Color · Hair
What level is my hair?
Pick the closest swatch, or enter the hex colour of a strand from a photo, and get your hair colour level from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde), the underlying pigment that shows when you lift, and how far a dye can go in one step. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded or stored.
Short answer: a hex colour is converted to CIELAB lightness (L*) and matched to the nearest of ten evenly spaced levels. The 1-10 level scale is an industry convention with no formal standard, and brands differ by about a level, so treat the result as a starting point, not a brand match.
Your hair
Result
One-step reach with permanent colour
Reach assumes natural, undyed hair and is a commonly quoted rule of thumb. Dye cannot lighten previously coloured hair. Follow your product's instructions and do a strand test.
The ten levels
| Level | Name | Our L* anchor | Pigment when lifted |
|---|
How this works
Step 1, lightness. Your hex colour is converted from sRGB to CIE XYZ (D65 white point, 2 degree observer), then to CIELAB. L* is the lightness channel, from 0 (black) to 100 (white): L* = 116·f(Y/Yn) − 16, where f(t) = t1/3 above (6/29)3 and a linear segment below it. Source: CIE 15 Colorimetry; ISO/CIE 11664-4 (CIE 1976 L*a*b* colour space).
Step 2, level. The ten levels are placed at even L* steps of 8.5, from L* 10 (level 1) to L* 86.5 (level 10). Your L* is matched to the nearest level; the position between two levels is shown too. These anchors are this site’s own approximation. The level scale is an industry convention with no standards body and no formal definition, and no brand’s chart is reproduced here. The swatches are generated by this page, not copied from any manufacturer.
Step 3, pigment and reach. The underlying pigment column is the commonly taught colourist convention (red at levels 4-5, red-orange and orange at 6-7, orange-yellow at 8, yellow at 9, pale yellow at 10). One-step reach uses the commonly quoted rule of thumb of about 1, 2, 3 and 4 levels of lift for 10, 20, 30 and 40 volume developer. These are conventions, not measurements, and products differ.
Limits. Photo colour depends on light, camera and screen. Only lightness is used, so tone (ash, gold, red) does not change the level. Dyed, bleached or grey hair does not follow the natural pigment pattern, and hair colour is a cosmetic estimate, not a substitute for a professional consultation or a strand test.
FAQ
What does hair level mean?
Hair level is a 1 to 10 lightness scale used by colourists, from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde). It is an industry convention with no standards body, so brands differ by about a level.
Why does my hair turn orange when I lighten it?
Natural hair holds underlying pigments that are exposed as the darker melanin is lifted. By common convention they run from red at levels 4 to 5, through red-orange and orange at 6 to 7, to orange-yellow, yellow and pale yellow at 8 to 10.
How many levels can hair dye lift?
A commonly quoted rule of thumb for permanent colour on natural hair is about 1 level with 10 volume developer, 2 with 20, 3 with 30 and 4 with 40. Products vary, so follow the product instructions. Dye cannot lift hair that is already dyed.
Can I find my hair level from a photo?
Roughly. Lighting, camera processing and screen settings shift the colour, so a hex taken from a photo can move the result by a level or more. Daylight and a neutral background help. This page does not accept photo uploads; you enter the hex yourself.
Is the level the same as the number on a box of dye?
Not always. The first number on many boxes is a level, but brands calibrate their own scales and shades differ by about a level. Use this result as a starting point and check the brand’s own guide.