How to Read a Hair Color Chart: Levels, Tones and Shade Codes, Brand by Brand
By the Formula Finder teamUpdated 6 min read
A hair color chart tells you two things about every shade: how light or dark it is, and what tone it carries. That part is the same everywhere. What changes is how each brand writes it.
In L'Oréal Professionnel, a 1 after the level means blue. In Wella, it means ash. In Schwarzkopf IGORA, it means cendre. In Framesi, it means green. Same number, four different tones.
This guide walks through how to read any chart in three steps, then shows how the biggest professional brands write their codes. Every chart mentioned here is free to browse in our Color Charts.
Step 1: Find the level
The level is the first number in a shade code. It tells you depth, meaning how light or dark the color is. Almost every professional brand uses the same 1 to 10 scale.
| Level | Common name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Black |
| 2 | Darkest brown |
| 3 | Dark brown |
| 4 | Medium brown |
| 5 | Light brown |
| 6 | Dark blonde |
| 7 | Medium blonde |
| 8 | Light blonde |
| 9 | Very light blonde |
| 10 | Lightest blonde |
The names shift a little from brand to brand. L'Oréal calls level 10 pale blonde, for example. Many brands also go past 10 for high-lift blondes: Goldwell uses 11 and 12, Wella uses 12 for its Special Blondes, and IGORA marks its Highlifts with 12-.
Two quirks to watch for. Redken prints a leading zero on Shades EQ, so 09V is simply level 9. And Wella writes a doubled level, like 66/0, to mark an intense version of that shade.
Step 2: Read the tone
Everything after the level is the tone, sometimes called the reflect. It tells you the color you will see on top of the depth. Brands write tones one of two ways: with numbers or with letters.
When the tone is a number, the same digit means different things in each brand. This is the single biggest reason a code that looks familiar can surprise you.
| Digit | L'Oréal Professionnel | Wella | Schwarzkopf IGORA | Framesi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Natural | Natural | Natural | Natural |
| 1 | Blue | Ash | Cendre | Green (ash) |
| 2 | Violet | Matte | Ash | Blue (ash) |
| 3 | Gold | Gold | Matt | Yellow (gold) |
| 4 | Copper | Red | Beige | Orange (copper) |
| 5 | Red-violet | Mahogany | Gold | Red |
| 6 | Red | Violet | Chocolate | Violet |
| 7 | Green | Brown | Copper | Not used |
| 8 | Mocha | Pearl | Red | Not used |
| 9 | Not used | Cendre | Violet | Not used |
A 4 is copper in L'Oréal, red in Wella and beige in IGORA. Always read the code against that brand's own chart.
When the tone is letters, most are easy to guess, with one big exception. N is natural, A is ash, G is gold, V is violet and R is red almost everywhere. B is not. It means blue in Redken Shades EQ (09B) and L'Oréal, but beige in Paul Mitchell (6NB is Neutral Beige) and Matrix (8GB is Gold Beige). Goldwell also uses K for copper instead of C.
Two tones means primary, then secondary. The first tone is the main one and the second is the hint behind it. Wella 9/73 is a very light blonde that reads brown first, then gold. L'Oréal 5.32 is a light brown, gold first with a touch of violet.
How each brand writes its codes
Here is how the most-used professional lines put it together, with one real shade from each chart.
| Brand | How the code reads | Example |
|---|---|---|
| L'Oréal Professionnel | Level, a dot, then tone digits. A letter code repeats it. | 7.43 (7CG): level 7, copper first, gold second |
| Wella | Level, a slash, then tone digits | 9/73: Very Light Blonde Brown Gold |
| Schwarzkopf IGORA | Level, a dash, then tone digits. Codes starting with 0- are concentrates. | 7-77: level 7, intense copper |
| Redken | Level, then tone letters. Shades EQ adds a leading zero. | 09V Platinum Ice: level 9, violet |
| Matrix | Level, then tone letters. SoColor Extra Coverage uses a 500 series. | 506NA: level 6, natural ash |
| Paul Mitchell | Level, then family letters. A plus sign marks gray coverage shades. | 6NB: Dark Neutral Beige Blonde |
| Goldwell | Level, then tone letters. Elumen flips it: tone first, then @ and the level. | 7KG Mid Copper Gold, and Elumen NN@6 |
| Framesi | Level, a dot, then tone digits. Framcolor 2001 uses letters instead. | 7.34: Medium Gold Copper Blonde |
If a brand you use isn't here, it's in the full list of 23 brands in our Color Charts.
Step 3: Read the mixing info, not just the shade
A chart is more than shades. Each line has its own ratio, developer and timing, and two lines from the same brand can mix completely differently. Redken Shades EQ mixes 1:1, while Redken Shades ALK mixes 1:1.5 with 10 volume only.
| Line | Type | Mix | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redken Shades EQ | Acidic demi gloss | 1:1 with Shades EQ Processing Solution | 20 minutes |
| Redken Shades ALK | Alkaline demi | 1:1.5 with 10 vol Pro-Oxide | 20 minutes, no heat |
| Matrix Super Sync | Alkaline demi | 1:1 with 10 vol Cream Developer only | 20 minutes |
| L'Oréal Dia Color | Alkaline demi | 1:1.5 with DIActivateur 6, 9 or 15 vol | 20 minutes |
| Goldwell Colorance | Demi | 1:2 with 2% (7 vol) lotion | Up to 25 minutes |
| Wella Koleston Perfect | Permanent | 1:1 with Welloxon Perfect | 30 to 40 minutes without heat |
| IGORA Royal | Permanent | 1:1 with IGORA Royal Oil Developer | 30 to 45 minutes |
Every chart page in our Color Charts lists the type, mix ratio, developer, processing time and gray coverage at the top, so you don't have to dig for it.
Why the same code isn't the same color across brands
A 7N from one brand is not a 7N from another. Each brand builds its naturals from its own mix of base pigments, so one 7N can sit warmer or cooler than the next. The chemistry matters too: an acidic gloss and an alkaline permanent at the same code will not land the same way.
So when you switch brands, translate by what you want to see, not by matching numbers. Start with the level, then the tone family, then how intense the tone should be, and pick the closest shade on the new brand's chart.
One more thing: no screen shows hair color accurately, and that includes ours. That is why our charts list shades as text, with no color blocks. When you need to see a shade, use the brand's physical swatch book.
Put it to work
Once you can read a chart, every brand opens up. Browse all 23 brands and 116 lines in our Color Charts, free and with no sign-up. Each one has the shades, the mix ratio and the processing time in one place.
And when a client sends an inspo pic, skip the scroll. Formula Finder takes the inspo pic and your client's current hair and builds a step-by-step formula in the brand you already use, with real shade codes from charts like these. It was built by a salon owner still behind the chair, to save you time and help you formulate with confidence.
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