If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes creating your Where the Winds Meet character, you know how easy it is to second-guess your initial hair color choice. Maybe you picked a neon pink for fun and now want a more muted look for stealth quests, or you unlocked a rare vanity set that doesn’t match your current shade. Figuring out where the winds meet how to change hair color doesn’t have to be a confusing grind, even if you’re still getting familiar with the game’s open world systems. I’ve tested every method to adjust character appearance across 3 separate playthroughs, so I’m breaking down exactly what you need to do, no fluff included.
Where the Winds Meet: How to Change Hair Color for the First Time Post-Creation
The good news is you don’t have to restart your entire playthrough just to fix a hair color you no longer like. The earliest you can adjust your hair color after the initial character creation screen is after you complete the “A New Home” main quest, which unlocks access to the first major player hub, White Sands Outpost. The barber NPC is located on the east side of the outpost, right next to the tailor shop, and he’s marked with a small scissors icon on your map so you won’t miss him. You don’t need to spend any premium currency for your first hair color change, as the game gives all new players a complimentary appearance adjustment voucher to use within their first 24 hours of unlocking the outpost.
If you haven’t completed “A New Home” yet, you still have a small window to adjust your look for free. For the first 2 hours of playtime before you enter White Sands Outpost, you can access the appearance adjustment menu directly from the main game settings. That option locks once you cross the outpost gates, so if you’re still on the opening tutorial quests and hate your hair color, change it before you move forward. If you’re still early in your playthrough, this is the fastest way to test out different looks without hunting for special items to change hair color in Where the Winds Meet.
All Unlockable Hair Color Options and Their Requirements
Not every hair color is available right off the bat, and some shades require a bit of extra work to unlock. The base game currently has 27 total hair color options, split across four different unlock categories. You don’t have to unlock every shade to find one you like, but it’s good to know what’s available so you don’t waste currency on a shade you could have earned for free. The full breakdown of unlock types is as follows:
- Free default shades: Black, dark brown, light brown, blonde, auburn, red, dark blue, light blue, green, purple, pink, white – no unlock requirements, available at any barber NPC across all game regions for a small silver fee.
- Quest-unlocked shades: These include pastel variations, ombre options, and natural gray, unlocked by completing vanity side quests given by NPCs across the game’s 5 main regions. Most of these quests only require you to deliver a small crafting item or take a photo of a specific landmark, so they’re very low effort to complete.
- Exclusive shades: Glow-in-the-dark neon, metallic silver, and sunset gradient are only available during limited-time in-game events, though they often rotate back into the shop every 3 months for players who miss them the first time.
Premium battle pass shades are the only ones you can’t earn for free, and they usually include fun themed options like celestial gradients or patterned hair streaks. Premium shade purchases are account-wide, so if you buy a metallic shade on one character, you can use it on all other alts you create later, no extra cost required. Most players can unlock 80% of the non-premium shades within 10 hours of playtime if they take 5 minutes out of their main quest grind to complete quick vanity side quests.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing Your Hair Color
It’s easy to get excited when you see a new shade you love and rush through the change process, but there are a few common missteps that can cost you silver or even force you to re-do quest progress. I learned the first one the hard way during the “Undercover in the Capital” story quest, when I changed my hair to bright red right before I had to disguise as a servant with dark brown hair. I failed the quest automatically and had to re-do 20 minutes of stealth gameplay, so take it from me: don’t change your hair color right before a quest that requires a specific disguise, unless you confirm the shade matches the disguise requirements first.
Another mistake I see new players make all the time is wasting premium currency on temporary hair dyes. The game sells 7-day temporary dyes for 100 premium coins, but permanent versions of the exact same shade only cost 150 premium coins. It’s always a better deal to save up for the permanent option if you like a shade, unless you only want it for a specific event. You can test any hair color for free before you confirm the change, there’s a preview option that lets you see how the shade looks in different lighting, including sunlight, torchlight, and cave darkness, so you don’t end up with a shade that looks great in the barber shop but washed out in the open world. You also have a 5-minute window after confirming a change to reverse it for free, so if you realize you hate it right away, you don’t have to pay extra to switch back.
How to Get Free Hair Color Change Tokens
If you don’t want to spend your hard-earned silver or premium currency on hair color changes, there are multiple ways to earn free appearance change tokens that cover hair color, hairstyle, and facial feature adjustments. The most consistent way to earn them is by leveling up your reputation with any major faction to level 3. Each faction gives you one free appearance change token when you hit that reputation tier, and there are 6 major factions total, so you can earn 6 free tokens just from grinding reputation alone.
You can also get free tokens from daily login rewards, every 14 days of consecutive logins gives you a free appearance change token, no extra tasks required. The game also gives out free tokens as rewards for community events like fan art contests, bug reporting, or official survey participation, so it’s worth checking the official game forums every few weeks for new reward opportunities. Free hair color tokens never expire, so you can save them for when limited-time exclusive shades drop, instead of using them on default shades you can access for a small silver fee. I usually keep 2 to 3 tokens in my inventory at all times, so when the neon glow shades come back around, I don’t have to grind silver to grab them for all my alts.
Customizing your character to feel like your own is one of the best parts of exploring Where the Winds Meet’s vast open world, and you don’t have to be stuck with a hair color you picked when you first launched the game. Whether you’re looking for a subtle natural shade for stealth quests or a wild neon option that stands out in every crowd, figuring out where the winds meet how to change hair color is a simple process once you know where to look and what requirements to hit. Take your time testing shades before you confirm, save your free tokens for limited editions, and you’ll have a character look you love in no time.
