What shade of brown is my hair?

[Emanon]

I noticed there's another person making a thread about hair typing (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=132123) today (one that also proved helpful to me. It turns out I'm most likely 1a and not 1b, as I had believed). This made me realize that I'm kind of oblivious when it comes to describing my hair. Yeah, my hair is fine, brown, averagely (neutral?) brown, but I have no idea what my brown shade is. Here are some pics:
http://i.imgur.com/S8VQGYrh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ORCKIjhh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4xv3NUph.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WtloeINh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7zVgwbeh.jpg

[lapushka]

I think that's a mid-tone brown. But wait until others chime in, they might think differently. :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I would say maybe an ashy brown? Not that I'm an expert on hair colours.

[Mimha]

Hello Emanon !

Your hair seems to me quite a plain brown, with - I would say - a little ashy undertone, and a slight tendency to get a warmer nuance in the sun, but not enough to be on the chestnut brown side. So yeah, brown is the best way to sum it up, methinks !^^

Oh, and welcome on LHC by the way ! :toast:

[butterflybutton]

You look to be about a level 6 and a neutral or beige tone. Your hair is beautifully glossy!

[spidermom]

A mid-range ash brown, I would say.

[yahirwaO.o]

I dont know really... Ill just go for pretty brown hair because thats what I see!!!! :cool:

[Emanon]

Thanks for the input and compliments, everyone! :D The sun isn't at full power yet and in the morning light my hair is keen on being stubbornly undecided. I do feel it's a little on the ashier side though, which makes sense, as that would match my more obviously ashy eyebrows.

[Ingrid]

I think it's closer to neutral brown. Ashy shades tend to look gray in cool lighting, whereas yours still looks obviously warm-ish brown and has an almost golden shine in the sun.

[Charybdis]

Yes, I'm thinking kind of neutral brown as well -- there's a bit of a golden touch in the sun, which I wouldn't expect to see on really ashy hair but it's not obviously warm either. Truly ashy brunette hair colors don't seem to be that common in nature. I think brunette hair dyes are most often on the warm side, and so everyone whose brown hair isn't naturally warm thinks they have an "ashy" color even if it's really more neutral. And neutral-toned hair looks really ashy when it's growing out as roots next to a warmer dye color (which I know is not what you have going on!). I think it's pretty common to have eyebrows that are ashier than your hair -- mine definitely are.

Anyway, whatever you want to call the color, it looks good on you! :flower:

[flickm]

pretty hair, beautiful garden.

[Peabody]

Looks like a medium/chocolatey brown to me. Matches your eyes :)

[tigress86]

I would say medium neutral or slightly beige brown.

[Breanna]

Your hair color looks really similar to mine! It may be a shade darker though. And I'm growing out henna dye so I only have my roots to compare... I always described mine as ashy brown but I didn't actually know the difference between ash brown and neutral brown until reading this thread just now.
Anyway your hair is looking great and welcome to LHC!

[rhosyn_du]

Your color looks really similar to mine, and going by the color swatching/matching I just did for a hairpiece I wanted, I'm going to say your hair is neutral-to-ashy light brown. You're very pale, so it might look medium or even dark brown by contrast, but I bet if you compared it to swatches of medium brown hair, you'd find it's actually much lighter than that. That's what happened to me, anyway.

[Anje]

I see a mostly-neutral medium brown, with a little bit of gold at the ends (probably some sun highlights). It's pretty. :D

[Arctic]

I don't think your hair is ashy, and here where I live it would be considered borderline dark brown (but still on the medium brown side) :)

[Emanon]

Thanks, everyone!

@Charybdis, your explanations regarding hair colour have been enlightening. I wrongly imagined neutral hair veering very slightly towards red for some reason.
@flickm, I won't forget mentioning to my mom you complimented her lovely garden.
@tigress86 & butterflybutton, I think there is, indeed, a tinge of beige in my hair, but I don't think it's noticeable enough to make my hair qualify for beige brown.
@rhosyn_du, You might be right, but at the same time it feels weird to describe my hair by its technical color, rather than what people normally see when they look at me. I will try comparing my hair with some swatches as you made me curious.

The general consensus seems to be medium neutral brown, which sounds like a right description to me ^^

on a random note: This has been bugging me since I posted this thread. I look 12 in this pictures (and 13-14 with certain shorter haircuts, for reference), but I'm actually 23. (Altered my profile settings, so now my age is visible because I'm scared that the entire forum insta-assumes that I must be a kid).

[lapushka]

I thought you were 16-18. Not 13, seems a little young. ;)

[rhosyn_du]

@rhosyn_du, You might be right, but at the same time it feels weird to describe my hair by its technical color, rather than what people normally see when they look at me. I will try comparing my hair with some swatches as you made me curious.

Yeah, it definitely depends on context. If you're trying to match dye or a fall or something, the technical color is important, but less so if you're just trying to describe your color to someone. Of course, what people perceive as dark vs. light (or even brown vs. blonde) seems to vary by geographical location and culture. There was a thread not too long ago regarding hair that people in my area would no question classify as dark blonde or bronde, but a lot of people responded that where they're from, it would be considered medium brown, and I've had some people tell me my hair is "kind of blonde" in the sun when I would never think of my hair as anything but brown.

[BrownEyedBeauty]

Mine is a golden brown. It's a medium brown with natural golden highlights.