HAIR COLOR · CHART GUIDE
Hair color chart: how to read levels, tones and numbers
PUBLISHED JUL 22 · 2026 DATA REFRESHED AT EACH BUILD
By the PlaySpinWheel editorial team
A hair color chart maps every shade onto two things: depth and tone. The number before the dot is the level, running from 1 for black up to 10 for the lightest blonde. The number after the dot is the tone, the reflect you actually see, so 7.1 is a medium blonde with ash in it and 6.4 is a dark blonde pulling copper.
That is the entire system in two sentences. Below is the full level scale, the tone key and the one thing most guides leave out, which is that the tone numbers are not universal across brands.
How do you read a hair color chart?
Every shade code on a professional chart is built the same way: a depth number, a separator, then one or two tone numbers. Wella puts it plainly in its own chart guide, that the number before indicates the depth, how light or dark the hair is, while the number after denotes tone, the color you will see. Once you know that, a wall of codes that looked like part numbers turns into a sentence you can read.
Take 7.43. The 7 is the depth, a medium blonde. The 4 is the primary tone, copper. The 3 is the secondary tone, gold, a quieter reflect sitting underneath the copper. So 7.43 is a medium blonde that reads coppery with warm gold behind it, and you knew that without seeing a single swatch.
| PART OF THE CODE | WHAT IT TELLS YOU | IN 7.43 |
|---|---|---|
| The number before the dot | Depth, or level: how light or dark, on a 1 to 10 scale | 7, a medium blonde |
| First number after the dot | Primary tone, the reflect you see most | 4, copper |
| Second number after the dot | Secondary tone, a quieter reflect that shows in bright light | 3, gold |
Some brands use a slash instead of a dot, some use a hyphen, and drugstore boxes often swap the tone number for a letter. The grammar underneath does not change: depth first, tone second.
What do the numbers after the decimal mean?
This is the key most people are hunting for. The tone numbers below are the ones you will meet most often, published in exactly this form by Revlon Professional, and they split neatly into cool tones, warm tones and one neutral:
| TONE NUMBER | TONE IT GIVES | TEMPERATURE |
|---|---|---|
| .0 | Natural, no added reflect | Neutral |
| .1 | Blue ash | Cool |
| .2 | Violet, mauve or pearl | Cool |
| .3 | Gold | Warm |
| .4 | Copper | Warm |
| .5 | Mahogany | Neutral |
| .6 | Red | Warm |
| .7 | Green khaki, often sold as matte | Cool |
| .8 | Pearl ash brown | Cool |
| .9 | Soft ash blue | Cool |
Now the caveat that almost every page on this subject skips: this key is not an industry standard. Revlon Professional publishes it and says outright that the system is its own rather than universal. Wella uses the same depth-then-tone grammar with its own tone numbering. Box dyes frequently drop numbers altogether and use letters, where N is natural, A is ash, G is gold, C is copper and R is red. So read the key printed on the box in front of you, and treat any chart you find online, including this one, as the general shape rather than the final word on a specific product.
How light or dark is each level?
Depth is the half of the code that decides what is even possible. You cannot land on a level 9 tone if the hair is sitting at level 4, because tone is a coat of paint and depth is the wall underneath it. Here is the scale in plain language:
| LEVEL | DEPTH | WHAT PEOPLE USUALLY CALL IT |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | Jet black |
| 2 | Very dark brown | Soft or off black |
| 3 | Dark brown | Espresso |
| 4 | Medium brown | Chocolate brown |
| 5 | Light brown | Chestnut |
| 6 | Dark blonde | Bronde, dishwater blonde |
| 7 | Medium blonde | Sandy blonde |
| 8 | Light blonde | Golden or honey blonde |
| 9 | Very light blonde | Ash or beige blonde |
| 10 | Extra light blonde | Platinum |
Each level also hides a pigment that only shows up once you lighten the hair, which is the reason bleach takes dark hair through orange on its way to blonde. That pigment decides which toner you need, and it gets the full treatment on the hair color level chart, including how to work out your own level at home.
Blonde, brown and red: the shade family charts
Charts are usually printed in families, because that is how people shop. Same level, different tone, and suddenly it is a completely different shade on the shelf. These three tables show how the codes translate into the names you actually see on a box.
Blonde hair color chart
| SHADE | LEVEL | TONE | HOW IT READS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark blonde | 6 | Natural | The line between brown and blonde |
| Golden blonde | 8 | Gold | Warm, sunlit, the classic blonde |
| Honey blonde | 8 | Gold and copper | Warm with a little depth |
| Beige blonde | 9 | Ash and gold | Neutral, neither brassy nor icy |
| Ash blonde | 9 | Blue ash | Cool, deliberately no warmth |
| Platinum blonde | 10 | Violet | The lightest level, toned to stay white |
Brown hair color chart
| SHADE | LEVEL | TONE | HOW IT READS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 3 | Natural | Nearly black in most light |
| Chocolate brown | 4 | Natural or gold | Warm mid brown |
| Ash brown | 4 | Blue ash | Cool, cuts any red showing through |
| Chestnut | 5 | Mahogany | Brown with a red-violet lift |
| Caramel | 6 | Gold and copper | Light brown running warm |
| Mushroom brown | 6 | Ash and matte | Light brown pushed cool and smoky |
Red hair color chart
| SHADE | LEVEL | TONE | HOW IT READS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burgundy | 4 | Red and violet | Deep wine red |
| Mahogany | 5 | Mahogany | Red-brown, the softest red to wear |
| Auburn | 5 | Red and copper | Red-brown with visible warmth |
| Copper | 7 | Copper | Bright orange-red |
| Ginger | 7 | Copper and gold | The natural redhead range |
| Strawberry blonde | 8 | Copper on a blonde base | Blonde with a red cast |
Which shade suits your skin tone?
Charts are usually read against skin, not in isolation. The useful signal is undertone, the color sitting under the surface, which stays the same whether you tan or not. The classic checks: look at the veins on your inner wrist, and think about which metal jewelry you get more compliments in.
| UNDERTONE | QUICK TEST | LEVELS AND TONES THAT TEND TO WORK |
|---|---|---|
| Cool | Veins look blue or purple, silver suits you | Ash tones (.1) and violet (.2) at any level, plus level 1 to 3 blacks and browns |
| Warm | Veins look green, gold suits you | Gold (.3), copper (.4) and red (.6) tones, most at home at levels 5 to 8 |
| Neutral | Veins look blue-green, both metals suit you | Natural (.0) and mahogany (.5) tones, and most of levels 4 to 8 |
Treat this as a starting point rather than a rule. Plenty of the best hair color on any given street is somebody deliberately wearing the opposite of what a chart suggested.
How do you use a hair color chart to pick a shade?
- Find your current level first, in daylight, looking at your mid-lengths rather than your roots or your ends.
- Decide the level you want. Going lighter is a lift and a chemical process; going darker is a deposit and much more forgiving.
- Pick the tone second, using your undertone and how much warmth you actually want to see.
- Check the gap. More than two or three levels lighter than where you are now is salon territory, not a box on a shelf.
- Read the brand's own key on the packet, because as above, the tone numbers move between brands.
- Do the patch test on the leaflet. Every manufacturer asks for one, and it takes 48 hours, so it has to happen before the day you want the color.
Narrowed it to two or three and still stuck? Put your shortlist on the wheel and let it call it:
Spin the hair color wheel →Fair questions
- How do you read a hair color chart?
- Read the depth first and the tone second. The number before the dot or slash is the level, from 1 for black to 10 for the lightest blonde. The numbers after it are the tone, the reflect you see, so 7.43 is a medium blonde with copper as the main tone and gold behind it.
- What do the numbers after the decimal mean in hair color?
- They are the tone. In the most widely published key, .0 is natural, .1 blue ash, .2 violet or pearl, .3 gold, .4 copper, .5 mahogany, .6 red, .7 green matte, .8 pearl ash brown and .9 soft ash blue. A second digit is a secondary reflect that shows mostly in bright light.
- Is the hair color numbering system the same for every brand?
- No. The depth-then-tone structure is shared, but the tone numbers are brand-specific. Revlon Professional states that its key is its own rather than universal, Wella uses its own numbering, and box dyes often use letters such as N, A, G, C and R instead. Always read the key on the packet you are holding.
- What does N mean on a hair color chart?
- N is natural, the equivalent of .0: a shade with no added reflect. On lettered charts you will usually also see A for ash, G for gold, C for copper and R for red, doing the same job the tone numbers do on a numbered chart.
- What is the difference between level and tone?
- Level is depth, how dark or light the hair is on the 1 to 10 scale, and it is the half that decides what is chemically possible. Tone is the reflect sitting on top, the ash or gold or copper you actually see. Two people can both be level 6 and look nothing alike, because their tone differs.
- Can I go lighter than my chart level with a box dye?
- Only by a level or two. Box color lifts a limited amount, and beyond that you are into bleach and toner, where the underlying pigment at your level decides the result. That is where at-home color most often goes wrong, and where a colorist is worth the money.