If you are new to hair fibers, the first question is usually which shade to order. The answer is simpler than it looks: match your roots, not your ends.

Here we'll cover how to get the best hair fibers shade match, when to mix two colors together, and how to check the match before you commit to a full-size bottle.

How do you get the best hair fibers shade match?

If you’re trying to figure out the right hair fiber color for you, there are a few steps to follow:

Match the Area Near the Thinning Hair

Hair fibers attach to the hair shafts closest to your scalp, so it’s important to match them to the color of your roots. Your ends are usually lighter from sun, heat styling, and general wear, so if you match the ends, the fibers can look lighter than the darker hair they're sitting on.

If you color your hair, match the color it is now, not the regrowth underneath. This helps the fibers blend better with the hair people actually see.

To assess the color or your roots, look at them in a mirror in natural daylight. Bathroom lighting tends to be too warm or too dim and can make your hair look a shade off.

Check the Tone as Well as the Shade

Match the fibers to your roots in both depth and tone. Depth is how light or dark your hair is. Tone is whether it looks golden, reddish, ashy, or somewhere in between. Start with the shade closest to your roots, then compare its swatch with your hair in natural light.

If you’re unsure, apply a small amount to one thinning area and check it in a mirror near a window. The fibers should blend into the surrounding hair without looking noticeably redder, yellower, or greyer. If the depth looks right but the color still seems off, compare another nearby shade or try blending two colors.

We recommend choosing the darker shade when you’re between two. That helps when you’re deciding how light or dark to go. You should still check that the tone looks natural against your roots.

Work With Highlights, Grey Hair, and In-Between Colors

Not everyone has one solid hair color. Start by matching your roots, then decide whether a single shade is enough.

• Highlights: Match the base color at your roots, since that's the hair closest to the thinning area. If your highlights are heavy near the part, you may need a second, lighter shade.

• Grey or salt and pepper hair: Grey rarely looks like one flat color. Mixing a grey fiber with your natural base shade (like brown or blonde) usually looks more natural than either one on its own. This is why colorists blend grey with highlights and lowlights instead of covering it with a single color.

• In-between colors: If one shade is a touch too light and the next is a touch too dark, use both. Apply the darker shade first near the scalp, then add a light layer of the lighter one on top to blend.

Start with small amounts when you mix, and check the result in daylight before you add more. Adjusting a light layer is much easier than fixing one that's too heavy.

Wondering which hair fibers are the best or how SureThik compares to other brands? Check out our breakdown of the best hair fibers.

What colors are available with SureThik hair fibers?

SureThik hair fibers come in eight colors. The chart below shows which hair each shade suits.

Shade	Best Match
	Black and very dark hair
	Dark brown hair, and black hair with warmth in it
	Mid brown hair
	Light brown and the darkest blondes
	Dark blonde and ash blonde
	Light and golden blonde
	Grey and silver hair
	Red and auburn hair

If one of these matches your roots, use it on its own. If your color sits between two, layer them.

Can you mix hair fiber shades?

Yes, you can mix hair fiber shades, and the way to do it is to layer them onto your hair one after the other.

Apply the darker shade first. It covers the scalp showing through and does the work of adding density. Then go over it with a light pass of the lighter shade, which sits on top and matches what people actually see.

Build the lighter shade gradually. You can always add more, but if you add too much, you’ll have to wash your hair to remove it.

This is also how you handle dimensional color. If you have dark brown hair with caramel highlights, a dark brown base with a blonde pass over it looks more natural than either shade on its own.

SureThik’s Hair Fiber Applicator makes layering easier. It twists onto both the 15g and 30g bottles and delivers a controlled spray rather than a loose shake. This matters more on the second layer than the first. Too much of the lighter shade in one spot is what makes two colors show separately instead of blending.

Each layer goes on the same way a single shade would. You can learn more in our post on how to use hair fibers.

Should you go lighter or darker if you are between two shades?

If you can’t decide between two hair fiber shades, test both shades before you commit.

Darker fibers create more contrast against the scalp, so they look denser. That works in your favor when you're covering a thin patch. It can work against you if the shade looks too dark and shows as a shadow.

Lighter fibers are more forgiving when the match is slightly off, but they cover less convincingly on a scalp that is showing through.

If you can only buy one shade of hair fibers, start with the one closest to your root color and use a lighter hand at the hairline, where less product is needed anyway.

Do hair fibers look different in different light?

Yes, hair fibers can look different in different light, so check your shade in more than one place before you decide.

Daylight gives the truest match. Overhead office lighting and bathroom bulbs both throw light straight down onto the crown, which is exactly where a mismatch shows. Take a photo with the flash on too, because a camera is less forgiving than your eye.

If the shade passes in daylight, under an overhead light, and in a flash photo, it will hold up in most situations.

What if the hair fiber shade is slightly off?

If the shade is slightly off, use less product and pay attention to how you apply your hair fibers. A light application makes a mismatch less obvious. Build coverage in light passes and stop as soon as the scalp stops showing through. 

Finish matters too. SureThik’s Hair Fiber Holding Spray is water-based rather than alcohol-based, so it sets to a natural shine rather than a dry, powdery finish. This can make the fibers look more like your natural hair.

FAQs

What shade of hair fibers works for red or auburn hair?

Auburn covers red and auburn hair. If your red has faded toward brown, use Medium Brown as the base and go over it with a light pass of Auburn.

What happens if the hair fiber shade is too dark?

Fibers that are too dark look like a shadow on the scalp, especially under overhead light. Use less product, or start with the darker shade, then go over the area with a light pass of a lighter shade.

Should you change the shade of your hair fibers in summer?

Hair lightens with sun exposure over a season, so a hair fiber shade that matched in February can look dark by August. Check the match again when the weather changes.

Can you use a darker shade to look fuller?

A darker shade may cover thinning areas more convincingly because it contrasts more with a lighter scalp. But going more than one shade darker than your own hair can look like a shadow rather than hair, so there is a limit to it.

Does hair fiber color change as it wears through the day?

No, the color doesn't change. Fibers are colored with mineral iron oxides, and they wash out the same shade they went on. You can learn more in our article about how long hair fibers last.

Which hair fiber shade works for white hair?

Grey is the closest match for white and silver hair. If your hair is closer to pure white than grey, use a lighter hand, because grey fibers show more contrast against white hair than they do against silver. 

How do you get the right hair fiber shade for grey hair?

Most people mix colors and land on roughly half grey and half of their dark base color. Start there and adjust from what you see.

If you want a darker grey, add more of your base color. If you want it lighter, order Light Brown or Medium Brown instead of the darker base. This gives you a lighter result with a touch of grey running through it.

Do you use the same hair fiber shade on a beard?

Not always. Beard hair is often more red or more grey than the hair on your head, so match it on its own rather than assuming your scalp shade will work. See more info in our article on using hair fibers on your beard.