Shades of Brown Hair According To Dye Manufacturers
For years brunettes have thought there were only three shades of brown hair; dark, medium and light. They were wrong.
For years brunettes have thought there were only three shades of brown hair; dark, medium and light. We were wrong. At least according to dye manufacturers there is a whole spectrum of brown hair shades. Many have the old familiar dark brown, medium brown, and light brown in their names, but that’s where it ends. Now you can have Tweed, or Driftwood color hair. Yes, those are shades of brown, along with Cinnaberry, Cocoa Infusion and Egyptian Plum.
So, you ask, what color is my hair actually going to be?
Tweed is actually a light ash brown, while Driftwood is a medium brown. Cinnaberry is reddish brown, Cocoa Infusion is dark brown and Egyptian Plum is a dark reddish brown. The fancy names are a marketing tool. In reality, there are only a few shades and each one of them is specific to the type of hair it is going into. For example, the ash brown colors, whether light, medium or dark, will cover gray quite well, by blending into the gray hairs and turning them into highlights thereby camouflaging your gray. The reddish brown colors give your hair a red tint without turning it totally red. There are neutral browns that make your hair look like it was always brown; it is a natural multi-tonal brown.
Golden Brown colors are usually a light brown that is more blonde than brown. Natural Carmel is a medium brown as is Amber Copper Brown, which is reddish, blondish, brown. Mahogany is a dark brown, Walnut is a medium brown, and Bronze is a medium reddish brown. Warm brown is a very dark brown, and Darkest brown is almost black. Double Espresso is medium brown; Hot Cocoa is light brown, while Chocolate Velvet is a dark brown. Hazelnut is medium ash brown, Pecan is light ash brown, and Nutmeg is a reddish brown. Cocoa Infusion is a medium brown, Cocoa Harbor is a light brown and Tawny Breeze is a golden brown.
So, what color would compliment your complexion or look best on you?
The reddish browns work very well for those of us with red highlights in our hair. The Ash browns will not so much cover the gray, as camouflage it. The golden brown works well on people with blonde highlights. Of course, if you have both blonde and red highlights you may want to go with something like Medium Amber Copper Brown. If you want to go shocking, Plum and Burgundy are excellent choices. The good news is that both of these colors fade to beautiful red brown colors in a few weeks.
So, with all of these choices for brown hair, why not experiment? Try a different color, every time you dye your hair. You may find something that looks better than what you are using now. Besides, with all the choices, you can have a different look every four to six months. Why not keep your coworkers and your family guessing as to what color your hair will be next? Guaranteed someone will win the office pool.
Written by Arlene Mason – 2002 Pagewise
