Published October 2026. Written from 507 Naturyl customer reviews, our returns policy, and our Copper shade photographed next to the warm browns people often mistake for it.
The short answer
"Copper" covers everything from strawberry blonde to deep auburn, and an extension can only be one point on that range. Match the hair underneath your top layer, in daylight, and decide first whether your red is natural or dyed — because dyed copper changes colour every time you wash it, and the extension mostly does not.
We make one red shade, Copper: a bright, solid mid-copper, close to natural ginger. It suits ginger and fresh copper colour well. It is too orange for strawberry blonde and too bright for true auburn, and we would rather say so here than in a returns email.
Why red is the hardest colour to match
Brown and blonde hair forgive a shade that is a little off. Red does not: a piece half a shade too dark disappears into brown hair, while a piece half a shade too orange sits in red hair like a stripe.
Red also covers more ground than any other hair colour under one word. A strawberry blonde, a natural ginger, a salon copper and a dark auburn are four different colours, and most people searching for "copper extensions" have one of them in mind without saying which. Before you look at any shade, it helps to name yours.
Strawberry blonde — a blonde with a warm, pinkish-gold cast. Lighter than it is red. Most of the time it reads as blonde across a room.
Ginger and copper — a clear orange-red at mid depth. This is the colour most people mean by "red hair", and the one salon copper colours are built to imitate.
Auburn — a brown with red in it. Darker and cooler than copper, with more of a mahogany or chestnut feel. In dim light it can pass for brown.
Vivid or berry red — cherry, burgundy, pillar-box. These are fashion colours, not natural ones, and no stock extension shade we make comes near them.
What our Copper shade actually is
Names mislead with red more than with any other colour, so here is the shade itself. On the left, the full piece held up; on the right, a close-up in daylight.
The whole piece
Close up
It is genuinely orange-red, not a brown with a red tint, so it will not blend into hair most people would call brown. And it is one solid colour, while natural red is usually lighter at the ends and darker underneath — so where you match it matters more than with any other shade.
Natural red and dyed copper are two different purchases
If your red is natural, the colour is stable. It will be a little lighter in summer and a little deeper in winter, but the extension you match in March will still match in October. The job is a one-off: find the right point on the range and buy it once.
If your red is dyed, the colour is moving. Red dye molecules are the quickest of all colours to wash out, which is why copper is famous among colourists for fading faster than anything else they put on. Fresh from the salon your hair will be at its brightest; a few weeks of washing later it will be softer and lighter. The extension, washed far less often than your own hair, mostly stays where it started. So the question becomes which version of your copper to match.
"Natural hair extensions are great , so easy to apply and match my hair colours. Very comfortable and look so natural . This is my second purchase as I changed hair colour ( in summer I have lighter )."Monika J., verified buyer
When your colour moves with the seasons or the salon, one piece will not follow it. For dyed copper, match the middle of your colour cycle — usually two to three weeks after an appointment, once the first fade has happened — not the day you leave the salon.
The self-test: run it before you order anything
Five minutes in front of a window settles most red matches. Do it in this order.
- 1Use daylight, not a bathroom bulb. Warm indoor light pushes every red towards orange and makes copper and auburn look closer than they are. Stand by a north-facing window if you have one.
- 2Lift your top layer and look underneath. A wire piece sits beneath your own hair from about headband height, so the hair it has to match is the hair just under your top layer and behind your ears — not your parting, and not your sun-lightened surface.
- 3Hold something white beside it. A sheet of paper next to your hair shows the undertone. If the colour leans orange against white, you are in copper territory. If it leans brown or wine, you are closer to auburn.
- 4Check your ends against your mid-lengths. If your ends are noticeably lighter, match the mid-lengths — that is where the top of the piece will sit — and let the difference at the ends be part of the look.
- 5If it is dyed, note how many weeks since your last colour. Under two weeks, you are looking at the brightest your copper will be. Wait, or match a shade softer than what you see.
Matching your red: what to buy and what to expect
Find the row that describes your hair after the self-test. The right-hand column is the part that saves a return.
If you sit between two rows, one rule settles it: human hair goes darker reliably and does not go lighter. A piece that is slightly too bright can be deepened by a colourist. A piece that is too dark is the one you are stuck with.
Our red shade
Copper Invisible Wire Extension
One piece on a clear wire, nothing clipped to your own hair. A bright mid-copper for ginger and copper-coloured hair, straight, and easy to curl or deepen with colour.
100% Remy human hair · 12 to 18 inch · £109 to £159 · Rated 4.7 "Excellent" on Trustpilot · Free UK delivery · Free colour exchanges
Shop the Copper extension → Free colour match from a photoDeepening Copper towards auburn: when it is worth it
Because our Copper is real Remy human hair, a colourist can take it darker and richer. For auburn this is often the best route available, not a workaround: every brand's idea of auburn differs, and a piece coloured to your own hair beats one picked from a chart.
"Beautiful quality hair. I was able to dye it exactly like my dyed hair. So it matched perfectly"June P., verified buyer
Three things to know before you book it in:
Dyeing ends the return window. Our policy is plain about it: once a piece has been coloured it cannot be returned or exchanged. Wear it as it is for a day first and only colour a piece you have decided to keep.
Darker and redder, never lighter. A semi-permanent or a gloss in an auburn or mahogany tone is gentle on extension hair. Bleaching Copper towards strawberry blonde is not — it damages hair that cannot regrow, and it rarely lands where you want.
Take the piece to your own colourist. If they colour your hair, they can mix the same formula for the extension at the same appointment, which is the surest way to make the two fade together.
Where our Copper stops working
It is one shade. Copper is our only red. If your red is not near it, careful ordering will not change that — the table above says which hair it does not suit, and we mean it.
It is straight only. Copper is not made in our Beach Wave line or in the 45g Lightweight piece. Real hair takes a curling wand well, so you can add the wave yourself.
It will not cover red roots or a faded parting. An extension sits under your top layer, so it can add length and volume in copper, but it cannot change the colour people see at your parting. That is a root colour job, not an extension one.
It does fade, slowly. Sun and heavy washing soften any red. Wash it only when it needs it, use a colour-safe shampoo, and keep it out of a sunny window between wears.
"Perfect colour, perfect quality hair. I just wish you did longer length and tape in options ."Kimberly D., verified buyer
That review, on the Copper piece itself, carries both halves of the story: the shade landed, and the range has edges. Our longest piece is 18 inches and we do not make tape-ins.
Testing a red match for the least money
Red is the least forgiving colour to get wrong, so it is the one most worth testing first. Three ways, cheapest up:
- 1A free photo match. Send two daylight photos — one of the top layer, one lifted to show underneath — and say whether your colour is natural or dyed, and how long since your last appointment. That last detail matters more for red than any other colour.
- 2A £3 tester. A small strand of the real shade to hold against your own hair at the window. Testers are not returnable, but at that price they are the cheapest insurance against the wrong red.
- 3Front pieces in Copper. Two small clip-ins worn at the front, where you will see them in every mirror. If Copper vanishes there, in the most-seen part of your hair, it will vanish at the back too.
And if a full piece arrives and the red is wrong, exchanging it for a different shade or length is free. A cash refund costs a £10 admin fee, which is the other reason the tester is worth it.
Try Copper at the front first
Face-Framing Layers
Two small pieces on inch-wide clips, made in Copper and every other shade. Worn at the front, so you see exactly how the red sits against your own before buying a full piece.
Front clip-in extensions · 100% Remy · £36 · Free UK delivery · Free colour exchanges
Shop Face-Framing Layers →Common questions
Do copper hair extensions match ginger hair?
A bright mid-copper is the closest extension shade to natural ginger, and it is what our Copper is built for. Match it against the hair just under your top layer in daylight rather than your sun-lightened surface, because that is the hair the piece actually sits against.
Is copper the same as auburn?
No. Copper is an orange-red at mid depth; auburn is a brown with red in it, darker and cooler. Held next to auburn hair, a copper piece looks too bright. The usual answer for auburn is to have a colourist deepen a copper human hair piece with a semi-permanent, keeping in mind that a dyed piece cannot be returned.
What extensions suit strawberry blonde hair?
Usually a warm golden blonde rather than a copper. Strawberry blonde is lighter than it is red, so a true copper reads as orange against it. A photo match is the quickest way to find the nearest blonde, and a £3 tester confirms it before you buy a full piece.
Will my copper extensions fade?
Slowly. Extension hair is not growing, so it does not lose pigment the way your own hair does, but sun and frequent washing still soften any red. Wash it only when it needs it, use a colour-safe shampoo and store it out of direct sunlight. Dyed copper on your own head usually fades much faster than the piece, which is why the match is best judged a few weeks after a colour appointment.
Can you dye copper extensions darker?
Yes. Real Remy human hair takes a darker or richer colour well, and a semi-permanent or gloss in an auburn or mahogany tone is gentle on it. Lightening is a different matter and is best avoided. Dyeing a piece ends the return and exchange window, so only colour one you have decided to keep.
How do I colour match red hair extensions online?
Send two daylight photos, one of your top layer and one lifted to show the hair underneath, and say whether your red is natural or dyed and how long since your last colour. Red is the least forgiving colour to get wrong, so a free photo match plus a small tester is worth it even if you feel confident.
