The Hair Color Level System
The level system measures depth, meaning how light or dark a hair color is. Every state board exam expects you to identify levels from photos and describe them in writing. The scale runs from 1 to 10, where level 1 is the darkest and level 10 is the lightest. Depth has nothing to do with warmth or coolness, only how much light the hair reflects.
| Level | Natural Color |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Some manufacturers extend the scale to level 11 or 12 for ultra-blondes and high-lift formulas. Those extra levels are still rooted in the same 1 to 10 framework, just pushed further into the pale yellow range.
What Are Tones (Reflects)?
Tone, also called reflect, is the secondary color you see in the hair. Two clients can both sit at level 7, but one looks golden and the other looks ashy. The level is the same. The tone is what makes them read differently.
The tones you need to know for the exam:
- Neutral (N): balanced, no dominant warmth or coolness.
- Ash (A): cool, blue or green based, used to cancel orange.
- Violet (V): cool, purple based, used to cancel yellow.
- Gold (G): warm, yellow based.
- Copper (C): warm, orange based.
- Red (R): warm, true red.
- Mahogany (M): warm, red-violet based.
Reading the Numbering
Most professional color brands write the level first and the tone second. A tube labeled 7N is a level 7 neutral. A tube labeled 7A is a level 7 ash. Two letters double the intensity, so 7AA is double ash, much cooler than a single ash.
Some European brands use a decimal system where the number after the dot stands for the tone. The most common dot codes are:
- .1 = ash
- .2 = violet
- .3 = gold
- .4 = copper
- .5 = red
- .6 = mahogany
So 7.1 in a European line is the same idea as 7A in an American line. The numbering varies by brand, which is why every manufacturer wants you to read their own swatch book before formulating.
Underlying Pigment by Level
Every natural hair color hides warm pigment underneath. When you lighten the hair, you uncover that warmth. This is the single most tested concept on the color section of the state board exam.
| Level | Underlying Pigment Revealed |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Red |
| 3 to 4 | Red-orange |
| 5 | Orange |
| 6 | Orange-yellow |
| 7 | Yellow-orange |
| 8 | Yellow |
| 9 | Pale yellow |
| 10 | Pale yellow, almost white |
The pattern is easy to remember once you see it: dark levels reveal red and orange, light levels reveal yellow. If you do not control that exposed pigment with your toner, the hair will look brassy.
The Color Wheel and Neutralizing
The color wheel tells you which tone to reach for. Colors that sit directly across from each other cancel each other out. These are called complementary pairs:
- Green neutralizes red.
- Blue neutralizes orange.
- Violet neutralizes yellow.
This is why ash toners (which contain blue or green) cancel brassy orange in lifted brunettes, and violet toners cancel yellow in lifted blondes. A purple shampoo on highlighted hair is the same idea. The violet pigment sits on top of the yellow and the eye reads it as cleaner.
Levels of Lift and Developer Volume
Lift is the number of levels a permanent color can lighten the hair in one service. The developer volume drives the lift.
| Developer | Strength | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| 10 volume | 3 percent | Deposit only, no lift. Use for tone-on-tone, glosses, refreshing color. |
| 20 volume | 6 percent | 1 to 2 levels of lift. Standard for gray coverage and one-level changes. |
| 30 volume | 9 percent | 2 to 3 levels of lift. Used when going noticeably lighter with permanent color. |
| 40 volume | 12 percent | 3 to 4 levels of lift. Reserved for high-lift series and pre-lightening. |
Permanent color tops out around 4 levels of lift in a single application. If a client at level 4 wants to be a level 9, the formula will not get there in one step. That is when bleach (off-the-scalp lightener) enters the plan, followed by a toner.
Putting It All Together
A clean color formulation follows four steps:
- Identify the client's natural level.
- Identify the target level and tone.
- Predict the underlying pigment that will be exposed at the target level.
- Choose a tone whose complement neutralizes that pigment, and pick the developer volume that delivers the right amount of lift.
Example: a level 6 natural wants to be a level 8 cool blonde. At level 8 the underlying pigment is yellow. Yellow is canceled by violet, so the toner needs a violet base. To get from a 6 to an 8 in one step you need 2 levels of lift, so 30 volume developer with the permanent color is appropriate.
What State Board Exams Test
Color questions on the cosmetology written exam tend to repeat a few formats:
- Identifying a level from a photo or swatch. Use the 1 to 10 scale and ignore tone.
- Predicting underlying pigment. If a level 5 is lightened to a level 8, what pigment is exposed? Yellow.
- Choosing a tone to neutralize unwanted brassiness. Orange brass calls for blue/ash. Yellow brass calls for violet.
- Matching developer volume to lift. 20 volume for gray coverage, 30 volume for two to three levels of lift.
- Reading a tube label. 7A means level 7 ash. 6.4 means level 6 copper.
Knowing these patterns cold turns the color section into easy points on test day. The same logic carries straight onto the salon floor.