The levels at a glance
The 1 to 10 scale puts hair on a ladder of lightness. Here is how we use it.
| Level | Name | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | The darkest hair, with no brown showing in daylight |
| 2 | Darkest brown | Very dark, with a hint of brown in bright light |
| 3 | Dark brown | Clearly brown, but still deep |
| 4 | Medium brown | A true mid brown |
| 5 | Light brown | Brown with real lightness to it |
| 6 | Dark blonde | Where brown tips over into blonde |
| 7 | Medium blonde | A clear, mid-tone blonde |
| 8 | Light blonde | A pale blonde |
| 9 | Very light blonde | Close to the lightest, with little depth left |
| 10 | Lightest blonde | The lightest end of the scale, the palest blonde |
These names are ours and describe the steps. The scale is a convention used in salons and by colour brands, so another brand’s chart may place the same hair a step either way.
Level is not the same as tone
Level says how light or dark. Tone says which way the colour leans. Two people can both have level 5 hair, and one can look golden while the other looks ash.
- Warm hair leans golden, copper or red.
- Cool hair leans ash or blue.
- Neutral hair sits between the two, with little colour cast.
When people say they want a “cooler blonde” they are asking to change the tone and keep the level.
Why hair has the colour it has
Hair colour comes from a pigment called melanin. MedlinePlus Genetics explains that an abundance of one type, eumelanin, gives people black or brown hair, and an abundance of another, pheomelanin, gives people red hair. Black hair has a large amount of eumelanin, brown hair a moderate amount, and blond hair very little. The levels are an everyday way of describing where on that range a person’s hair falls.
How to find your level
The most reliable way is to compare your hair with a brand’s own chart in daylight, by a window, with the light on your hair and no flash. The chart on the box is the one that matters for that product.
For a quick first read, our free hair colour level finder reads your hair in a photo, on your device, and gives the closest level with a range. The range is there because the same hair looks lighter in bright daylight and darker under a warm bulb, so one level either way is normal.
What the photo can and cannot tell you
A photo shows your hair under one light. It tells you how light your hair looks now and roughly which way its tone leans. It cannot tell you what your natural colour was if your hair is dyed, how much grey you have, or what a dye will do. Hair with grey in it reads a little lighter than the pigmented hair around it.
Your level and the colour you want
The distance between your level and the shade you want is the size of the step. A step of one or two levels is a small change. A step of three or more levels lighter is a big change and a good moment to ask a salon, because the starting colour and the hair’s condition matter a lot.
If a shade is on your mind, our hair colour try-on previews it on your photo and tells you how big the step is.
Before you dye
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises following all the directions on the label and doing a patch test on your skin every time before dyeing your hair. It notes that some hair dyes can cause allergic reactions, and that you can react even if you have used the product before, because formulations can change.
The point of knowing your level
A level is a shared language. It lets you read a box, talk to a stylist and judge how big a change you are asking for. It is a guide, not a measurement, and the brand’s own chart always wins.