incorporating your Poseidon for a “blurple”! 

Now, if you didn’t know already, purples look SO good with other purples and Purple AF is the perfect shade to punch up our other purple shades. For example, here is a base of Girl’s Night + Purple AF for a vibrant indigo:

@ashley_the_fairy_color_mother

More Purple AF mixes: 

Basically, Purple AF is a necessity when it comes to mixing and can also be used to cover leftover green, red, orange, or blue tones that simply won't budge 🍇  💅

Pro Tip ✨: If you haven’t noticed it by now, when mixing, we suggest using the lighter shade as your base and adding the more pigmented shade in smaller amounts to not overpower your lighter base shade. This allows you to control the colors easily! 

Ritual: This color is a gorgeous burgundy all on its own, but today we wanted to showcase some of the awesome mixes you can create with this versatile tone! Whether you’re looking for a deep, dark red, or a soft, smoky pink, the possibilities are limitless. 

Base of Poison and added in Ritual for this hot look 🤤

Believe it or not, this mix of Sunset Orange, with a bit of Cosmic Sunshine and a drop of Ritual created this must have ginger shade 🤩

A moment for Ritual alone because she’s stunning 👏

🤤 Okay okay okay. We still have so many mixes to get to! 🏃‍♀️

How about a base of Ritual and Wrath for when you’re feeling a merlot moment? I’ll cheers to that 🍷

More Ritual Mixes: 

Note: Arctic Mist is not a dye, toner, or lightening product. This diluter will have no effect on the hair if applied by itself - it’s meant to be mixed with other colors to create custom shades.

Up next… Aquamarine! 

Aquamarine is one of our most pigmented blues with aquamarine/teal undertones. If you’re looking for an easy to mix shade, this is it! Starting strong with one of my favorite Aquamarine mixes: 
Aquamarine + Phantom Green 🌱: The jewel toned green can be achieved by combining two super pigmented shades! Starting with Phantom Green, slowly incorporate small drops at a time of Aquamarine for an unreal shade, guaranteed to turn heads.

I mean, c’mon! …

If you’re wanting more of a blue mix, we have this Poseidon + Aquamarine mix, which is a base of Poseidon and slowly incorporates Aquamarine until you get to your preferred custom shade.

For an extra deep blue, try Blue Jean Baby + Aquamarine 👇 Lots of Blue Jean Baby and small add-ins of Aquamarine. 

Maybe you want something on the lighter/softer side? PERFECT because this next mix is just that and it’s gorgeous! 

Diluted Aquamarine and Neverland (base of Neverland + drops at a time of Aquamarine + Diluted using our Arctic Mist Diluter) 

You could also try adding in a bit of Iris Green to your Aquamarine + Neverland mix (without diluter).

One of the last shades that I’d like to showcase is Sunset Orange. It may not seem like it at first, but Sunset Orange is a surprisingly versatile shade and can be used in lots of different mixes for custom colors! As you may or may not know, she is BRIGHT and on her own, this shade is a jaw dropper. However, let’s unveil some of these mixes, shall we? 😏 Buckle up, Fox Fam.. She’s coming in HOT!

Sunset Orange + small drop of Cosmic Sunshine.

Sunset Orange + 2 drops or so of Cosmic Sunshine

Sunset Orange + Purple AF for a rich red

Looking for an even spicier red? How about a base of Poison + Sunset Orange added in? 

Sunset Orange + Electric Paradise? Yes, please! This mix can be used to achieve that peachy vibe 🍑

I hope you enjoyed these simple custom mixes and we can’t wait to make more of these! 

Let us know your favorite color recipes with Sunset Orange, Ritual, Aquamarine and Purple AF in the comments!

Need more inspo pics before making a decision? Check out our Instagram for tons of inspiration! And of course, if you ever have any questions or need help mixing up the perfect custom shade, send us an email at support@arcticfoxusa.com. We’re always here to help 🫶 

 Happy coloring, Fox Fam! 🎨



So you’re looking for some refreshing inspo to spice up that split dye? Maybe you just want to go for a little pop of color? 👀

Whatever the case may be, we got you covered with 15 of our current favorite hair color combinations!👇

1. Space Cowgirl + Virgin Pink

@evelina.forsell 

2. Sunset Orange + Cosmic Sunshine

@lauren_loveslocks

3. Neon Moon + Aquamarine

@0allas

4. Sunset Orange, Cosmic Sunshine and Neon Moon (pairs SO well with a natural shade 😍)!

@lyn_bax

5. Diluted Poseidon and Iris Green 🤤

@lizzienowire

6. Half Virgin Pink and half dark brown? Yes, please! 

@colorlikenoother

7. Sunset Orange + Virgin Pink

@elle_n0r

8. Violet Dream + Sunset Orange

@woke.nikki

9. Neon moon + Iris Green

@jphair_st.helens

10. Cosmic Sunshine + Purple AF

@zoe_la_leigh

11. Diluted Sunset Orange + Poison

@theeglamnaija

12. Girls Night and Purple AF

@hadar_kawaii_hair

13. Virgin Pink and Cosmic Sunshine

@kaylahadlington

14. Pop of Cosmic Sunshine ✨

@dxnx.elle 

15. Pop of diluted Virgin Pink

@slm.beauty

✨ Pro tip: Using COLD water when rinsing will help to prevent some of the bleeding onto another color! 

Have a stunning color combination of your own to share? Please feel free to do so below! We’d love to see 🥰 In the meantime, we’re here if you have any questions. Stay Foxy 🦊❤️

When choosing your next AF color, considering your skin’s undertone can help narrow down your choice and accentuate your natural features.

So what is an undertone anyway? Your skin tone is the surface level color of your skin that can change due to the season or sun exposure. For example, your summer foundation color might be darker than your winter foundation. Your undertone on the other hand is the underlying tone of your skin that is ever-present and doesn’t change with the seasons. Keep reading to find out more about how to determine your undertone and which Arctic Fox hair colors are best suited for you.

While knowing your undertone can help narrow down your choice of color, don’t let it stop you from fully expressing yourself. We’re all about breaking the rules at AF! Read through to the end and we’ll give you some tips on how to break the rules in a way that still accommodates your undertone.

Undertone Categories

There are three categories of undertones: cool, warm, and neutral. Cool undertones have a pink or bluish hue to their skin. Warm undertones have a yellow, golden, or peachy hue to their skin. Neutral undertones have undertones that are close to the color of their surface skin.

How to Find Your Undertone

Figuring out your undertone can be a bit confusing at first. Follow the tests below for an easy way to determine your undertone.

Vein Method

Take a look at your veins. A good place to look is around your wrist or the back of your hands.

1. Do your veins appear purple or blue? You have cool undertones.
2. Do your veins appear green or olive? You have warm undertones.
3. Do you have a mix of blue and green, or can’t tell? You likely have neutral undertones.

Jewelry Method

If you have trouble seeing your veins or want confirmation of the vein method, the jewelry method is a great option! Most people are attracted to either silver or gold jewelry based on the way it looks against their skin. Grab a piece of silver and another of yellow gold. Try them on and take a look at which you feel best in.

1. If you prefer the way silver jewelry looks on your skin, you have cool undertones.
2. If you prefer the way yellow gold jewelry looks on your skin, you have warm undertones.
3. If you look great in both or don’t have a preference, you likely have neutral undertones.

White T-Shirt Method

Throw on a white t-shirt and go outside in natural light. Pay attention to how your skin looks in comparison to the white t-shirt.

1. If your skin looks rosy or pink, you have cool undertones.
2. If your skin looks golden or yellow, you have warm undertones.
3. If you don’t really see a change, you have neutral undertones.

If you’re struggling to figure out which category you fall in, or you’re a mix of cool and warm undertones according to the tests, then you most likely have neutral undertones!

Best AF Colors for Cool Undertones

If you have cool undertones, cool colors will complement your skin best. Think blues and purples or colors with those undertones. Check out the color chart below for the best AF colors for cool undertones.

Cool AF Collection: https://arcticfoxhaircolor.com/collections/cool-af

@blairemartine

@sheaella

Best AF Colors for Warm Undertones

If you have warm undertones, warm colors will complement your skin best. Think reds, oranges, yellows or colors with those undertones. Check out the color chart below for the best AF colors for cool undertones.

Warm AF Collection: https://arcticfoxhaircolor.com/collections/warm-af

@notyourdestiny___

@itslauren.jpg

Best AF Colors for Neutral Undertones

If you have neutral undertones, lucky you! You can rock any literally any AF color.

@berlinstacey 

How to Break the Rules

Rules are meant to be broken, babe. So how do you break the rules while still considering your undertone?

Frame your Face 

Use the trendy money piece look or face framing layers in a color that does complement your undertone in combination with colors that don’t.

@chjango john.n1115

Split Dyes

Split dyes are a great way to incorporate multiple colors. Choose one side that compliments your undertone with the other half that doesn’t.

@itskcphan

Create A Melt

Create a melt with a color that matches your undertone closest to your face melted into a color that doesn’t match. Another option is to melt AF into your natural color. For inspo on the best color melts, make sure you’re following us on TikTok and Instagram!  

@la_main_d_argent_

@kisandyy

Don’t Give A F!

Seriously. Do whatever you want! Rules are meant to be broken, and if you feel great in a color that doesn’t complement your undertone, who cares?! Confidence is the best complement.

@ashley.smit17