9 Free Hair Color Apps on Men’s Hair (2026 Tested)

As a male with dark hair that I had never dyed, it is quite daunting to entirely change my hair color without knowing what it would look like before commitment. Luckily, with hair color apps, people can virtually change the shades of their hair without going to a salon and making a gamble on the color.

Here come a few problems: How do we choose the one that works well among myriads of hair color changer apps? Most of the reviews on the Internet tested the apps on female hairstyles, do they also work well with my buzz cut? To resolve the questions, I tested 9 hair color apps using the same 9 images (3 hairstyles times 3 lighting conditions) for all of the applications.

Testing Methodology

The test environments are:

• 3 distinct hairstyles: The apps were experimented with buzz cut, short curly hair, and long wavy hair. They should work for all hairstyles.

• 3 distinct lighting conditions: The apps were tested with natural daylight, indoor light, and low light to see how they handled different input conditions.

• 3 hair colors targeted: I chose blonde, gray, and red to test how apps dealt with colors that are more challenging to render. Blonde and gray are two of the most difficult hair colors for AI to render and red is quite a bold color for a realistic result.

9 Free Hair Color Apps Reviewed

Hair color apps tested in a glance:

1. YouCam Makeup 
2. PhotoDirector 
3. Fotor 
4. Color Analysis- Dressika 
5. Facetune 
6. MakeupPlus 
7. FaceApp 
8. Facelab 
9. Glowify 
   

1. YouCam Makeup

Try YouCam Makeup

YouCam Makeup provides 150+ colors to choose from. I was able to customize my hair color with the color palette and fine-tune with the intensity bar to generate tints of blonde and gray I was intending to try on. The colors looked realistic using YouCam Makeup, for the strands of my hair remained detailed among different hairstyles. It’s also one of the few apps that works well for all 9 scenarios.

Not only is the app available for real-time hair color changes on images and live camera, the app is also abundant in other free features such as hairstyle try-on. One feature of YouCam Makeup allows you to edit photos using prompts for their AI called “AI Agent.” Overall, it provided comfortable and intuitive user experience.

Developer Note

Curious how apps like these are built? If you’re looking for or trying to build user-friendly hairstyle apps or websites, YouCam API is definitely the best choice. The Hair Color Changer API’s low latency stems from its well-trained AI. Its compatibility with Gen AI, such as Gemini and Claude, makes it possible to appear on your apps and websites in as little as a day. 

Learn about API

2. PhotoDirector

The PhotoDirector is highly developed in photo editing features. A unique feature of PhotoDirector is that it allows you to change hairstyles and hair colors simultaneously. Although there are only 14 preset hairstyles for men, PhotoDirector provides a customized option that allows you to modify your hairstyle and hair color using prompts for its AI.

One test of applying gray hair on my buzz cut under indoor light had an astonishing result. I simply asked the AI to keep my buzz cut and color my hair gray. The result looked incredibly realistic for gray hair: Strands are visible, and color is well-tuned.

3. Fotor

During the testing, I spent a while looking for the hair color changer in the app. I finally found the feature when I clicked on the AI Hairstyle Changer. There were only 9 colors available for users, males and females alike, accompanied by an auto hairstyle changer that adjusted your hairstyle and color by itself.

Fotor provided impressively visible details for stands of long hair, even under poor lighting. Though every action requires points, I managed to attain blonde hair for wavy long hair using auto hairstyle 2.0. The AI adjusted the poor lighting and provided highly detailed strands. Yet the app doesn’t appear to let me change my color for buzz cuts without lengthening my hair.

4. Color Analysis- Dressika

The user interface is well-organized and easy-to-use. Dressika’s unique feature is that it helps you find the colors that suit you best. There are spectrums in the background for users to compare colors to their skin tone and hair.

Throughout my test, I figured out that images with my head turned away worked best for buzz cuts. The color changer for the front-face view somehow didn’t seem to work for buzz cuts. Also, colors seemed to bleed a little into the background for buzz cuts.

5. Facetune

Facetune exhibits great capability in displaying depths on hair. In a test of applying gray hair on short curly hair, Facetune showcased great realism with its use of depth. Their AI modified my curly hair in accordance with the direction of the light source.

Small problems I faced when testing the app were that: the gray displayed was not quite what I was expecting. I wanted my gray hair to be lighter. My hair also appeared to be lengthened when I changed the color of my buzz cut. Lastly, buzz cuts under low light are quite difficult for the app to determine.

6. MakeupPlus

MakeupPlus not only focuses on makeup effects but also provides various fancy and textured colors. After the test, I figured that it worked incredibly well with buzz cuts. The app detected my hairline well and exhibited it realistically, only that the blonde and gray options didn’t quite meet my expectations. I would like to see more obvious color displays on my hair.

Though depth in hair dye is not perfectly displayed, the app offers great color variety and additional features such as makeup changers.

7. FaceApp

The app is ideal for a quick check on hair colors. The user interface is simple and intuitive. Select the photo you want to edit and pick the color. Some colors may be locked behind subscriptions.

FaceApp works for buzz cuts; however, poor lighting conditions and messy background may affect output display. In conclusion, indoor light worked best for buzz cuts during the testing of this app.

8. Facelab

The app works fine with short curly and long wavy hair, but displays on buzz cuts are not that ideal. For lighter colors such as blonde and gray, it was quite hard to tell the difference when applied on buzz cuts.

Though there may be some ads interruption during the experience, in general, Facelab provides a great variety of color choices and free features.

9. Glowify

Glowify is another one of the few apps that works well for all 9 scenarios. It coordinates well with different lighting to make the color look more realistic. Their rendering on buzz cuts is extraordinary. The AI detected the margin of my hair well and rendered the colors suited to my needs. However, there are limited actions per day for the app. 

Conclusion

If you wish to explore a wide variety of hair colors using a free application, try YouCam Makeup. The hair color changer app works well even on extremely short hairstyles. Try Fotor for exceptional realism on long hair; try Facetune for outstanding realism on short hair. Other apps such as Color Analysis- Dressika, MakeupPlus, and Facelab provide plentiful color options. Lastly, try PhotoDirector, Faceapp, and Glowify for smart hair detection.

Due to different scenarios and needs for virtual hair color try-on, choose the app that provides the most realistic results and best solves your problem.

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