Hair color levels 1 to 10, with a picture of each
Hairdressers give every hair color a number from 1 (black) to 10 (the lightest blonde). That number is the level. It only measures how light or dark the hair is; the letter or second number after it is the tone, and that is a separate question. The level decides almost everything about coloring the hair: what shows up when you lighten it, which toner cancels that, and whether it will cover gray. Some lines run the scale to 11 or 12 for their high-lift series, and the range is the same. The chart below has every level with its picture, the warm pigment that sits under it, and the toner family that cancels that warmth; to work out the lift and developer between two levels, use the hair level finder. If you are not sure which one is yours, start with how to read your own level at the root.
The ten levels, with a picture of each
Find yours by the first inch at the root, dry and in daylight, then open the level for the full page. The ten pictures are illustrations, made to each level’s reference color, not photographs of clients.
Hair color level chart: pigment and toner at every level
Every level sits over a warm pigment that shows as the hair is lightened. The toner family is the one that cancels that warmth once the hair has reached the level; it never lifts.
| Level | Name | Pigment that shows when lifted | Toner family that cancels it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | dark red-black | none needed at this depth |
| 2 | Darkest brown | dark red | green (matte or ash) |
| 3 | Dark brown | red | green (matte or ash) |
| 4 | Medium brown | red-orange | blue-green (ash) |
| 5 | Light brown | orange-red | blue (ash), with a touch of green |
| 6 | Dark blonde | orange | blue (ash) |
| 7 | Medium blonde | yellow-orange | blue-violet (ash-iridescent) |
| 8 | Light blonde | yellow | violet |
| 9 | Very light blonde | pale yellow | violet |
| 10 | Lightest blonde | palest yellow | violet (pearl) |
Dry hair, daylight
Wet hair reads darker and a warm bulb reads lighter. Take a dry section to a window, or photograph it and switch the picture to black and white so only the lightness is left to compare.
Look at the roots
The first inch at the scalp is your natural level. If the lengths have been colored or lifted they are a second number, and you need both before you pick a target.
Torn between two?
Some colorists say pick the darker one; others fan a piece out first, since hair packed together reads darker than it is. Once you have it, the hair level finder gives the lift and developer to any other level.
What each level page tells you
- What it looks like on natural hair and as a colored result, and what a colorist reads at the root.
- What shows up when you lighten it (the orange or yellow stage) and which toner cancels it.
- How to reach it from your current color: 20 vol, 30 vol, high-lift or lightener, and how many rounds or visits.
- Gray coverage at this level, and the shade codes (7N, 7.1, 7.3) you will see on the tube, which shift a little by brand.
Black and brown hair levels: 1 to 5
The dark half of the chart. Levels 2 to 5 are the browns; a level 1 is black. Lifting any of them shows red first, then orange.
Level 1: Black Black, the darkest hair there is. Lighter: 20 vol lifts black a level or two, to a 3 at most; anything lighter needs lightener. Gray: Covers gray fully, but regrowth shows within two weeks. Open level 1 
Level 2: Darkest brown So dark most people call it black indoors. Lighter: 20 vol reaches a 4; a 5 and lighter need lightener. Gray: Covers gray fully; regrowth shows fast. Open level 2 
Level 3: Dark brown Dark brown, the brown that passes for black indoors. Lighter: 20 vol reaches a 5, 30 vol a 6; a 7 and lighter need lightener. Gray: Covers gray well with a natural (N) shade. Open level 3 
Level 4: Medium brown Medium brown, chestnut without much red. Lighter: 20 vol reaches a 6, 30 vol a 7; an 8 needs a high-lift series on virgin hair, and a 9 or 10 needs lightener. Gray: Covers gray well; the workhorse gray-coverage level. Open level 4 
Level 5: Light brown Light brown on the chart, medium brown to most of the stylists who name it. Lighter: 20 vol reaches a 7, 30 vol an 8; a 9 needs a high-lift series on virgin hair and a 10 needs lightener. Gray: Covers gray well; goes orange when lightened. Open level 5 Blonde hair levels: 6 to 10
The light half. A 6 is dark blonde and a 10 the lightest blonde hair can be; the warmth under them runs orange at 6 to palest yellow at 10.
Level 6: Dark blonde Dark blonde, warm and sandy. Lighter: 20 vol reaches an 8; a 9 or a 10 needs a high-lift series on virgin hair, or lightener. Gray: Covers gray well; 6N is the most used coverage shade. Open level 6 
Level 7: Medium blonde Medium blonde, where lightened brown hair usually stalls. Lighter: 20 vol reaches an 8; a 9 or a 10 needs a high-lift series on virgin hair, or lightener. Gray: Covers gray, but reads a little sheer on white hair. Open level 7 
Level 8: Light blonde Light blonde, the first level where blonde toners really work. Lighter: A 9 is one more level, and a permanent on 20 vol can take it there. A 10 needs a high-lift series on virgin hair, or lightener. Gray: Poor gray coverage on its own; add a natural shade. Open level 8 
Level 9: Very light blonde Very light blonde, pale and cool once toned. Lighter: Only 10 sits above it: one more level with a permanent on 20 vol, or one more round of lightener on hair that has been lightened. Gray: Barely covers gray; better to blend than cover. Open level 9 
Level 10: Lightest blonde The lightest blonde hair can be before it stops being hair. Lighter: Top of the scale. The 11 and 12 some lines sell are translucent high-lift series, and the hair under them is still a 10. Gray: Does not cover gray; it blends into it. Open level 10