One of the biggest challenges for anyone who wants to dye their hair is understanding how dye numbers work, which is why this guide will help you.
For those who are used to or intend to start dyeing their hair, one of the biggest challenges is understanding the hair dye numbers.
However, something that seems very complex is actually quite simple. The important thing is to know how to identify the numbers before and after the dot on the paint packaging and then check what each one represents.
Therefore, to know which color is best for your hair, it is It is very important to know the tones, nuances and reflections to obtain the desired result. It doesn’t matter the color, black, brown, blonde or fancy color, they all use the same numbering pattern that we will learn below.
Hair dye numbering: understanding the color chart
Then, How to understand hair dye numbers? To do this you need to understand and know about tone and nuances.
Color or tone
About the numbering of hair dyes, The first number on the boxes or palettes, the one that comes before the dot, is always linked to the base color of the dye, also known by the term “shade height”. This number is essential for choosing the exact color to use on light or dark hair.
The tone of the dyes, are established on an international scale, which basically range from bluish black to very light blonde, going from darkest to lightest. Check out the color table below.
1 – Bluish black
2 – Therefore
3 – Dark brown
4 – Medium brown
5 – Light brown
6 – Dark blonde
7- Medium blonde
8 – Light blonde
9 – Very light blonde
10 – Very light blonde
11 – Ultra light blonde
12 – Ultra light blonde
Black is the color with the fewest shades, only bluish black 1 and natural black 2. Following the color tones, brown has three numbers, starting from dark brown, passing through medium and reaching light. And finally, the shades of blonde, which characterize the largest number of colors, totaling 6 in the entire table, starting with dark gold and going to ultra-light blonde.
Nuance or reflection
Now that you understand what the first number in the hair dye number refers to, it’s time to find out what the number after the dot means. This second number refers to the nuances or reflections that are combined with the chosen color or tone, which are the base colors of the dye.
In general, for you to better understand this part, reflections are basically the colors that stand out most in the sun. Therefore, nuances or reflections are fundamental to create the different existing colors of dyes, from the most traditional colors to fantasy colors.
1 – Gray reflection
2 – Irised or matte reflection
3 – Golden reflection
4 – Copper reflection
5 – Acaju reflex
6 – Red reflection
7 – Brown or chocolate reflection
8 – Blue reflection
Therefore, the first numeral after the dot refers to the primary reflections of the paint. Look at an example, a paint of tone 4, with a nuance of 4, forming the number 4.4 consists of a medium coppery brown dye. Did you understand?
What does a second number after the dot mean?
In this case, the second number after the dot in the dye means that the mixture has one more color. I.e, the first number will be the hue, the second number will be the primary reflection color, and the third number will be the secondary reflection color.
Let’s look at another example, coloring 5.74. The number 5 refers to the light brown tone, and the numbers 7 and 4 refer to the reflection, which in this case are brown (7) and copper (4). Therefore, brown is the primary color and copper is the secondary color in this dye.
However, there are cases where the second number after the dot is 0. In these cases, the 0 indicates that there is no nuance or reflection in this paint, characterizing a pure color.
What does it mean when the nuance number repeats?
In that case, means the reflection is intense. For example, the color 7.44 Copper Red. Therefore, it is a medium blonde tone with a very intense copper reflection. In fact, this coloring is ideal for those looking for a very striking red.
In addition to repeating, the number after the dot can also be triple, as is the case with Ultra Platinum Blonde 12.111, which has even more striking and intense reflections.
The higher the paint number, the lighter it is?
Yes, as we have seen so far, the first number of the paint refers to the height of the color tone. Then, In the color chart, the higher the number, the lighter the color will be.. Likewise, the lower the number, the darker the color.
Remembering that the table starts with bluish black (1), the darkest color, and ends with ultra-light blonde, the lightest tone of all.
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Sources: Stay Diva Karen Bachini
