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hennalonghair
September 1st, 2015, 10:20 PM
When you describe your hair colour does the word mousy brown enter into your discription
and if so why?

Does your hair look like the colour of a mouse or is it just what you've heard other people call similar hair colour?

What exactly is mousy brown and how do you feel about it?

Or how about dirty blonde? Are you a dirty blonde?

I wonder why these names stuck?

How do you feel about these hair colour names ?

divinedobbie
September 1st, 2015, 10:45 PM
I always replace the words "mousy" and "dirty" with ashy brown or blonde, and to me it's just cool toned brown or blonde hair.

hennalonghair
September 1st, 2015, 11:06 PM
So is mousy brown the same as ashy because I'm got natural ashy brown. That's interestung.
Thanks

Nadine <3
September 1st, 2015, 11:10 PM
My mom always called my hair "Dishwater blonde"

I'm a simple person, if someone asks what my hair color is I just tell them it is brown.

Jo Ann
September 1st, 2015, 11:36 PM
Mousy brown sounds SO boring...dirty blonde can go a few ways...dishwater blonde is how my Dear Nana described MY hair when I was younger--but Clairol called it "Dark Ash Blonde"...

Funny, isn't it, how people are so awful describing hair between dark blonde and light brown...such appetizing phrasing... :horse:

DollyDagger
September 1st, 2015, 11:53 PM
I just recently expressed my love for this colour in the ash brown pride thread. I think its a gorgeous hair colour! A perfect neutral. The thing I've found about it is its nearly impossible to replicate chemically (and look good). That says alot..its a colour that can only be found naturally.

When I hear people say mousy I correct them and say ash or cool blonde..followed by"i love that colour!" I love how its cooler in tone and how it glistens warm silvery bronzey in the sun. Like in design it is a great base.

You are not limited in your clothing and makeup choices like can be the case with some other colours that tend to dictate more. With cool toned blondes and browns you can go tone on tone or contrast with warmer or darker colours.. in makeup and accesories and highlights and low lights. It's like a perfect taupey beige paint or item of clothes...endless possibilities of accessorizing.. playing up or playing down.

lunasea
September 2nd, 2015, 12:37 AM
My natural color is in this range...I tend to think of it as the color of a forest animal like a deer or fox....that's why I'm growing out my roots.

DreamSheep
September 2nd, 2015, 03:09 AM
I also see it as an ashy brown. In the past I would've described myself as a dirty blonde, but my hair has darkened a fair amount since moving to the UK, though it highlights easily in the sun, and the tips are very blonde (through action of the sun and pools).
I'm not sure whether my hair tone is blonde any longer though. My roots seem darker and ashier than I remember them, but I remember having quite a golden colour as a kid, so now I'm unsure whether I'm ashy, neutral, or maybe slightly golden toned. Hmmmm....

dogzdinner
September 2nd, 2015, 03:55 AM
Wouldnt it be kinda awesome to have mouse coloured hair though?? Wild mice are agouti coloured with a mix of black, browns and paler coloured hairs...I think that sounds quite exotic!:D
I quite like the 'blonette' description used on this forum, its how I would describe my hair. Its brown in the shade and dark blonde in the sun, quite typical UK colouring really.

sapphire-o
September 2nd, 2015, 04:34 AM
I always called them dark blonde. Dh's hair is that color. Though it probably qualify for blonde now after the summer sun. A century ago it would have been what "golden hair" meant. :) Light blond hair in adults are rare. Especially since women all wore hats or sun bonnets back then, so minimal sun bleaching.

Arctic
September 2nd, 2015, 05:15 AM
This subject is really thought provoking. In my country and language we have similar names for these hair colours: "grey as mouse" and "the colour of dirt road", I think could be translated like that.

My own hair falls into this category, and I used to feel very down about my colour. I started dyeing at 13 and continued to well over 30 years old. The growing out roots always looked extra unattractive against the vivid dyed hair, which made me think my hair is very ugly.

At some point I stopped using the hair colour names I found to be negative, and replaced them with ash brown (or ashy brown) or cool brown. Same with blonde, I call the "mousy, dishwatery" blonde ashy or cool. To me ashy sounds neutral word, not negative in any way, but I've heared of people who use it in the same meaning as those mousy etc words.

Fast forward, I decided I wanted to see how my own colour really looks like before I start to go grey, and I decided to grow out my dyed hair, which at that point was henna. The growing out was difficult, it was time before the ombre look was a thing, and the orange clashed with my cool colouring. BUt after I got some length to my natural roots, and even better when I finally cut out that henna, I realized that I like my colour, my natural colour suits me really well, my colour is not ugly or grey or dirt road-y, and gasp, I even have some red pigment in my hair (the last one is ironinc, as I had been dyeing my hair red for the most part of my dyeing journey, and had been thinking I didn't have an iota of red in my hair).

I have been known to correct people (often new members) here at the forums, when they call their natural colour in negative terms. Ha ha. That's how strongly I believe in positive self-talk!

The last thought, for now is, that as an animal philosophy student, I really dislike that mice are used as a negative connotation vehicles here. There is nothing wrong with mice, they are wonderful animals who have beautiful hair :D

Upside Down
September 2nd, 2015, 05:22 AM
The strangest term I've ever heard is 'dishwasher' or 'dishwater' blonde. I always imagine a dishwashing machine with a sexey blond wig, probably seducing Bender from Futurama :lol:

Stormynights
September 2nd, 2015, 05:58 AM
The color range between level 6 and 8 are called blonde on the color charts. Very few real people call these levels blonde. My natural color was between level 7 and 8. I always hated it and colored it all the time until it went too gray. I could live with a little dark roots but white roots made me think my hair look too thin. That was when I went all natural. Gray hair doesn't show up so much in blond hair. I always loved salt and pepper hair but hated my hair color mix. In pictures my hair is all over the place. Sometimes it looks blond and sometimes brown depending on the lighting. My buns look like sun dried cow patties. I am always shocked when I get compliments on my natural hair color. I have always been too self critical about my appearance. I always thought I was too tall and fat and now I can look back at my old pictures and see that I was not the least bit fat at all. Now I think you just can't be too tall. I wasted too much time being critical of my looks.

lapushka
September 2nd, 2015, 06:16 AM
Except for "dirty blond", I don't think there's a term in Dutch that describes blonde/brown hair like that.

Nique1202
September 2nd, 2015, 06:19 AM
I think of a mousy brown as any light to medium brown that is not only ash-toned but also has little in the way of natural high- or low-lights, so that in bright light it only reflects a drab greyish tone. It's all one tone and unremarkable. I think it probably caught on after being used as a descriptor for shy young ladies in kids' and young adult books though I could absolutely be wrong.

Stray_mind
September 2nd, 2015, 07:47 AM
I just call my hair blonette since i joined LHC. Mousy brown or dishwater blonde sound somewhat rude to me...

Swan Maiden
September 2nd, 2015, 08:41 AM
My natural color is in this range...I tend to think of it as the color of a forest animal like a deer or fox....that's why I'm growing out my roots.

Yes! I love this lunasea. I like to compare it to bigger forest animals also, it is much more flattering. Who wouldn't want to be a grizzly bear or reindeer over a mouse?

meteor
September 2nd, 2015, 08:47 AM
Oh yes, there are so many strange terms out there, especially, I think, in Northern European languages (where dark blond/light brown is naturally found a lot): "melkboerenhondenhaar" (milkman's dog's hair) in Dutch, "straßenköterblond" (stray cat's blond) in German, "maantien harmaa" (dirt road grey) in Finnish, "potato blonde" in Estonian......
In Russian, there is this word "русый" ("rusiy"), which conveys dark ashy blonde/ashy brown hair color, however, originally it meant "red" (!) (probably from Latin "russus"). Some words for colors have really "migrated" a lot in their meanings.

I think societies generally tend to be not too appreciative of things that they see a lot and go crazy for the exotic. For example, I remember CheshireGrin and MINAKO mentioned that in Japan that ashy brown/blonde color is actually very desirable (probably because it's rare there!): http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/archive/index.php/t-27906.html

And to be honest, when I google those terms I see pictures of some STUNNING hair! I actually think it's kind of cool how such a beautiful hair color has such an unassuming name. Also, I think it's cool that this color has many highlights/lowlights and brings up images of wild animals! After all, animals have awesome furs! ;)

Personally, I have way too much pheomelanin in my hair now to be under the true "ashy" category, I think, but I was an ashy blonde as a kid and as it started darkening, there was a ton of pressure to highlight it... It's a shame really, and I knew lots of blondes who talked about that pressure, too, especially from family and hairdressers: that if you are light-colored, you "have" to go brighter and brighter with bleach or go for a definitive primary color, like red or black. Why? What's wrong with dark blonde? :shrug:


The strangest term I've ever heard is 'dishwasher' or 'dishwater' blonde. I always imagine a dishwashing machine with a sexey blond wig, probably seducing Bender from Futurama :lol:

^ :lol: LOL, love it! :lol:

Swan Maiden
September 2nd, 2015, 08:51 AM
This subject is really thought provoking. In my country and language we have similar names for these hair colours: "grey as mouse" and "the colour of dirt road", I think could be translated like that.

My own hair falls into this category, and I used to feel very down about my colour. I started dyeing at 13 and continued to well over 30 years old. The growing out roots always looked extra unattractive against the vivid dyed hair, which made me think my hair is very ugly.

At some point I stopped using the hair colour names I found to be negative, and replaced them with ash brown (or ashy brown) or cool brown. Same with blonde, I call the "mousy, dishwatery" blonde ashy or cool. To me ashy sounds neutral word, not negative in any way, but I've heared of people who use it in the same meaning as those mousy etc words.

Fast forward, I decided I wanted to see how my own colour really looks like before I start to go grey, and I decided to grow out my dyed hair, which at that point was henna. The growing out was difficult, it was time before the ombre look was a thing, and the orange clashed with my cool colouring. BUt after I got some length to my natural roots, and even better when I finally cut out that henna, I realized that I like my colour, my natural colour suits me really well, my colour is not ugly or grey or dirt road-y, and gasp, I even have some red pigment in my hair (the last one is ironinc, as I had been dyeing my hair red for the most part of my dyeing journey, and had been thinking I didn't have an iota of red in my hair).

I have been known to correct people (often new members) here at the forums, when they call their natural colour in negative terms. Ha ha. That's how strongly I believe in positive self-talk!

The last thought, for now is, that as an animal philosophy student, I really dislike that mice are used as a negative connotation vehicles here. There is nothing wrong with mice, they are wonderful animals who have beautiful hair :D

You made some great points. I agree about the mouse negativity, I do think we have leftover prejudices against them from plague eras and we see them as pests and disease reservoirs. As a student of ecology, they have their place. I think humans always want to be compared to something more alpha than what we seem.

pailin
September 2nd, 2015, 09:45 AM
I usually call mine dark blonde. Other people most often call it blonde, but some people will call it brown (most commonly, Caucasians with really dark hair!). It can look red in the right light, but in other light it looks very ashy. I have often complained that it's neither one thing nor the other, but once recently when I said this to a woman I work with (sort of a supervisor as well as a mentor), her reaction was "oh, no, it's a very beautiful color, it's honey!" That was really nice to hear for a change.



I think societies generally tend to be not too appreciative of things that they see a lot and go crazy for the exotic. For example, I remember CheshireGrin and MINAKO mentioned that in Japan that ashy brown/blonde color is actually very desirable (probably because it's rare there!): http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/archive/index.php/t-27906.html


I do get the impression here that some people really like the ashy shades, and they certainly market a lot of box dyes for it. Although I see a lot of people here with hair bleached to brown or blonde (the blonde seems more popular lately), it nearly always has very red tones. Of course ashy shades are hard to achieve when you start with such dark hair as most people have here. One of my friends here is a hairdresser, and once when I was sitting and talking with her, she just stopped and commented that wow, your hair actually looks green! (I blamed the awful fluorescent lighting) And she said that like it was a good thing!

Miss P
September 2nd, 2015, 09:45 AM
I had a pet mouse that had the same colour fur as my natural hair colour, so mousy brown doesn't have negative connotations for me. That said I don't like the term 'dirty' because it infers uncleanliness.

Stormynights
September 2nd, 2015, 10:08 AM
The three common terms for hair color is blonde brunette or red head. Most people only recognize blonde as being level 9 or lighter. The levels in between brunette and level 9 are just left out of the loop. Most level 9s or lighter have a little chemical help except for children.

chen bao jun
September 2nd, 2015, 10:57 AM
It's rude.

I actually always correct it, though I am sure people don't think I know what I am talking about, since I am black person (with very black hair).

But I have always loved this color. Soft brown. Like Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair. there are many variations on it, and many colors within it, different in each person, I never get tired of looking at it.

And I don't 'get' the thing about being blonde and never have. It seems like to a lot of people, just the word is magic and they want people to think they are blonde, I don't know why. It seems like 'dirty blonde' is a way to say that you almost made it, but you didn't quite win the 'blonde lottery' and were one of the majority whose hair went darker once they stopped being a child. And so now people feel free to be snarky --and rude. Without even seeming to realize they are being nasty sometimes.

I have heard people's actual mothers stand right in front of them and complain to other people how their child used to be this beautiful blonde as a six year old something and now doens't have the same color anymore, what a horrible tragedy--They stand saying this right in front of their beautiful children, who would not look so good with their childhood hair anymore, they have got a richer coloring now and its beautiful and what's with the jerky behavior about it? Like they've lost something, when they HAVEN"T.

Natural, not dyed blonde hair can be very pretty in my opinion but I have never seen that it is in and of itself any prettier than soft looking light brown hair--which doesn't look at all like the color of a mouse to me, what an obnoxious comparison.

meteor
September 2nd, 2015, 11:20 AM
I do get the impression here that some people really like the ashy shades, and they certainly market a lot of box dyes for it. Although I see a lot of people here with hair bleached to brown or blonde (the blonde seems more popular lately), it nearly always has very red tones. Of course ashy shades are hard to achieve when you start with such dark hair as most people have here. One of my friends here is a hairdresser, and once when I was sitting and talking with her, she just stopped and commented that wow, your hair actually looks green! (I blamed the awful fluorescent lighting) And she said that like it was a good thing!

Oh how interesting! :) I do notice a lot of carefully cultivated ashy tones among K-Pop and J-Pop celebrities. And you are right: it's very hard to bleach to visibly ashy/cools tones from very dark hair because the yellow/red of pheomelanin is very tenacious and quite resistant to bleach, compared to other tones. :)

It's amazing how different eyes pick out different shades :) - maybe she thought of "green" because she's really used to warm tones? I'm used to ashy, so I feel like I'm noticing red everywhere - even on the Ash Brown Pride thread, I'd call a lot of what I see there "auburn", for example, but I guess it could be different cameras/lights/screens affecting the perception. I've heard of a scientific hypothesis that some people favor a cool illuminant and discount shorter wavelengths, and others favor a warm illuminant and discount longer wavelengths. Remember that famous blue&black/white&gold dress phenomenon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress_%28viral_phenomenon%29) ? :)

enting
September 3rd, 2015, 03:14 PM
I've always described my hair as mousy brown. It's a shade of brown that looks grayish at the roots, especially when compared to my ends - the comparison makes my ends look positively orange and my roots gray. I'm not too keen on it or the name, but warmer tones next to my face might be unflattering, and the name is fairly accurate in describing the gray-brown color of a mouse's fur. I do have highlights, though, both blonde and reddish-orangeish.

jt623
September 3rd, 2015, 03:42 PM
Level 6 natural hair color is the most common where I live. It cracks me up when it is referred to as blonde.

lapushka
September 3rd, 2015, 04:01 PM
It's rude.

I actually always correct it, though I am sure people don't think I know what I am talking about, since I am black person (with very black hair).

But I have always loved this color. Soft brown. Like Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair. there are many variations on it, and many colors within it, different in each person, I never get tired of looking at it.

And I don't 'get' the thing about being blonde and never have. It seems like to a lot of people, just the word is magic and they want people to think they are blonde, I don't know why. It seems like 'dirty blonde' is a way to say that you almost made it, but you didn't quite win the 'blonde lottery' and were one of the majority whose hair went darker once they stopped being a child. And so now people feel free to be snarky --and rude. Without even seeming to realize they are being nasty sometimes.

I have heard people's actual mothers stand right in front of them and complain to other people how their child used to be this beautiful blonde as a six year old something and now doens't have the same color anymore, what a horrible tragedy--They stand saying this right in front of their beautiful children, who would not look so good with their childhood hair anymore, they have got a richer coloring now and its beautiful and what's with the jerky behavior about it? Like they've lost something, when they HAVEN"T.

Natural, not dyed blonde hair can be very pretty in my opinion but I have never seen that it is in and of itself any prettier than soft looking light brown hair--which doesn't look at all like the color of a mouse to me, what an obnoxious comparison.

Very well put! :D

ZeppHead
September 3rd, 2015, 05:07 PM
I have whats classified as dirty blonde. And I call my hair dirty blonde because that's really how it looks it barely dark blonde and is ashy so it is right where dirty blonde is...I don't mind the names. Different colors have some many different shades!

Jo Ann
September 3rd, 2015, 05:20 PM
The strangest term I've ever heard is 'dishwasher' or 'dishwater' blonde. I always imagine a dishwashing machine with a sexey blond wig, probably seducing Bender from Futurama :lol:
You owe me a monitor!

[grabs sham-wow and Windex...commences Operation Clean-up...]

Duchess Fuzzy Buns
September 3rd, 2015, 05:58 PM
I have heard people's actual mothers stand right in front of them and complain to other people how their child used to be this beautiful blonde as a six year old something and now doens't have the same color anymore, what a horrible tragedy--They stand saying this right in front of their beautiful children, who would not look so good with their childhood hair anymore, they have got a richer coloring now and its beautiful and what's with the jerky behavior about it? Like they've lost something, when they HAVEN"T.

My mom used to say crap like that when I was a teenager after my hair darkened (I was really light blonde as a kid). As well as calling it "mousy brown" in an intentionally negative way. It was obnoxious, and I was self-conscious about it for a long time.
I don't think everyone that describes it as "mousy" or "dishwater" necessarily means it in a negative way though, it's just a common way used to describe the color and they don't think about the negative connotations. I prefer to describe it as ash brown now though, and I like my color. :)

Laughter
September 3rd, 2015, 08:38 PM
I'm one of those blondes whose hair also darkened quite a bit as I got older. I've never liked those terms either, and admittedly, it's a little frustrating when people tell me I have brown hair. Brown hair is absolutely gorgeous as many guys and gals on LHC prove, but I'm not quite a brunette myself. Stick me in sunlight and that's pretty clear. :)

I do have to wonder where those terms originated, though. Like, "dishwater blonde." Did someone look over at a dark blonde, then glance down at a tub of dirty dish water and say, "Hey, it's the same shade!" (Those dishes must have been dearly in need of a wash if the water was that color.)

chen bao jun
September 3rd, 2015, 08:59 PM
Lauren Alia, I love your color.
I think you are right that many do not mean offense, its jsut something one 'says'--but it still just isn't nice. Maybe because I am black and didn't grow up hearing this, is why I was shocked when I began to hear it. I don't know a planet on which 'dirty' or 'dishwater' are nice terms and as for 'mouse' --well let's just say that people who have mice as pets don't have the associations people who grew up in certain areas where they are disease carrying pests have about them.

Laughter, 'dark blonde' sounds very nice. As does 'light brown'. Nice, neutral descriptive terms for two different shades that are both very beautiful hair colors. though I have seen some people who really could be described as either one, depending on the light. I've always thought that was nice, too. Kind of like an alexandrite stone, with the shifting colors, I see no reason to be forced to be pin it down, if that makes sense.

I personally have green eyes in some lights and wearing certain colors and light yellowy brown eyes in other lights and other colors and have always thought that it's rather fun to be able to claim both colors and not to have to choose, I think both are nice.

pailin
September 3rd, 2015, 08:59 PM
Oh how interesting! :) I do notice a lot of carefully cultivated ashy tones among K-Pop and J-Pop celebrities. And you are right: it's very hard to bleach to visibly ashy/cools tones from very dark hair because the yellow/red of pheomelanin is very tenacious and quite resistant to bleach, compared to other tones. :)

It's amazing how different eyes pick out different shades :) - maybe she thought of "green" because she's really used to warm tones? I'm used to ashy, so I feel like I'm noticing red everywhere - even on the Ash Brown Pride thread, I'd call a lot of what I see there "auburn", for example, but I guess it could be different cameras/lights/screens affecting the perception. I've heard of a scientific hypothesis that some people favor a cool illuminant and discount shorter wavelengths, and others favor a warm illuminant and discount longer wavelengths. Remember that famous blue&black/white&gold dress phenomenon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress_%28viral_phenomenon%29) ? :)

The dress phenomenon is a good point- people really did see that as different colors, so there could be an issue of perception in it.

Also I think when it comes to blonde/brown, people draw the line culturally for hair color. I remember my Italian teacher in college saying, oh no, in Italy, your hair is blonde.

It seems many people with this hair color had light blonde hair as a child. My sister did too; hers has darkened. But mine is actually pretty close to my childhood hair color; it was never the light blonde, and was dark as an infant.

Nedertane
September 3rd, 2015, 09:51 PM
I think I've mentioned this on another thread, but I've personally never minded the term "dirty blond". To me it evokes sweet, playful ideas/images of kids who got dirty from playing in the park or wherever. Maybe it's because I've had this kind of color since I was a kid, unlike a lot of people who "grew into" it after having light blond hair in their childhood.

As for "mousy" I always considered it not just as a dig at one's hair, but their overall appearance, and even personality. Eg. "Oh, look at that mousy-haired girl. No wonder she hardly talks, she doesn't try to dress nice either." Yeah. A very nice way to describe someone.

Me personally, I just call it blond or dark blond because of how golden-y it is, and the fact that it just looks/behaves like light hair (meaning it comes with the light brows and lashes, highlights in the sun, etc.). Most other people I know call it blond as well, but some folks on here have called it strawberry blond, which was really surprising!

(For reference, the drawing I use for my avatar has kind of a slightly abstract version of my coloring in real life)

Kat
September 4th, 2015, 06:57 AM
My mom used to say crap like that when I was a teenager after my hair darkened (I was really light blonde as a kid). As well as calling it "mousy brown" in an intentionally negative way. It was obnoxious, and I was self-conscious about it for a long time.
I don't think everyone that describes it as "mousy" or "dishwater" necessarily means it in a negative way though, it's just a common way used to describe the color and they don't think about the negative connotations. I prefer to describe it as ash brown now though, and I like my color. :)


OMG. I am not the only one! (My mom isn't nasty about it, but she is always after me to dye my hair blonde-r again. "You looked so nice with blonde hair!" And I'm fine the way I am now, thanks. It keeps getting darker the older I get. The only reason I wish it was lighter now is so I could get a more vibrant henna color, but it's not worth bleaching it.

She convinced me to get highlights once in high school. ONE person noticed. I didn't do it again; it obviously wasn't worth it.

Ashy tones don't suit me, though. I'm definitely a warm. My hair in natural light is warm-toned; inside it's cool-toned and it obviously doesn't suit me so well. And for being kind of a medium ash brown by now, it definitely still has a gold sheen in the sun. If nothing else, when I started doing henna glosses it took that cool tone out of my hair, even if the henna was so light you couldn't otherwise tell I'd done it.

enting
September 4th, 2015, 07:22 AM
When I was little, my parents called my hair blonde. Dirty blonde, but blonde. Then somewhere along the way I graduated to mousy brown :shrug:. I remember being taken aback in high school when one of my teachers called me blonde, though. I solidly identified as some sort of brown-hair by that point.
chen bao jun, what color do you write down for your eyes for ID cards? My eyes are also a mix, or look different at different times, so I just put down whichever color I want them to be!

Lauraes
September 4th, 2015, 08:12 AM
My mom calls my hair color "dishwater blonde". I hate hate hate that term. I prefer blondette or dirty blonde.

My eyes are hard to describe too. The iris is blue/green/gray with a gold rim around the pupil. They pretty much resemble the color of the lake on a sunny day. What color they look like the most depends on the lighting, but since they appear primarily blue in sunlight I just say they're blue to make things simple.

enting
September 4th, 2015, 08:26 AM
Goodness, Lauraes! If your profile and signature pictures are anything to go by, I'd call your hair beautiful. Radiant. It looks so silky and shiny. Absolutely nothing "dishwater" about it!
And hey, your eyes sound really similar to mine! I'm just beginning to find others who also have that ring around the pupil.

KittyBird
September 4th, 2015, 08:49 AM
Dirty blonde and dishwater blonde has negative connotations for me, because when my hair darkened when I was around 10-11, I often got comments about how gross and dirty it looked and that I should wash it more often (even if I had just washed it). I started dying it dark brown as soon as my mom allowed it, and I've had lots of different colours over the years. My mom loved my dark blonde hair though, and she's always asking me when I'm going to grow out the henna. Recently I saw a picture of myself when I was 12, and I was shocked by how dark my hair was, it almost looked light brown. The joys of dark blonde hair I suppose, it's always changing colours depending on the light. I remember that it always lightened up a lot during the summer.

As for my eyes, I have one blue and one brown eye. The blue one changes a lot depending on the light - sometimes it looks like a cool greyish blue, other times it looks almost turquoise. The brown one doesn't change much.

missrandie
September 4th, 2015, 09:17 AM
I never took dishwater blonde to be a bad thing, but only my mom called it that, and never with negativity. The then took to calling our haircolor "coyote" because there are strands ranging from light blonde to brown, red, and even nearly black. And now we both can add white to the mix!

Today, I just admire it and call it pretty without truly pinning the color down.

chen bao jun
September 5th, 2015, 07:55 AM
chen bao jun, what color do you write down for your eyes for ID cards? My eyes are also a mix, or look different at different times, so I just put down whichever color I want them to be!

i write hazel, because I think that means greeny yellowy amber light brown (though not always colorchanging) eyes. If other people (officials) write it for me, it is amazing, they always write 'black'--I think this is because they just don't look and assume that black people always have black eyes--I have never had black eyes in my life or dark brown, or even brown.

I can make them look definitely green when I want. Wearing certain colors always does it and also, certain shades of eye shadow. But as I said, I like having both colors so I don't do that all or even most of the time-Maybe because its always been amusing to me when somebody that has known me forever and ever suddenly takes a real look and starts up, "Oh, my goodness, you have such green eyes, why is that I never noticed that before?"

then I'm like, oh are they green today? And its a nice surprise.

My mom says I have cat eyes.

I don't like people to be able to pin me down--maybe that's why I think it would be cool (not for me, it wouldn't match me but for the people whose hair is like that naturally) to have hair that looked light brown to some people and blonde to others and looked different in different lights--You wouldn't be pinned to one identity, you know? As a blondette (I like that word), you can be both. At least, that's what I think.

Jeno86
September 5th, 2015, 10:08 AM
I use to have much lighter hair as a child. My mother and her friends would always call it "dirty blond" or "dishwater blond", which honestly sounds a bit insulting really. It always felt like since my hair color was in between, it wasn't "good enough". But as I've gotten older my hair darkened to a color I affectionately call tawny, like the owl ^_^.

DollyDagger
September 5th, 2015, 10:48 AM
For the sake of the next generations coming up I think that these negative descriptives should be completely abolished from our vocabulary.
Moms and dads..please dont use them on your kids!
Clearly alot of people were deeply affected by them ..even if some werent and just shook it off..haha<--Taylor Swift..also sporting cooler toned medium blonde hair these days :)

Hurven
September 5th, 2015, 12:34 PM
Here in Sweden, that colour is commonly referred to as "råttfärgat", which literally translated means "the colour of a rat". It's a very common natural hair colour here, but most people dye it so it's rare to see it. Also, I've never heard anyone with that colour say that they like that colour. Most people seem to hate it, especially women.

MINAKO
September 5th, 2015, 02:13 PM
Never had that problem but personally i prefer to see ashy over warm tones when it comes to the above 5 natural level :shrug:

DollyDagger
September 5th, 2015, 02:51 PM
Never had that problem but personally i prefer to see ashy over warm tones when it comes to the above 5 natural level :shrug:
Me too. I dont like warmer tones (on me) I always prefer cooler toned shades.

Nellon
September 5th, 2015, 03:13 PM
Here in Sweden, that colour is commonly referred to as "råttfärgat", which literally translated means "the colour of a rat". It's a very common natural hair colour here, but most people dye it so it's rare to see it. Also, I've never heard anyone with that colour say that they like that colour. Most people seem to hate it, especially women.

Yeah, another one on the rat-coloured-hair team here signing in hehe! I so prefer the terms ash-blonde or sand-coloured though! Because these colours are quite unique and beautiful I think! :)

Hurven
September 5th, 2015, 03:48 PM
Yeah, another one on the rat-coloured-hair team here signing in hehe! I so prefer the terms ash-blonde or sand-coloured though! Because these colours are quite unique and beautiful I think! :)

I definitely agree! I usually refer to my hair as cendré or blondette, simply because it sounds so much nicer than "råttfärgat", even though it's the same colour :)

I'm not sure blondette is an "acceptable" term in Swedish though, I haven't heard anyone use it here... :confused:

enting
September 5th, 2015, 04:42 PM
i write hazel, because I think that means greeny yellowy amber light brown (though not always colorchanging) eyes. If other people (officials) write it for me, it is amazing, they always write 'black'--I think this is because they just don't look and assume that black people always have black eyes--I have never had black eyes in my life or dark brown, or even brown.

I can make them look definitely green when I want. Wearing certain colors always does it and also, certain shades of eye shadow. But as I said, I like having both colors so I don't do that all or even most of the time-Maybe because its always been amusing to me when somebody that has known me forever and ever suddenly takes a real look and starts up, "Oh, my goodness, you have such green eyes, why is that I never noticed that before?"

then I'm like, oh are they green today? And its a nice surprise.

My mom says I have cat eyes.

I don't like people to be able to pin me down--maybe that's why I think it would be cool (not for me, it wouldn't match me but for the people whose hair is like that naturally) to have hair that looked light brown to some people and blonde to others and looked different in different lights--You wouldn't be pinned to one identity, you know? As a blondette (I like that word), you can be both. At least, that's what I think.

Writing down a color that's nowhere near yours is... shocking. It makes one wonder why one should bother writing down colors at all if that's how badly inaccurate officials can be.
It sounds like you'd like to have chameleon or morphing capabilities, just to keep everyone on their toes:D

chen bao jun
September 5th, 2015, 10:50 PM
Oh, well, officials. they are busy and do not look at people.

One of my favorite stories is that my dad's family all immigrated to the US at different times in the 1950's. They are a mixed race family, mixed Caucasian and African and yes, the siblings do look slightly different from each other in some ways, but on the other hand, you can see they are siblings. Where we are from you do not note down people's race on every and all documents as you do in the US--in fact, you never do it. Its basically a non issue. So, as they entered the US, all of them got asked what 'race' they were. they did not know, as they were not used to thinking in those terms. so the officials picked a race for each of them.
So--
sister #1 is officially now 'white' or 'caucasian'
Sisters #2 and #3 are 'Hispanic' or 'latino', although no one in the family is spanish speaking, by birth, some speak spanish fluently because we're from near a spanish speaking country
Brother #1 is an Asian Indian (???!!!)
My Dad is brother #2 and he is black. He's the only one with somewhat curly hair.

There are not huge complexion differences between them. Sister #1 is somewhat more fair than the others, but not so you'd say she wasn't related. My dad is in the middle of the family for complexion. Brother #1 being the darkest. But brother #1 has type 2 hair, while my Dad was probably a 3b. However sister #2 is also a 3b and has the same complexion as my dad and in fact looks so much like him that my cousin and I (she looks like her mom and I look my dad and we look so much alike that people have taken us for twins) and yet they were two different races? (I'm not even going to ask here why HIspanic is supposed to be a race at all--I know Caucasian, African, Native american and yes even ethnically Chinese people who speak spanish--it's a language, not a race and in fact is not even a single culture, but many cultures at this point)

The whim of the official was all it was. Shrug.

they used to sit over the dinner table and laugh their heads off about it.

And this is why I don't take officials seriously at all.

chen bao jun
September 5th, 2015, 10:53 PM
In the Ukraine, light brown or dark blonde hair is known as 'hair-colored hair'.

Its by far the most common hair color there. there doesn't seem to be a stigma about it.

Nellon
September 6th, 2015, 04:13 AM
I definitely agree! I usually refer to my hair as cendré or blondette, simply because it sounds so much nicer than "råttfärgat", even though it's the same colour :)

I'm not sure blondette is an "acceptable" term in Swedish though, I haven't heard anyone use it here... :confused:

Me neither. I never heard it. Let's start a new trend shall we? ;) It's a good term. And hundred times nicer than "rat-coloured" haha! I mean, I like rats. But the general public might not so much... :)

Btw: Your hair is a beautiful colour! Lovely!

Hurven
September 6th, 2015, 05:32 AM
Me neither. I never heard it. Let's start a new trend shall we? ;) It's a good term. And hundred times nicer than "rat-coloured" haha! I mean, I like rats. But the general public might not so much... :)

Btw: Your hair is a beautiful colour! Lovely!

Oh, thank you so much! :D

MsBubbles
September 6th, 2015, 06:40 AM
It's rude.

I actually always correct it, though I am sure people don't think I know what I am talking about, since I am black person (with very black hair).

But I have always loved this color. Soft brown. Like Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair. there are many variations on it, and many colors within it, different in each person, I never get tired of looking at it.

And I don't 'get' the thing about being blonde and never have. It seems like to a lot of people, just the word is magic and they want people to think they are blonde, I don't know why. It seems like 'dirty blonde' is a way to say that you almost made it, but you didn't quite win the 'blonde lottery' and were one of the majority whose hair went darker once they stopped being a child. And so now people feel free to be snarky --and rude. Without even seeming to realize they are being nasty sometimes.

I have heard people's actual mothers stand right in front of them and complain to other people how their child used to be this beautiful blonde as a six year old something and now doens't have the same color anymore, what a horrible tragedy--They stand saying this right in front of their beautiful children, who would not look so good with their childhood hair anymore, they have got a richer coloring now and its beautiful and what's with the jerky behavior about it? Like they've lost something, when they HAVEN"T.

Natural, not dyed blonde hair can be very pretty in my opinion but I have never seen that it is in and of itself any prettier than soft looking light brown hair--which doesn't look at all like the color of a mouse to me, what an obnoxious comparison.

This whole post...thank you! :applause :smooch: So many good points.

hennalonghair
September 11th, 2015, 09:55 PM
Dishwater blond. Yes some of the names should be abolished. Funny enough boxed dyes always manage to have into ing names that make it sound interesting yet any shades is in between get given names that are ridiculing Perhaps these names all started from consumerizism. That was the exact intention was to make us all free grumpy and less than unless we purchase this product. It's like psychological warfare.
I use to have much lighter hair as a child. My mother and her friends would always call it "dirty blond" or "dishwater blond", which honestly sounds a bit insulting really. It always felt like since my hair color was in between, it wasn't "good enough". But as I've gotten older my hair darkened to a color I affectionately call tawny, like the owl ^_^.


Here in Sweden, that colour is commonly referred to as "råttfärgat", which literally translated means "the colour of a rat". It's a very common natural hair colour here, but most people dye it so it's rare to see it. Also, I've never heard anyone with that colour say that they like that colour. Most people seem to hate it, especially women.The colour of a RAT??? :couch: Really? That's harsh ! :shrug:


Never had that problem but personally i prefer to see ashy over warm tones when it comes to the above 5 natural level :shrug:Oddly enough it's only been the last 2 years that I realized that my hair is somewhat ashy in the canopy. It's always thought I looked good in warm tones but I'm starting to think differently.


Like Dresmsheep, I had blondish hair as the canopy but used to get lightened by the sun. I liked my hair colour as a kid.
A great thing about this colour is that it greys nicely.
That's a bonus.

squirrrel
September 12th, 2015, 09:27 AM
I'm another who has always been confused about what to call my hair colour... As a child I was taught to call it 'fair' - sometimes, especially if I got a lot of sun, it became a fairly warm bonde type colour I think. These days I rarely get that much sun, as well as the 'getting darker as you get older' phenomenon. Did I not read in one thread on here that when it comes to dark blonde/light brown the colour is decided upon depending on whether there's any red tones in the hair - with red toned shades being brown variety, and non red toned ones being blonde?

My brother goes with our shade being 'dishwater blonde' and yet, agrees that we've definitely got the red gene. Someone who tends to see me under flourescent lighting has said she thinks I'm essentially 'chestnut' colour. I'm thinking that might be the lighting though. Just now... I might refer to it as 'honey brown' perhaps... Maybe that covers it!

Deborah
September 12th, 2015, 10:24 AM
I don't like and never use the terms 'mousy' or 'dirty' when referring to someone's hair color. I think they are both demeaning and mean spirited, and made up originally by people who were just not nice. So there.

That said, no person's hair looks like a mouse's hair, and only dirty hair looks dirty. (Can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine.) Okay, I am really finished now.

I think lighter hair can run the gamut from nearly white to light brown, and every single shade is lovely. Let's just use kinder wording. (I guess I was not quite finished before.) :o

P.S. I am a brunette, so this is not personal to me. I just don't like hair color titles that hurt people's feelings and make them feel somehow not good enough or not pretty enough.

dancingrain91
September 12th, 2015, 11:39 AM
My hair is dirty blonde but very warm toned. A couple people I work with call it golden, but I just call it tawny if someone wants a better description than just blonde. I think it's technically dark honey blonde or something equally weird sounding to say in public. I hate the descriptors "dirty", "mousy" or "dishwater" and tell people who ask to refer to my hair as blonde or dark blonde if they don't think it's "blonde enough" (or golden if they want to, I'll take that compliment). I've only once had someone tell me my hair is brown though and that was in a darkish area with terrible lighting when it was sorely in need of a wash.

ETA: Oooh, a pretty descriptor for light brown hair I've heard is fawn brown or deer brown and there's always sandy brown. You could also call it sorrel. Dark blonde hair can be described as honey, golden, tawny or bronze from what I've seen. If your hair is really ashy "taupe" could work as a descriptor too. You know, if you just want a bunch of nicer things to call it to yourself.

HairPlease
September 12th, 2015, 02:04 PM
I like the term mousey. Mousey brown/blonde is my second favorite color next to silver! I love cool tones.
Besides, mice are cute. Right? Right.
http://s29.postimg.org/6d4wkw7qf/mouse_left_top.jpg

hennalonghair
September 12th, 2015, 04:50 PM
I like the term mousey. Mousey brown/blonde is my second favorite color next to silver! I love cool tones.
Besides, mice are cute. Right? Right.
http://s29.postimg.org/6d4wkw7qf/mouse_left_top.jpg
Ummmm no! :silly:

chen bao jun
September 12th, 2015, 07:51 PM
To each their own.
Mice are not cute. They are vermin, actually.
I am still boycotting that movie Ratatouille--obviously someone who never had (field) mice invade their kitchen came up with this idea. mouse poop in the cooking pots
Ugh.

Entangled
September 12th, 2015, 08:03 PM
It's rude.

I actually always correct it, though I am sure people don't think I know what I am talking about, since I am black person (with very black hair).

But I have always loved this color. Soft brown. Like Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair. there are many variations on it, and many colors within it, different in each person, I never get tired of looking at it.

And I don't 'get' the thing about being blonde and never have. It seems like to a lot of people, just the word is magic and they want people to think they are blonde, I don't know why. It seems like 'dirty blonde' is a way to say that you almost made it, but you didn't quite win the 'blonde lottery' and were one of the majority whose hair went darker once they stopped being a child. And so now people feel free to be snarky --and rude. Without even seeming to realize they are being nasty sometimes.

I have heard people's actual mothers stand right in front of them and complain to other people how their child used to be this beautiful blonde as a six year old something and now doens't have the same color anymore, what a horrible tragedy--They stand saying this right in front of their beautiful children, who would not look so good with their childhood hair anymore, they have got a richer coloring now and its beautiful and what's with the jerky behavior about it? Like they've lost something, when they HAVEN"T.

Natural, not dyed blonde hair can be very pretty in my opinion but I have never seen that it is in and of itself any prettier than soft looking light brown hair--which doesn't look at all like the color of a mouse to me, what an obnoxious comparison.

I think you nailed it right there. Most of us with this hair color were much lighter as kids, and it darkened as we got older. In a society where blonde hair is valued, that's seen as a gross, boring color by a lot of people. Of course, my experience comes from high school in Texas, where people seem to love the stripey, unnatural highlights that put the majority of their hair at white blonde. People with undyed hair have 'boring' hair. Now I've never heard this sentiment voiced about others' hair (I've been lucky that way), but I hear a lot of people describing their own hair like that. When I was in middle school, I hated my hair and was desperate for trendy highlights. My hair is pretty typical, but it is different in that I haven't cut/layered/dyed it. Also, we spend the first twelve years or so of or life under fluorescent lights, which are NOT very kind to blonette or ashy hair. I think the dishwater part of the term is another word for ashy, as dishwater is a grungy, grayish overtone.

My hair falls more in the blonette category more than ashy brown, but the roots are rather ashy and the ends are a golden color, courtesy of long hours spent outside during the hot summer marching season. If I look at my ends, I'm blonde, but my roots say otherwise. My drivers license labels me as brown, and my mom says it's light brown. Lighting makes a huge difference in how my hair looks.

I think we value bold colors. Chocolate brown, raven black, fiery red, and blonde (white blonde, honey blonde, etc) are valued highly. I've always wished I had a definable name for my hair, rather than having to describe it. There's not really a shorthand word accepted in my culture other than dishwater or dirty blonde, which I use if I have to. I think the most accurate description is that my hair is the color of wet sand. Of course, that's a little mouthy. Plus, since I don't dye my hair, I'm not too familiar with color charts. It would be nice to have a not middle, washed out name for my color.

Entangled
September 12th, 2015, 08:10 PM
To each their own.
Mice are not cute. They are vermin, actually.
I am still boycotting that movie Ratatouille--obviously someone who never had (field) mice invade their kitchen came up with this idea. mouse poop in the cooking pots
Ugh.

Perspective. When people have to deal with them, they're definitely not cute: they're unsanitary pests. But then you have those who keep them as pets. It's all well and good unless they're eating your food.

Unfortunately, my hair is that mouse's EXACT color at the roots...so they're right. I just don't want to be compared to them.

Entangled
September 12th, 2015, 08:15 PM
ETA: Oooh, a pretty descriptor for light brown hair I've heard is fawn brown or deer brown and there's always sandy brown. You could also call it sorrel. Dark blonde hair can be described as honey, golden, tawny or bronze from what I've seen. If your hair is really ashy "taupe" could work as a descriptor too. You know, if you just want a bunch of nicer things to call it to yourself.

I'm a geeky, though, and when I think of sorrel I think of wood sorrel, a clover like plant with heart shaped leaves ranging from bright green to purple. The leaves taste like lemon! I used to eat it as a kid; that's why I know. ;)

dancingrain91
September 12th, 2015, 09:57 PM
I'm a geeky, though, and when I think of sorrel I think of wood sorrel, a clover like plant with heart shaped leaves ranging from bright green to purple. The leaves taste like lemon! I used to eat it as a kid; that's why I know. ;)

Lol. I didn't even think of that.

Shepherdess
September 12th, 2015, 11:39 PM
It's encouraging reading through the comments here. :) I usually say light brown or ash brown, and dark blonde or ash blonde. I dislike the terms "mousy brown" and "dirty blonde."

RavennaNight
September 13th, 2015, 04:31 AM
Anyone hand-wash dishes? I do, I see what dishwater looks like, and sorry that's got nothing to do with blonde. The term makes no sense! Soapy greasy water with food crumbs in it? Soapy greasy food crumb blonde? Huh? Terms like this confuse me. I'm naturally what is assumed this color, an ashy blonde. I'm curious what it looks like on me, haven't seen it in decadea, aside from really sparkly roots.

Mimha
September 13th, 2015, 06:13 AM
All those unflattering comparisons about color or texture have always got on my nerves. What's the point in saying such uselessly unkind things to somebody ?? Because it is by no mean innocent, funny or spiritual comparisons : they are meant to offend. So the best thing to do is to look at whom says such a thing to you. It will tell you much more about this person than the content of his/her words.

I have noticed that offending words mostly come from frustrated people. They wish they had your position, your success, your body, your hair, your car, your husband, whatever. Or they refrain from being what they wish to be because of society's so called rules. So if they see that your hair is a source of pride or pleasure to you, or if they hear that the others admire it, they will find some unflattering thing to say about it, under the form of a joke, or even worst, under the form of a fake compliment. I have tons of "dear cousins and aunts" like that : they always have something to say about my appearance. They strangely never have anything interesting to say about the important things : who I am, what I think, what are my true values.

Now I know what it really means : they are uncomfortable with what THEY are, innerly. They wish they could look amazing enough for the others not to see how empty, unconfident and miserable they are inside. For them, APPEARANCE is the only way to make the others believe they are happy, successful, rich, respected, loved, envied, admired. But innerly, they know they don't have all these virtues. So, instead of working on themselves to be better and satisfied of what they have, they spend their lives pretending, fake-smiling, and envying the others as soon as they have something special that they don't, and reframe them as soon as they attract too much attention. (Your hair is to long, you should cut it, and gna gna gna).

So, yeah... to sum it up, whenever you get this kind of comment, you can feel secretly happy : you are p***** somebody off !

Duchess Fuzzy Buns
September 13th, 2015, 02:08 PM
I like the term mousey. Mousey brown/blonde is my second favorite color next to silver! I love cool tones.
Besides, mice are cute. Right? Right.



To each their own.
Mice are not cute. They are vermin, actually.
I am still boycotting that movie Ratatouille--obviously someone who never had (field) mice invade their kitchen came up with this idea. mouse poop in the cooking pots
Ugh.

I'm with chen bao jun on this- not cute when they're creeping around your kitchen pooping in your cabinets and chewing on appliance cords. shudder:

chen bao jun
September 13th, 2015, 05:39 PM
Yep, I think we as a society have ceased to value what is subtle.
Which is a shame.
Striking beauty gets noticed right away, but subtle beauty grows on you slowly and becomes more and more lovely as you have a chance to look at it more. Natural light brown or dark blonde hair does not not 'jump out' as a person it is true, but its like an old master painting, every time you look at it, you see more in it, like a piece of classical piano music, too. At least to me it is. HOpe my comparisons do not seem over the top. But I do love things it takes time to appreciate.

Maybe better comparison is a home cooked meal vs. fast food. Bright, dyed hair to me is like that greasy burger full of salt with the overly sugary soda along with it. Just one taste in each. Heavily salty or heavily sweet. While that burger you grilled at home has a lot of subtle of flavors that you appreciate something different in each bite, not overwhelmed by just one thing.

I don't think I'm making any sense. Oh, well. I know what I mean.

And I do remember back in the day when girls didn't used to dye their hair and each girl's hair looked subtly different, and soft and naturally pretty.


I think you nailed it right there. Most of us with this hair color were much lighter as kids, and it darkened as we got older. In a society where blonde hair is valued, that's seen as a gross, boring color by a lot of people. Of course, my experience comes from high school in Texas, where people seem to love the stripey, unnatural highlights that put the majority of their hair at white blonde. People with undyed hair have 'boring' hair. Now I've never heard this sentiment voiced about others' hair (I've been lucky that way), but I hear a lot of people describing their own hair like that. When I was in middle school, I hated my hair and was desperate for trendy highlights. My hair is pretty typical, but it is different in that I haven't cut/layered/dyed it. Also, we spend the first twelve years or so of or life under fluorescent lights, which are NOT very kind to blonette or ashy hair. I think the dishwater part of the term is another word for ashy, as dishwater is a grungy, grayish overtone.

My hair falls more in the blonette category more than ashy brown, but the roots are rather ashy and the ends are a golden color, courtesy of long hours spent outside during the hot summer marching season. If I look at my ends, I'm blonde, but my roots say otherwise. My drivers license labels me as brown, and my mom says it's light brown. Lighting makes a huge difference in how my hair looks.

I think we value bold colors. Chocolate brown, raven black, fiery red, and blonde (white blonde, honey blonde, etc) are valued highly. I've always wished I had a definable name for my hair, rather than having to describe it. There's not really a shorthand word accepted in my culture other than dishwater or dirty blonde, which I use if I have to. I think the most accurate description is that my hair is the color of wet sand. Of course, that's a little mouthy. Plus, since I don't dye my hair, I'm not too familiar with color charts. It would be nice to have a not middle, washed out name for my color.

jel
September 14th, 2015, 02:15 PM
I must admit that I have used the term "mousy brown" to describe my hair in the past. I disliked my own hair colour and spent decades using box dye, bleach, then henna and vegetable dyes in order to have a bold, bright blonde or red colour. By the age of 40 I got bored with covering up, and decided I wanted to enjoy my own, virgin shade, and started describing it as ash brown. Even so, I sometimes think my hair is blonder than it really is... but I am happy when I get reminded that it's darker and softer. I like the term "fawn", though, I might adopt it! :)

mcgg417
September 30th, 2015, 06:28 PM
There are some very nice names for these hair colors. for a warm level 7 medium blond it can be referred to has honey or caramel. for a neutral level 7 we can call it latte blonde. for an ashy level 7 ash blonde is a very flattering term. for a warm level 6 dark blond we can call it toffee blonde or a reddish level 6 we can call it fawn blonde. an ash level 6 can be steel blonde. a neutral level 6 can be mochacino blond.

DollyDagger
September 30th, 2015, 06:30 PM
All yummy sounding names well suited in describing these beautiful colours :) ..also not to mention the colour is in the eye of the beholder. My dad was severely colour blind and couldnt describe a colour to save his life..you all have purple hair as far as he was concerned..lol

Sparklylady82
September 30th, 2015, 07:01 PM
This subject is really thought provoking. In my country and language we have similar names for these hair colours: "grey as mouse" and "the colour of dirt road", I think could be translated like that.

My own hair falls into this category, and I used to feel very down about my colour. I started dyeing at 13 and continued to well over 30 years old. The growing out roots always looked extra unattractive against the vivid dyed hair, which made me think my hair is very ugly.

At some point I stopped using the hair colour names I found to be negative, and replaced them with ash brown (or ashy brown) or cool brown. Same with blonde, I call the "mousy, dishwatery" blonde ashy or cool. To me ashy sounds neutral word, not negative in any way, but I've heared of people who use it in the same meaning as those mousy etc words.

Fast forward, I decided I wanted to see how my own colour really looks like before I start to go grey, and I decided to grow out my dyed hair, which at that point was henna. The growing out was difficult, it was time before the ombre look was a thing, and the orange clashed with my cool colouring. BUt after I got some length to my natural roots, and even better when I finally cut out that henna, I realized that I like my colour, my natural colour suits me really well, my colour is not ugly or grey or dirt road-y, and gasp, I even have some red pigment in my hair (the last one is ironinc, as I had been dyeing my hair red for the most part of my dyeing journey, and had been thinking I didn't have an iota of red in my hair).

I have been known to correct people (often new members) here at the forums, when they call their natural colour in negative terms. Ha ha. That's how strongly I believe in positive self-talk!

The last thought, for now is, that as an animal philosophy student, I really dislike that mice are used as a negative connotation vehicles here. There is nothing wrong with mice, they are wonderful animals who have beautiful hair :D
Well stated and I feel very encouraged by your post!

RavenRose
September 30th, 2015, 07:02 PM
I like these descriptors instead of dishwater or mousy

fawn, caramel, honey, butterscotch or tawny for a darker blondes with some warmth

Flaxen, sandy, Icy, slivering, Toffee or champagne- for cooler toned blondes

hennalonghair
October 2nd, 2015, 10:21 AM
H
I like these descriptors instead of dishwater or mousy

fawn, caramel, honey, butterscotch or tawny for a darker blondes with some warmth

Flaxen, sandy, Icy, slivering, Toffee or champagne- for cooler toned blondes
These are very nice names for these types of hair colours. I've often called my hair colour mousy because that's the colour it looked on the surface canopy of my hair. Plus those were the only names I'd heard of regarding these colours?:shrug:
I wonder why these other names aren't commonly used?
And I also wonder how these names came about. Did they come from multi media in hopes that we'd feel bad enough about our colour that we want to colour it or from others who fell into fashion trend ? Either way it was very effective on this portion of the planet.