Goldwell Topchic Codes Explained: N, NN, NA and More

Every Topchic code is a number followed by one or more letters. The number is the depth, and the letters are the color character. When there are two letters, Goldwell says the first is usually the predominating tone and the second is the complementing direction. So 6GB is a level 6 dark blonde with gold leading and brown behind it.

That one rule unlocks the whole Topchic chart and most of the Goldwell lineup. If levels and tone are new in general, start with how to read a hair color chart, then come back for the Goldwell specifics.

The number: depth

Goldwell numbers run dark to light. The main Topchic range covers levels 2 to 10. Levels 11 and 12 belong to HiBlondes Control, the high lift series covered further down.

The letters: Goldwell's tone key

Goldwell uses salon words instead of color wheel words. Yellow is called gold, the blue side is ash, green is matte, and orange brown is copper. Here is the key from Goldwell's color education guide, with real Topchic codes for each letter.

The B row trips people up. 6B is Gold Brown, while 8B is Sea Sand, a beige. Same letter, different job, depending on depth. CA is Goldwell's cool ash, as in 8CA Light Cool Ash Blonde.

The chart also groups shades into families: Naturals, Warm Blondes, Warm Browns, Warm Reds, Cool Blondes, Cool Browns and Cool Reds, plus the @Elumenated groups. The family tells you the overall temperature before you even read the letters.

Two letters: lead tone, then direction

Order matters. Flip the letters and you get a different shade.

• 7GB is Sahara Beige Blonde, gold first with beige behind it. 7BG is Mid Blonde Beige Gold, beige first with gold behind it.
• 5GB leads with gold. 5BG leads with brown.
• 7KG is copper toward gold. 7KR is copper toward red.
• 6RB is red toward brown, a Red Beech that sits in the Warm Browns.

Read the first letter as what the client will see, and the second as the direction it leans.

Telling the cool level 7s apart

The cool side of the chart is where similar codes get mixed up. At level 7 you have three different cool directions:

• 7A, Mid Ash Blonde: straight ash, the blue side of cool.
• 7MB, Light Jade Brown: matte leading, so green leads and brown follows.
• 7SB, Silver Beige: silver leading with beige behind it.

Pearl shows up the same way at the brown levels. 6BP, Pearly Couture Brown Light, is brown first with a pearl direction, and the series continues at 5BP and 4BP.

Doubled letters: NN and the bright fashion shades

A doubled N is a gray coverage call. Goldwell defines NN shades for resistant or coarse hair, or for intensive gray coverage on normal hair. 7NN is Mid Blonde Extra, and the NN series runs from 3NN to 9NN.

A doubled letter intensifies that tone: 7RR Luscious Red, 6RR Dramatic Red, 6VV Vivid Violet and 7OO Sensational Orange. Goldwell describes RR, KK, GG and VV as mix tones that enhance, intensify or modify color character.

N, NA and NN: the gray coverage naturals

Topchic offers up to 100% gray coverage, and the naturals do the heavy lifting. Goldwell splits them by hair type:

• N: fine to normal hair, natural gray coverage. Example: 6N.
• NA: fine to normal hair, cool direction. Example: 7NA.
• NN: resistant or coarse hair, or intensive coverage on normal hair. Example: 5NN.

There is also an NP group, natural with pearl, such as 7NP and 9NP.

When the target is a fashion shade on gray hair, Goldwell mixes in an N, NA or NN shade by the percentage of white:

The @ codes: Elumenated shades

A code with an @ in it is a Topchic shade enriched with Elumen reflects. The part before the @ reads like any other Topchic code. The part after the @ is the reflect. 7N@BP is a level 7 natural with a beige pearl reflect. 8N@KK is a level 8 natural with an intense copper reflect. 7RR@RR stacks an intense red reflect on Luscious Red. These mix and process like regular Topchic.

HiBlondes, NeutraLights and mix shades

• HiBlondes Control (11 and 12 series): 11N, 11A, 12BN and 12BS lift virgin hair up to 4 levels (11 series) or 5 levels (12 series). Mix 1 part color to 2 parts 9% or 12% lotion and process 45 minutes, or 30 with heat. High lift shades don't cover white. For an 11 series on white hair, Goldwell adds 9N or 9NA.
• NeutraLights: lifts and tones dark bases, levels 2 to 5, in one service. It also mixes 1 to 2, and Goldwell recommends it for up to 20% white hair only.
• P-Mix and A-Mix: cool controlling additives. P-Mix works best at level 7 and lighter. A-Mix goes into level 6 or darker only.
• Blonding Cream: replaces up to 50% of the color mixture for about half to one extra level of lift with regular Topchic shades.

Mixing ratio, developer and timing

Topchic mixes 1:1 with Goldwell System Developer Lotion and goes on dry hair with a brush. Choose the lotion by the result:

Process 30 minutes without heat or 20 minutes with heat.

How Topchic relates to Colorance

Colorance is the ammonia-free demi in the same family. Goldwell aligns all its color shades to a common master palette, so the depth numbers and tone letters read exactly the same. 7N, 6KR and 7RR appear on both charts.

The chemistry is what changes. Colorance mixes 1 part color to 2 parts 2% (7 vol) lotion on shampooed, towel-dried hair, processes up to 25 minutes and lasts up to 25 washes. It blends up to 75% gray instead of covering it, and Colorance Cover Plus handles coverage on the demi side. The two lines work as a team in Goldwell's color balancing: Topchic on the regrowth, Colorance on the mids and ends to refresh the lengths.

Formula Finder builds formulas from real Topchic and Colorance shade codes, starting from the client's inspo pic.