What's the difference between very dark blonde and light brown hair?

Question

Dear Karen,

What's the difference between very dark blonde and light brown hair?

Thanks,

Wanda

Answer

Dear Wanda,

This is such a great question that can be difficult to answer because the world of hair color can be extremely complex.

Hair color is constantly morphing due to fashions, hair trends, and the different hair color manufacturers.

Blondes On The Color Wheel

On the hair color wheel many hair colorists frequently use, blondes generally fall between the lightest blonde at Level 10 and the darkest blonde at Level 6.

Those colors may fall between the warm versus the very cool spectrums.

Some color wheels might actually classify medium to dark blonde between Levels 6 or 7.

Brunettes On The Color Wheel

Light golden brown might generally be classified as a Level 5.

Brunettes generally fall between Levels 5 and 2, also encompassing warm and cool hues.

The darkest brunette or black such as a blue-black, might be classified as a 1.

A very dark golden blonde might be considered a Level 5, and the lightest golden brunette might be considered a Level 6.

Colors On The Color Wheel

Hair color wheels can be fluid and dependent upon different hair color manufacturers.

Traditionally the colors on the wheel include the following:

10 - Lightest Blonde - Platinum

9 - Very Light Blonde

8 - Light Blonde

7 - Medium Blonde

6 - Dark Blonde

5 - Lightest Brown

4 - Light Brown

3 - Medium Brown

2 - Dark Brown

1 - Black

Difference Between Very Dark Blonde And Light Brunette

Generally speaking, a very dark blonde and a light brunette will be very similar. The difference?

It may be hard to really see a major difference between dark blonde and light brunette.  The biggest difference between very dark blonde and light brown hair is the underlying pigment.

Dark blonde tends to contain a dominant underlying red-orange pigment.  Light brown hair has a more genuine red pigment.

If and when hair is lightened from light brown to dark blonde, the hair will transition through different hues, including red and orange-red.

As the hair is lifted in color properly to a light blonde, the red-orange hues will fade.

Also, the base of the blonde will tend to have more golden tones, and the brunette will tend to have more brown tones.

But only slightly.

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