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Comparing Hair Colors
All it takes is a walk down the hair color aisle in your local market or beauty supply store
and you immediately realize that there are so many colors available it seems impossible that there could be that much difference. The
sheer number of different shades and tones of color account for the unusual color names to be found.
Of course, knowing the names of one particular hair color product’s shade doesn’t necessarily
mean that the name will be the same for another product with the identical color. Such are the hazards of naming conventions, and a
free-market economy. But, there are some basic color families that when you know them can help you make better choices, and even more
easily explain exactly what color you want.
The Basics:
Hair color falls into four basic categories: Blonde, Brunette, Redhead and Grays. Every
possible color of hair fits into one of these categories. There are some colors that fall into two of the categories at the same time.
These crossover categories are bridges from one color group to another.
All hair color is a result of the presence or absence of melanin in the cortex of the hair.
This melanin comes in two forms: eumelanin, which is responsible for creating black and brown shades in the hair, and pheomelanin,
which is responsible for red and yellow/blonde tones. The combination of these melanin types creates all the possible natural hair
colors. The absence of melanin is what makes gray hair.
Let’s take a look at the color categories and how they relate to one another:
Brunette:
From coal black to the color of burnished wood. Brunettes are found in shades of level 1
through level 5, and are mostly made up of eumelanin pigment in the hair. Hair colors found here are those often referred to as rich
chocolate brown, sable, and moon-kissed brown.
Here we see a sampling of celebrity brunettes who manage to make the dark hair a
mark of smoky sensuality. Who needs to be a blonde bombshell when you can be burning Brunette? Featured photos are Victoria Justice,
Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Beals and Teri Hatcher.
Blonde:
The shades referred to as blonde range from the very light brown to near-white platinum
shades. Blondes contain small amounts of pheomelanin and sometimes eumelanin, and typically fall between the levels of 6 and 10 in
lightness level. You’ll find some blonde tones referred to as honey, sun-kissed, and harvest gold.
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Photographs provided by Photorazzi
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