Hair color looks different on every head.  Even the same color processed by the same stylist.  Why is this?

Why does hair color look different on every head?  Even the same color processed by the same stylist.  Why is this?

Hair is made up of different colored pigments. These pigments are not distributed evenly throughout your hair shaft. The scalp has more pigment than the ends of your hair, so when you put on a shade that’s too light or too dark for your base color, it will appear differently on each section of your head (or body).

The other reason why hair color looks different is because light affects how we see it! When you’re outside in bright sunlight, your eyes will pick up more blue tones in darker shades and more red tones in lighter ones—so there’s definitely room for error when choosing which shade to go with if you want something specific!

The 3 colors that make up hair color

To understand how hair color looks different on every head, you need to know the 3 colors that make up hair color:

• The base color: the lightest shade of your natural pigment. This is what we call “level 1.” The vast majority of people fall into this category. Think of level 1 as blonde with no undertones.
• The first contrast: usually beige, brown or red (depending on if you have warm or cool tones). This is often called “level 2” or “ashy.” It’s the strongest contrast between your natural tone and the lightest shade of your base color.
• The second contrast: usually blue-gray or purple/plum (depending on if you have warm or cool tones). This is often called “level 3,” but since it doesn’t really look like a level at all, I’ll refer to it as “undertone” from now on so we don’t get lost in the numbers game! Undertone is an important part of how any given shade will look on someone’s head because it gives depth and dimension—and without proper undertones in place, not even a perfect match will look great!

Pigment, not light, is the ultimate determinant of hair color

Pigment, not light, is the ultimate determinant of hair color. It is what absorbs light and determines how much of it gets reflected back to your eyes. What you see when you look at a strand of hair is a reflection of pigment in that strand.

The first step to understanding why hair color looks different on every head (and how to color your own) is realizing that the light we see isn’t actually coming from the object itself; it’s just a reflection off its surface. But if you think about it this way: if I were standing right next to a giant neon green balloon and looking at my arm, I would notice that my skin has been converted into a rosy pink tone by all those little bouncing photons being scattered around by my body hairs, etc (you know—bouncey-bouncey). So even though I’m seeing myself through reflected light, I still wouldn’t perceive myself as being any less green than anyone who was looking directly at me! And this happens for all objects—including human heads!

Lightening (bleaching) hair versus depositing hair color

If you want to lighten your hair, it’s important to know that:

• Hair color that is lightened (bleached) has the natural pigment removed, and is then colored to a new shade. You can think of this as a blank canvas on which you paint your desired color. The process of removing pigment will strip away some of the color from your hair as well, so it’s important that you start with a base color that has enough depth for the new shade to be visible. For example, if you want pink highlights in dark brown hair, make sure that there are already some red tones in those dark brown strands before bleaching them out!
• Hair color that is deposited is colored to a new shade without removing the natural pigment – so no need for any pre-lightening preparation steps ahead of time! This means more flexibility when choosing colors because there is no need for any base tone underneath.

The type of pigment you start with determines how you end up

The type of pigment you start with determines how you end up.

Blondes, redheads, and brunettes have different underlying pigments that determine how their hair will react to color.

The way highlights work is by depositing an additional layer of lightener on top of the natural hue of your hair (which contains more melanin) to create a lighter shade on top. They don’t actually lighten your base color if it’s dark—otherwise we’d all be getting pastel rainbow streaks like Katy Perry in her “Teenage Dream” days—but they do make it seem brighter by adding this extra layer.

Now here’s the part where things get complicated: If you’re a blondie who wants to go darker, your roots will look darker than your ends because they have more melanin content than any other part of your strands when left untouched by bleach or any other kind of processing chemical. In fact, since many blondes can’t even achieve platinum-blonde status without at least some help from bleach (and even then it tends not work very well), most people who have naturally light-colored locks would be better off going for something like golden blonde as opposed to platinum blonde when dying their hair darker shades at home!

Pigments can be deposited on top of the shaft of hair, or can be inserted into the shaft through a chemical reaction that coagulates and changes the structure of the protein.

There are two ways to apply color to the hair.

• Pigments can be deposited on top of the shaft of hair, or can be inserted into the shaft through a chemical reaction that coagulates and changes the structure of the protein. In this way, there are two types of pigments: oxidation and direct dyes. Oxidation pigments work by removing electrons from one molecule (the cuticle) which causes it to oxidize and then transfer those electrons onto another molecule (the cortex). The other type, direct dyes, work by attaching themselves directly to proteins within each strand of hair

A word about genetically created redheads and reflections in red light.

Hair color is a complex phenomenon. As you can see, it involves more than just the pigments in your hair. The chemical reaction between those pigments, your scalp’s pH balance, and other factors all play roles in how hair looks on you. That said, there are some basic truths about redheads:

• Redheads have no melanin in their cortex (the middle layer of hair) at all—only eumelanin (brown pigment). This makes it very easy to tell when light strikes a redhead’s cortex; the color will be either yellow or greenish-yellow due to reflected light bouncing off of this part of the follicle.

How to choose a flattering level of blonding for you based on your natural level and tone.

When you’re choosing a blonde, you want to make sure it’s the right level of blonding for your skin tone and natural hair color. Here’s how:

• Choose a shade no more than 2-3 levels lighter than your natural level. This will ensure that it looks like an extension of your natural color and not too light or brassy.
• Choose a shade no more than 1-2 levels darker than your natural tone. This will ensure that it still has dimension and depth, but isn’t overly ashy or cool looking on the skin (which can be unflattering).
• Choose a shade no more than 1-2 levels lighter than your natural tone if you have brown/dark hair with red undertones, because this will give the most contrast between roots and ends while still maintaining warmth in the overall look (think Jessica Alba meets beachy)

It’s not just about picking a shade, it’s about understanding why one looks good and another doesn’t, and what you can do to counteract any problems you may have when choosing a shade.

Now, you’ve got to keep in mind that every head of hair is different. If your hair is naturally darker and/or curly, chances are you’ll need to choose a lighter shade than someone with straight, fine hair. The more natural curls in your hair will absorb more color pigment and make it look darker than if it were straight. The opposite goes for someone who has naturally dark brown or black hair: they may not have as much contrast between their skin tone and the color on top of their head.

The best way to figure out which shade will work best for YOU is by going into the salon with pictures of celebrities who have similar skin tones as yours! This doesn’t mean that they have exactly the same coloring as you do–it just means that they look great in a particular shade (and so will YOU!).

Anns

Anns is a contributor at ToDye. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.