How to Understand Hair Dye Numbers [Hair Color Numbers 101]

March 30, 2023
Andrea Miranda

Have you seen those small numbers that appear in the box of hair dye products? Well, let me tell you that they have a meaning!

I remember the first time I saw these numbers – I was just a teenager eager to rock a new hair color style and show my true self to the world.

However, I also remember that I struggled to understand the meaning of these hair dye color numbers.

Now, I understand them, and I’ll teach you how to understand hair dye numbers easily in 2023!

Quick Answer

Hair dye numbers show you the exact color that a hair dye product promises to apply in your hair. The numbers determine the shade, reflect, and tone of the hair dye product. Read further to check examples and a chart.

What Do the Numbers Mean on Hair Dye?

The numbers on hair dye boxes or tubes refer to the shade or level of the color.

Basically, each number represents a different level of darkness or lightness in the hair dye. The lower the number, the darker the color, and the higher the number, the lighter the color.

For example, a level 1 would be black, while a level 10 would be the lightest blonde.

But things do not end here – there are second numbers, or decimals, that refers to the color of the reflections and tones that a hair dye product might have.

So, the next time you ask yourself if your hair dye is working, then perhaps you should first pick a hair dye color that suits you!

Are All Hair Color Numbers the Same?

They surely are not! Although most hair dye color numbers that you can find in different brands are similar, they are not all the same.

Most brands follow the International Color Charts or ICC to describe hair color numbers, but this is not always the case.

For instance, L’Oreal has a different hair color chart than other brands, such as Pravana.

They share some similarities of course, and I’ll quickly get to that so you can have a better understanding of this, but overall, it is important to know that not all hair color numbers are always the same.

At the end of the day, remember that there are hundreds of hair dye colors!

Common Hair Dye Chart Numbers: a Hair Color Chart

When you look online for hair color charts, you will probably find charts related to brands or widely recognized hair product manufacturers.

In an effort to standardize and make this color number chart easy to understand, we have come up with the following Hair Color Chart:

As you can see in this hair color chart, tones go from 1 to 10, where 1 is black, and 10 is light pole blonde.

This means that the lower the number, the darker the hair, and the higher the number, the lightest the hair color is going to be.

Now, decimals and letters in the color number mean something entirely different depending on the brand you are looking at.

How to Understand Hair Dye Numbers (Color Theory)

The reason why hair salons and hair color enthusiasts (just like me!) focus so much on hair dye numbers is that they are the recipe to cook the perfect hair color that you desire.

I’ll try my best to explain how to understand hair dye numbers based on the principles of color theory, so let’s go over the explanation step by step:

Check the hair dye color number: you already know that the higher the number, the lighter the shade, and the lower the number, the darker the shade. So, let’s say that we have “4” as our main hair dye color number.
Pick your desired hair color: do you want to dye your hair brown, but you don’t want to go too dark? Then number 4 will be perfect for you, but this is not the only thing that you must look at.
Check the letter of the hair dye number: the second number of the hair dye color number represents the reflects of the shade. Hair dyes with an “N” on their number give you a natural-looking color, whereas “R” refers to reddish tones that will be dyed into the hair.
Check the decimal of the hair dye number: some brands include decimal points to let customers know the reflect of the color. For instance, a .1 number often refers to Ash reflects, whereas .6 refers to reddish reflects.
Combine the numbers and pick the right one: now, in this example, let’s say that you want a brown/reddish color on your hair. Then, you would go for a hair dye number close to 4.6 or 4.6 R.

So, this is just an example, but in this specific case, and based on your needs, you would need to pick a hair dye product such as this one by Schwarzkopf:

Where Do You Read the Numbers on Hair Dye?

There are two places where you can successfully read the number of a hair dye:

On the hair dye box: the number is always printed on the front of the hair dye product box for permanent hair dyes.
On the hair dye tube: if you don’t have the box of the product, you might look for the hair dye number on the tube.

Fantasy Recap: What Numbers on Hair Dye Mean?

Understanding the number of hair dyes is a must to achieve the perfect color that you are looking for.

I love to experiment and try new things with hair dye, and although I prefer semi-permanent products over permanent ones, knowing the meaning of the hair dye number will take you one step further to achieving a hair color that no one has!