How to Pull Off Black Hair So it Looks Natural

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This post is all about how to pull off black hair.

So you’re thinking about dying your hair black but, before you take the plunge, you want to make sure it doesn’t look unnatural?

Maybe you already went for it, and now you hate your new ‘do because it “doesn’t look right” on you.

Regardless of your reasoning, I’m here to tell you that there are things you can do to enhance your dark hair, even to the point people will think you were born with it!

I want to point out that just because you were born with a certain hair color, doesn’t mean you don’t have a large range of other hair colors that would look great on you.

In fact, most of the time it is completely doable to change your hair color drastically from your root color.

Just how different greatly depends on some factors such as eye color and skin tone which we will get into further in this post. 

While you don’t have complete control over changing these things, you do have the ability to make some tweaks to your appearance so that dark hair looks more natural on you.

I recently dyed my hair from my natural medium brown color (about a 4N to be specific) to the darkest brown which is basically black (see below).

So, as you can see, in my case the change wasn’t super drastic but it was enough that I knew there were a few things I needed to change to make black hair look natural on me. 

Without further ado, here are the things I suggest you do if you want to dye your hair black but don’t want to give off major Elvira wig vibes.

1. Get contacts to pull off black hair

If you are dying your hair black, one adjustment you could make to instantly change your entire look would be to get colored contacts.

I tend to think brown eyes look the most natural with black hair but many black-haired beauties rock green eyes as well. 

Either way, try getting colored contacts and seeing how much it can transform your overall appearance.

If you are already a contact wearer, Air Optix has a great range of super-breathable color contacts that you can easily pop in instead of your regular ones. You can order them online through 1800contacts.com as long as you have your prescription strength handy.

If you don’t already wear contacts, try going through a non-prescription website like coleyes.com.

2. Change your eyebrow color to pull off black hair

It’s really important that your brows compliment your hair color in order to pull off a natural look.

If you have recently darkened your hair to black, the chances are your eyebrows might look a little too light for your new hue.

A quick fix to this is to purchase an eyebrow pencil in black and fill in your brows daily to match your black hair. This one by NYX is a powder pencil and it blends so well with my natural brows.

Another option if your brows are already on the full side and you don’t have sparse areas to fill in is to just go ahead and dye them along with your hair. 

You can use a dab of the same hair dye from your hair or you can pick up a mens mustache and beard facial hair color kit.

Just leave it on for 10 minutes and voilà- you have dark brows to match your black hair!

3. Balance facial features by tweaking brow shape

So you’ve darkened your brows to match your new dark hair. A caveat to darkening your brows, though, is that they will now be more noticeable. 

Depending on your facial features and shape, you may need to make some tweaks to your brow shape to balance everything out so that they don’t seem too harsh. 

Since I have small facial features, for me this meant lessening my arch so the dark bold brows didn’t give me an angry look, as well as making them a little bit thinner. 

If you don’t feel comfortable shaping them yourself, these eyebrow stencils are super helpful for letting you try out different shapes.

Just use the stamp to fill in the area inside the stencil and pluck or shave all the hairs that don’t fall within the stenciled area.

I don’t recommend this for everyone, but it’s something to keep in mind once your hair and brows are a little darker.

The key takeaway is to just to make sure they don’t appear too harsh or bold and that the shape is flattering for your face shape.

4. Pull off black hair with a fake tan

This tip is so crucial when dying your hair black or dark brown, especially if you have a naturally pale skin tone.

Now, some lighter skin tones do look natural with black hair such as those with hispanic or asian descent.

But as a rule, darkening the color of your skin will make your dark hair look more natural. 

I use a good fake tanner weekly and it gives me a beautiful bronzed glow.

It takes 10 minutes to apply and will leave you with a deep, natural looking tan all week long.

The alternative would be to go tanning regularly but I don’t recommend this. There’s the risk of skin cancer, not to mention pre-mature aging to your skin.

So, team fake-bake it is!

5. Dye your hair the right shade of dark

Now this is where it gets a little tricky. 

When you dye your hair black (or dark brown), you want to make sure you dye it the right tone/hue for your skin.

Determining your skin tone is pretty simple.

As a rule of thumb, if you take a look at the veins on your inner wrist and they appear blue, you have a cool skin tone. 

While, if your veins appear green, this means you have a naturally warm skin tone.

Those with veins that appear somewhere in the middle (greenish-blue) tend to have a neutral skin tone.

Another way to test your skin tone is to hold a white piece of paper up to your skin in the mirror and compare the paper to your skin. If you skin looks yellow up against the white paper, chances are you are a warm tone.

If your skin looks pink, you are more of a cool tone.

Appearing green or grey could mean you are neutral.

If you are still struggling with figuring this out, go get matched for foundation by a professional makeup artist or local beauty store. They will be able to tell you exactly which skin tone you are.

After you have found your skin tone, when selecting your hue of hair color, it’s best to stick with the same tone of hair color as your skin.

For instance, if you have a warm skin tone, a super rich, warm dark brown would suit you best.

6. Invest in the right products for pulling off black hair

Once you’ve dyed your hair black, it’s important to invest in some good quality hair products to not only preserve it but to enhance it as well. 

When it comes to preservation, the most important product you can get is a sulfate-free shampoo that won’t cause your dark hair to fade.

Sulfates are stripping agents, so by using sulfate-free products (especially shampoo), it will ensure you are able to maintain your dark hue for as long as possible.

Another type of product to invest in for black hair is a good quality hair oil. This is key for enhancing the color.

With the absence of bleach, there’s no excuse for your hair to not be it’s absolute healthiest when it is dyed black.

One of the best ways to guarantee your hair looks shiny and healthy is by investing in a high quality hair oil. Make sure you take the time to apply the oil daily and concentrate on your ends.

For more info on using oil on your hair, be sure to check out my post on the Best Natural Oils for Hair and Skin.

Lastly, another great product for enhancing black hair is a finishing shine spray.

Shine spray will be the last step in your hair styling routine and will accentuate your black hair. This one by Kenra is amazing. It smells so good and is so lightweight that it will work on any hair type.

This post was all about how to pull off black hair so it looks natural.