When do you consider hair to be blonde?

[Nedertane]

About half the people I know (friends, family, anyone else) will say my hair is blonde. The other half say it's brunette. I've never been able to tell for sure myself, because if I look at something like hair swatches, or dye boxes, and find my shade, some of them will day "dark blonde" or others "light brown" for what looks like almost the exact same shade.

But now, I figure that people who know a lot about hair, often from direct experience might be able to enlighten me! For reference, I hope my avatar pic will do, though I can post real pictures later. My avatar is photoshopped to be essentially an average between my highlighted and non-highlighted hair, though in real life I guess it is a shade darker, and has a more golden tone. Making things more complicated is the fact that in the summer sun, my hair gets lots of natural highlights, which are then somewhat lost in the winter, so it's never really the same color year-round! What color do you guys think it is, and where do you draw the line on blonde vs brown, auburn vs red, etc?

Does anyone else have indistinguishable hair color? Or hair that changes? And do you feel that certain variables go into what color people call your hair (I, for one, think people are more likely to call me a blonde since my skin is so fair).

[mtstorm]

My mother always calls me a blonde. If I look back through pictures I have never been a blonde. It took me a long time to figure out she called me blonde because she always dreamed of having a blonde daughter and when I spent a lot of time in the sun my hair would get bleached to a light brunette reaffirming her dreams that I might turn into a blonde. :rolleyes:

[MissManda]

Maybe this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=79074) on hair color levels will help? :)

[Eboshi]

Not a blonde but I've been under the impression that it is the highlights that determines which category that one falls into.

How to determine if you are a blonde or a brunette:
Goldish highlights in the sun = Blonde
Reddish highlights in the sun = Brunette.

Can't tell? You are a bronde, wear your hair with pride. :)

[Nedertane]

Hmm, I think I've seen something like that before, MissManda. It helps, but I have to wonder if it's based on dyes, or natural hairs (not meaning to criticize, though!).

[Nedertane]

Not a blonde but I've been under the impression that it is the highlights that determines which category that one falls into.

How to determine if you are a blonde or a brunette:
Goldish highlights in the sun = Blonde
Reddish highlights in the sun = Brunette.

Can't tell? You are a bronde, wear your hair with pride. :)

Hmm, definitely golden. Hot dang, it's that easy to tell based on highlights? Thank you! :D

[MagicalMystery]

Hmm, definitely golden. Hot dang, it's that easy to tell based on highlights? Thank you! :D

Well I'm like you... caught in between a level 6 and 7. Some call it dark blonde and others call it light brown. My determining factor is the undertone. My hair has gold undertones, so I go by dark blonde. I have always assumed light brown to lean more red with regards to undertones. Might not be THE method, but it's the conclusion I've drawn upon. :)

[Springlets]

Hmm, I think I've seen something like that before, MissManda. It helps, but I have to wonder if it's based on dyes, or natural hairs (not meaning to criticize, though!).

It wouldn't matter if the hair is dyed or natural, level is simply the amount of light or darkness in the current hair color (although it asks in the thread title for people to report their natural hair color level). It sounds like you are either a 6 or a 7, which are usually when people start to question whether they are brown or blonde. I actually wrote about that exact topic in that thread so I'll repost that for you:

"Why level 6 and 7 are still considered blonde:

Most people when they see these shades immediately think it is light brown, perhaps even almost medium brown: Neutral (http://naturalinstincts.com/cem/images/products/3d/nice_n_easy-base-natural_dark_neutral_blonde-3d.png) Beige (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo6_21_large.jpg) Ash (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo12_22_large.jpg) Gold (http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/12/48/3/1152/11522527/a18bdcde70e58f34_emma2.jpg)

But color categorization does not rely on appearance alone, it also relies on science and underlying pigments. With that in mind, the main difference between brown and blonde is not necessarily lightness or darkness, but that brown and black hair have a red/orange underlying pigment whereas blonde has a yellow/gold underlying pigment. These pigments are brought to light especially when hair is bleached, which is why it is important for haircolorists to be able to categorize them. From this chart here (http://user249720.websitewizard.com/images/CC-Chart-_-Texture-Bars.png) you'll see the chart for the underlying pigments and the hair colors they are associated with. Here (http://www.nucleardoll.com/levelsoflift) is another chart where you can see hair swatches of the pigments. You'll see that level 7 has gold pigments and level 6 has gold orange. Now, because level 6 has half orange and half gold, I think it is fair to categorize it as the quintessential blonette- something in between blonde and brown, but hair color systems seem to consider it simply dark blonde or light brown.

Hopefully this helps others who have wondered whether their hair is light brown or dark blonde. If you've bleached your hair before, ask yourself did you encounter a red/orange color or yellow/gold."


Well I'm like you... caught in between a level 6 and 7. Some call it dark blonde and others call it light brown. My determining factor is the undertone. My hair has gold undertones, so I go by dark blonde. I have always assumed light brown to lean more red with regards to undertones. Might not be THE method, but it's the conclusion I've drawn upon. :)

If you read the above you'll see that it is in fact THE method- good job! :) If you have only gold undertones then you are a level 7, if you have orange-gold undertones you are a level 6, though both of these levels are considered blonde.

[MagicalMystery]

Well I'll be darned. :) If bleach touches my hair, it's light yellow within 5 minutes or less. Level 7 it is then! Thanks for the chart!

[discoisntdead]

When it has an obvious yellow colour.

[Mesmerise]

To me... blonde hair doesn't look brown! If it looks "light brown" to me it's "light brown" rather than "dark blonde".

Mind you, a number of people will call my DD's hair blonde, but to me she's brunette (her hair is similar to mine as a kid) because it definitely has a light brown colour.

I tend to see blonde hair as... well blonde... you know, umm that light colour that isn't brownish at all :D (very technical I know).

There is a sort of inbetweeny colour that is more difficult to distinguish, but I think there's a difference in tone between a dark ash blonde and a light brown... the brown looks browner, whereas the blonde looks ashier, although the actual level of lightness can be the same (if that makes sense). My husband's hair is probably the same level of darkness as my son's hair, for example, but he has dark ash blonde hair (he had platinum as a child) but my son's I call light brown because it has a browny tone more than an ashy one.

[lanyzoldcipoben]

It wouldn't matter if the hair is dyed or natural, level is simply the amount of light or darkness in the current hair color (although it asks in the thread title for people to report their natural hair color level). It sounds like you are either a 6 or a 7, which are usually when people start to question whether they are brown or blonde. I actually wrote about that exact topic in that thread so I'll repost that for you:

"Why level 6 and 7 are still considered blonde:

Most people when they see these shades immediately think it is light brown, perhaps even almost medium brown: Neutral (http://naturalinstincts.com/cem/images/products/3d/nice_n_easy-base-natural_dark_neutral_blonde-3d.png) Beige (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo6_21_large.jpg) Ash (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo12_22_large.jpg) Gold (http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/12/48/3/1152/11522527/a18bdcde70e58f34_emma2.jpg)

But color categorization does not rely on appearance alone, it also relies on science and underlying pigments. With that in mind, the main difference between brown and blonde is not necessarily lightness or darkness, but that brown and black hair have a red/orange underlying pigment whereas blonde has a yellow/gold underlying pigment. These pigments are brought to light especially when hair is bleached, which is why it is important for haircolorists to be able to categorize them. From this chart here (http://user249720.websitewizard.com/images/CC-Chart-_-Texture-Bars.png) you'll see the chart for the underlying pigments and the hair colors they are associated with. Here (http://www.nucleardoll.com/levelsoflift) is another chart where you can see hair swatches of the pigments. You'll see that level 7 has gold pigments and level 6 has gold orange. Now, because level 6 has half orange and half gold, I think it is fair to categorize it as the quintessential blonette- something in between blonde and brown, but hair color systems seem to consider it simply dark blonde or light brown.

Hopefully this helps others who have wondered whether their hair is light brown or dark blonde. If you've bleached your hair before, ask yourself did you encounter a red/orange color or yellow/gold."



If you read the above you'll see that it is in fact THE method- good job! :) If you have only gold undertones then you are a level 7, if you have orange-gold undertones you are a level 6, though both of these levels are considered blonde.

wowwh your blonde hair is very nice

[UP Lisa]

What is the best way to discover the tones in your hair? Observe it in bright sunlight?

[Nedertane]

Hopefully this helps others who have wondered whether their hair is light brown or dark blonde. If you've bleached your hair before, ask yourself did you encounter a red/orange color or yellow/gold."

Heh, actually had bleached part of my hair when I was 13 to get hair like Rogue from "X-Men". Without toner, it was QUITE yellowy... but not very flattering either way, now that I look back on it. (^^")

[Dorothy]

When the owner tells me it is.

[UP Lisa]

Good One. I like that.



When the owner tells me it is.

[Annie44]

I'm an in-betweener too. (although it definitely looks brown in my profile picture because it was dyed). My husband an I are always arguing over his hair color. He insists that it's brown, but it is actually dark blond - probably a 7 on the color chart.

[blondie9912]

Not a blonde but I've been under the impression that it is the highlights that determines which category that one falls into.

How to determine if you are a blonde or a brunette:
Goldish highlights in the sun = Blonde
Reddish highlights in the sun = Brunette.

Can't tell? You are a bronde, wear your hair with pride. :)

How interesting! I never knew this, but it makes tons of sense :)

[FrozenBritannia]

Not a blonde but I've been under the impression that it is the highlights that determines which category that one falls into.

How to determine if you are a blonde or a brunette:
Goldish highlights in the sun = Blonde
Reddish highlights in the sun = Brunette.

Can't tell? You are a bronde, wear your hair with pride. :)

And what about if your hair doesn't reflect golden OR red? My hair reflects silver, even though most people would call my hair brown, and hairdressers say i am in between dark blonde and light brown. My sons hair also reflects silver, but his is definately blonde still. No golden or reddish highlights at all.

[Springlets]

Here is a link for a discussion from Style Hair Magazine wherein a girl asks whether her hair would be considered blonde or brown. The professionals can tell she is a level 7 blonde with a green base, which apparently means neutral (whereas gold would be yellow or orange and ash would be silver). You can also see all the comments of people who refuse to see it as anything but brown.

http://www.style-hair-magazine.com/is-my-hair-light-brown-or-dark-blond.html

I think the best way to be able to tell the difference is to start studying hair: online, at the supermarket, on your friends, etc. That's how hairstylists become proficient.

[sycamoreboutiqu]

Wow, there is a HUGE jump from Dk Blonde to Lt Brown in my opinion. The Lt Brown on that chart is what I would call Med Brown.

Not all color charts are created equal I guess.

This is probably why many hair color manufacturers have a 6, 6.5 , 7, 7.5, 8 ... range in their shades, because just like shoe sizes many are not a solid 7, 8 or 9 but "half" sizes.

So call yourself whatever seems to be most fitting at the time, hair looking darker in the winter you are Lt Brown, lighter in the summer you are DkBlonde. Color isn't stagnant and neither are you :)

[PennyLaneDream]

Yep I have that hair colour! I think the term to best describe it is "blonette", which also sounds pretty :)

[honeydippedxo]

Well I don't know what your hair looks like but they say Gisele Bundchen's hair is bronde, right in between blonde and brown. So maybe your hair is bronde C:

[Auburngirl]

LOL Same here, I'm a 6 to 7, dark blonde-light brown (maybe a 6.5, if there is such a thing). Why do people jump like that if you even mention the word blonde. It's like they say you're an impostor. :p It's not that I wanna trick anyone into thinking my hair is blonde because blondes re supposed to be more desirable (?), which is ridiculous. But they think blonde can only mean that Nordic kind of platinum or wheat color, which is not quite so. My hair just flares gold, yellowish in the light, I associate blonde with gold, and so do professional hair colorists, so I just say it because that's what it looks like to me, honestly, not out of coquettery. But everybody else is like: "Oh, you're trying to say you're blonde to feel prettier! Nice try!" Not at all! I feel just as pretty if it's brown, I feel light and even darker brown is just as pretty as blond. And since I'm asking for their opinion, such persons should be able to figure out I really want to know the truth, not to pretend, otherwise I'd be just saying "Oh, look at my diva blond hair". For that matter, I just say it's light brown no matter that it looks yellow-er to me, just to avoid the whole "you're trying to trick me" tirade. The shade is beautiful, no matter what you call it, which is why I never dyed it. The name is just a name.

[MINAKO]

It probably is a dark blonde on most peoplewhere you cant really tell. Hair has only two conteibuting pigments, a yellow one and a red one. On brown hair the centration of red is much higher. of course that doesnt mean there isnt any yellow. In general i would say most people on a level 6 and up are blonde, level 3-5 is brown, 1-2 is black.

That being said, im not a big fan of names on box dye and dont believe its essential to put a finger on it.
Leaving this here for you to decide what shade of level 1-2 i potentially am, hehe http://digitalsynopsis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color-thesaurus-correct-names-black-shades.jpg

[Auburngirl]

Minako, I'd say you're... ebony ?? But the way the color boxes are arranged, next to each other, I can't even tell all o them appart, except for a few shades. They should be separated, with a withe border or space in-between them, I think, otherwise, my eye can't see the difference between many of them.
Gorgeous, delightful hair, anyway! Oh, and it looks so silky. :)

[hannabiss]

I say im a light brown. even though a chart would say dark blonde. im brunette and not in denial...oh but i wish i was blonde!!!

[Rosetta]

"Why level 6 and 7 are still considered blonde:

Most people when they see these shades immediately think it is light brown, perhaps even almost medium brown: Neutral (http://naturalinstincts.com/cem/images/products/3d/nice_n_easy-base-natural_dark_neutral_blonde-3d.png) Beige (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo6_21_large.jpg) Ash (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/external/images/products/large/HCo12_22_large.jpg) Gold (http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/12/48/3/1152/11522527/a18bdcde70e58f34_emma2.jpg)

But color categorization does not rely on appearance alone, it also relies on science and underlying pigments. With that in mind, the main difference between brown and blonde is not necessarily lightness or darkness, but that brown and black hair have a red/orange underlying pigment whereas blonde has a yellow/gold underlying pigment. These pigments are brought to light especially when hair is bleached, which is why it is important for haircolorists to be able to categorize them. From this chart here (http://user249720.websitewizard.com/images/CC-Chart-_-Texture-Bars.png) you'll see the chart for the underlying pigments and the hair colors they are associated with. Here (http://www.nucleardoll.com/levelsoflift) is another chart where you can see hair swatches of the pigments. You'll see that level 7 has gold pigments and level 6 has gold orange. Now, because level 6 has half orange and half gold, I think it is fair to categorize it as the quintessential blonette- something in between blonde and brown, but hair color systems seem to consider it simply dark blonde or light brown.

Hopefully this helps others who have wondered whether their hair is light brown or dark blonde. If you've bleached your hair before, ask yourself did you encounter a red/orange color or yellow/gold."
This was really interesting! I've began to call my natural colour light brown, also so as not to be "a blonde in denial" like some say ;), but according to this I'm most definitely dark blonde... As bleaching (years ago) I've only encountered yellow/gold, never red (unless bleaching hennaed hair, of course).

[Arctic]

I don't know anything about the charts hair dressers use, but cultural aspects affect a lot what is considered blonde and what is brown.

I put myself solidly in the medium brown category and all my life I have been considered brunette IRL, without any doubt, even when my hair was a bit lighter as a child. My whole self-identity is of a brunette person, and I have found it almost uncomfortable when sometimes on LHC someone suggest I am not a brunette. Granted, photograps change my hair colour a lot, and it can look anywhere from ashy blonde to different browns to coppery and even wine red, sometimes seeming warm and sometimes cool, sometimes almost green (aged bronze). BUt IRL, solid brunette.

Finland is the promised land of blondes, so what I consider blonde is really light blonde. Sure, there is the difficult category of inbetween dark blonde and light brunette, I can't really explain how, but in general I am able to put the person in either of the categories. Maybe it's the base colour, I have never heared that theory before, but it makes sense!

[MINAKO]

Minako, I'd say you're... ebony ?? But the way the color boxes are arranged, next to each other, I can't even tell all o them appart, except for a few shades. They should be separated, with a withe border or space in-between them, I think, otherwise, my eye can't see the difference between many of them.
Gorgeous, delightful hair, anyway! Oh, and it looks so silky. :)

Ebony imy natural color, but with the use of henndigo its more a mix of coal and jade, haha.
I can ofen not tell shades apart either, especially when comparing different brands.

Arctic, i know what you mean, if someone would consider me to be brunette instead of black i would feel bad about my hair although there is a possibility for it to look brownish in the sun. Actually thats why i use blue deposits sometimes. Nobody else can tell, but it makes me like my color more.

[chen bao jun]

I've never been able to tell who is blonde and never been able to understand the 'mystique'
sometimes I think it's just marketing to get all these people who are already blonde to use hair dye (and in My opinion, make their hair color flatter, less attractive and less flattering. Although usually brighter ).

It doesn't even make a person stand out to be blond amymore, at least around here where everyone over the age of 12 is a (dyed ) blonde.

People say they want to look like they did as kids but not just t he hair color changes at pubetty, the coloring design too so they don't look right.
JMHO

[UP Lisa]

If only their face looked as good as their hair! LOL!

[StellaKatherine]

I have a hair colour that non of the hairdressers even could say what it is. They start with saying " definitely not blond " and continue with " hmmm.. not a brunette eather as such" :D And then I hear " maybe light brown from one, maybe medium brown from other..." . My hair sparckles in gold when in dirrect sunlight and that is why I take all the photos outside hehe But without sunlight it is very dark. Then the colour changes after washing and becomes lighter and then the longer I am not washing the darker it turns. My husband calls me brunette and it makes me go nuts. Not because I would not like a "true" brunette hair colour, but because I do not see it. I will never call myself a blond or blondette eather as I think my hair is too dark for those. But to be honest even I am confused as when I look at the charts I can't seem to find my colour, or I just don't recognise it.

[Auburngirl]

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uRfzPKPyPg

[Nedertane]

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uRfzPKPyPg

Wow. I definitely learned more about hair dye than I ever thought I might haha. I'm honestly not sure how this helps me though. I mean, I guess I could compare some of my own hair to swatches like these, but uh... I don't own swatches like these. Could you please tell me what I should maybe have paid more attention to in this video?

[Kendrix]

Is there a 'dull oily mop' option? My hair is right between these shades. A very flat color. So even when it's clean, it looks oily. Lol

[Dona]

I consider my hair blonde. Anything darker I consider dark blonde and if it gets even darker I'll quickly consider it light brown. Hope that makes sense. A lot of people who consider themselves dark blonde I consider light brown. They'll tell me that we're both blonde, but to me they have a very different hair colour when compared to my own colour. But it's just a way of referencing, doesn't change the colour!

[JellyBene]

Technically speaking, levels 7-10 are considered blonde. Level 5 is considered medium, below 5 is considered dark. BUT with a level 7 it can sometimes be deceiving. Here is a level 7 gold, clearly blonde, right?: http://www.clairolpro.com/Content/Articles/reflective_gold_model_after.png
but this is a level 7 ash, which now looks suspiciously light brown: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fe/fd/57/fefd57b66010d5acea3ea7b011e175b9.jpg
Tones can play a large role in how we view the lightness or darkness of hair. Warmer colors tend to appear lighter, cooler colors darker.

[Stray_mind]

I consider someone blonde when they have some shade of yellow/gold in their hair.

[HintOfMint]

I'm a little weird in that I can tell from someone's coloring that they were blonde as a child, so even when they're older and their hair is darker, I will still consider them to be blonde. They also tend to be people who get noticeable highlights in the summer.

If I mention that they're blonde, they always seem surprised, but it just makes intuitive sense to me. Like, they may not be bright blonde now, but they have a particular coloring. If that makes any sense.

[gwenalyn]

My SO has level 7 hair, and we agree to disagree :) He hates being called blonde, but I think it's blonde (esp. with summer highlights). Oddly, his school pictures show that he was a very dark brunette as a kid, so he's one of the weird ones whose hair lightened with age.

[Shibe]

When they have shades of yellow/gold in their hair.

[leilani]

Technically speaking, levels 7-10 are considered blonde. Level 5 is considered medium, below 5 is considered dark. BUT with a level 7 it can sometimes be deceiving. Here is a level 7 gold, clearly blonde, right?: http://www.clairolpro.com/Content/Articles/reflective_gold_model_after.png
but this is a level 7 ash, which now looks suspiciously light brown: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fe/fd/57/fefd57b66010d5acea3ea7b011e175b9.jpg
Tones can play a large role in how we view the lightness or darkness of hair. Warmer colors tend to appear lighter, cooler colors darker.

What is level 6 then? Not blonde but not medium. Hmmmm. No man's land I guess.

[Begemot]

^ I think level 6 is considered light brown.

I read that darker hair colors tend to reflect light better compared to the blonde ones. Although I guess it also depends on the texture of hair.
Still, maybe this could be one indicator to look for and consider when deciding if one is brunette (naturally shiny) or blonde :confused: That is when judging your own hair since with other people you wouldn't know if they have colored their hair or maybe used hair products to enhance shine etc.
Well, this was just a thought, not a proven theory or anything. Just wondering if there could be any truth to this but now it seems that some say light hair reflects light best. Comparing hair shine sounds a little difficult too... And of course I have seen some beautifully shiny blonde hair out there in the wild so :hmm:

[Nedertane]

Okay, so, the resurrection of my own thread has brought me more questions than answers. So, I'm just gonna post some hair pics so I can get some input for my own self.

Length:
http://i.imgur.com/PCH3rKB.jpg

Length (braid):
http://i.imgur.com/eYcDqU9.jpg

Nape:
http://i.imgur.com/1Fy47hf.jpg

Roots:
http://i.imgur.com/NLl3S8X.jpg


I know these pics might look borderline red/strawberry, but the fact is that my hair is VERY warm. Also, I was trying to balance out how ashy the pics ended up looking on my computer screen.

ETA: Also, the drawing I have for my av is a pretty good measure of what my hair color looks like in real life.

[Five of Five]

Your hair looks to be a very pretty dark blonde to me, Nedertane!

It can get really confusing when your hair has different colours in the canopy and underlayer, and under different lighting, so I'm just going by the overall impression I get from your hair :flowers:

[Yarrow]

Dark (reddish) blonde would be my impression too.

[Shibe]

Im definitely getting more red than golden out of your hair, myself.

[Nedertane]

Im definitely getting more red than golden out of your hair, myself.

Like I said, I really amped up the saturation on these because they looked really ashy on my computer, and my hair is far from ash. The self portrait that I use for my av is pretty accurate to real life, if you prefer to use that as a reference. If necessary, I can take pics in natural lighting.

[UP Lisa]

My SO has level 7 hair, and we agree to disagree :) He hates being called blonde, but I think it's blonde (esp. with summer highlights). Oddly, his school pictures show that he was a very dark brunette as a kid, so he's one of the weird ones whose hair lightened with age.


I'm level 7, and my hair is more blonde than anything else.

[emmita]

Not a blonde but I've been under the impression that it is the highlights that determines which category that one falls into.

How to determine if you are a blonde or a brunette:
Goldish highlights in the sun = Blonde
Reddish highlights in the sun = Brunette.

Can't tell? You are a bronde, wear your hair with pride. :)

My exact opinion!!

[Wosie]

My boyfriend has a very high threshold for hair to be considered blonde, it's rather funny to show him pictures and ask "what would you call this hair colour?". He also doesn't seem to understand the term "dark blonde", it doesn't exist to him, he calls it "light brown". He just uses fewer words to describe colours, same when he sees "pink" and I "magenta". %D

Personally I think it's quite hard to see a difference between dark blonde, blonette and light brown. They can all be the same thing in different people's eyes. Normally, for me to think of hair as blonde, it has to look quite light in the sun.

[Nedertane]

Alright, well, time for me to dump some more, hopefully less red-looking pics

Nape (http://i.imgur.com/zDWqlxn.jpg)
Roots (http://i.imgur.com/4o2SII5.jpg)
Temples (http://i.imgur.com/el9Dvnj.jpg)
Length (http://i.imgur.com/I6abo7P.jpg)

[Larki]

Alright, well, time for me to dump some more, hopefully less red-looking pics

Nape (http://i.imgur.com/zDWqlxn.jpg)
Roots (http://i.imgur.com/4o2SII5.jpg)
Temples (http://i.imgur.com/el9Dvnj.jpg)
Length (http://i.imgur.com/I6abo7P.jpg)

Nedertane, I'd still definitely call that strawberry blonde. It's stunning!

[Dona]

Looks strawberry blonde to me. And a gorgeous colour.

[HappyHair87]

I wish I could post a pic of my hair from my phone on here :(

My hair goes from dark brown to blonde tips in the summer. I even have a friend that I went to school with...she considers my hair to be blonde and "black" Although none of my hair is black...it all starts out brunette and then goes off into a reddish/blondish natural ombre. I have a pic of one of my curls that naturally turn blonde in the summer.

Does that make me blonde?

[Nedertane]

I wish I could post a pic of my hair from my phone on here :(

My hair goes from dark brown to blonde tips in the summer. I even have a friend that I went to school with...she considers my hair to be blonde and "black" Although none of my hair is black...it all starts out brunette and then goes off into a reddish/blondish natural ombre. I have a pic of one of my curls that naturally turn blonde in the summer.

Does that make me blonde?

Well - maybe? A couple people have commented here that blonde hair "lifts" (like with bleach or sun exposure) to yellow, or golden shades, as opposed to the red shades that brown and black hair "lifts" to. Is your hair particularly ashy? Sometimes the lighter levels of hair color can look a good bit darker when they have ash tones.

Also, as for putting a cell phone pic on here, what I usually do is email it to myself, and then upload the file to somewhere like imgur. I could probably even just upload it FROM my phone, but I like to shrink pics down on my computer first, personally. Hope that helps!

[mcgg417]

I come from a region where blond has a very wide definition. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/38/cc/ab/38ccab4c4baa57394f19b4c391d61783.jpg this woman is a dark blonde. http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0143/4652/products/8_67569f80-9d1d-4711-b6e9-56a141545ef5_1024x1024.jpg?v=1407534345 dark reddish blonde. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b0/c6/43/b0c643ed5acdf8297212e5eecb6e8694.jpg "darkest blonde" for me :D

[mcgg417]

Alright, well, time for me to dump some more, hopefully less red-looking pics

Nape (http://i.imgur.com/zDWqlxn.jpg)
Roots (http://i.imgur.com/4o2SII5.jpg)
Temples (http://i.imgur.com/el9Dvnj.jpg)
Length (http://i.imgur.com/I6abo7P.jpg)

A medium to light strawberry blonde and a beautiful color at that!

[mcgg417]

Technically speaking, levels 7-10 are considered blonde. Level 5 is considered medium, below 5 is considered dark. BUT with a level 7 it can sometimes be deceiving. Here is a level 7 gold, clearly blonde, right?: http://www.clairolpro.com/Content/Articles/reflective_gold_model_after.png
but this is a level 7 ash, which now looks suspiciously light brown: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fe/fd/57/fefd57b66010d5acea3ea7b011e175b9.jpg
Tones can play a large role in how we view the lightness or darkness of hair. Warmer colors tend to appear lighter, cooler colors darker.

Just as an example. The level 7 ash does not look light brown at all to me. It just looks like a grey-toned blonde. We all see colors differently.

[mcgg417]

for reference i consider myself to have light brown hair, but i am not always sure. https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t34.0-12/12047765_10153573988125365_313812930_n.jpg?oh=e8bd 9661d34638cb3d83aaaca6621821&oe=560DEC8F

[lapushka]

for reference i consider myself to have light brown hair, but i am not always sure.

I'd say that's about medium (auburn) brown.

[mcgg417]

I'd say that's about medium (auburn) brown.

It appears that way, but my hair is extremely deceptive. I was born with platinum blonde hair and it has gradually darkened ever since and I am now 21.

http://s1039.photobucket.com/user/Michael_Galquinto/media/20408_10153313963295365_8601049954545757360_n_zpsa 0tens2h.jpg.html

or

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t34.0-12/12047450_10153574291705365_1557879007_n.jpg?oh=773 74e8bfde19313f67e66d5c7e71c5f&oe=560DE51B

or https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t34.0-12/12042060_10153574292145365_1190897724_n.jpg?oh=45c 0588ab9d5cac5690ca20ba0807b31&oe=560F1924 Where I live dark hair is almost ubiquitous, therefore I am sometimes considered to be a dark blonde, which I disagree with. But gah, it's very confusing especially when someone in this area asks you to describe yourself and you get a "no you're blonde" " no you're redhead" or "no you're brown" almost as if they have taken offense xD.

[Groovy Granny]

I was surprised to see how dark blonde can be going by the charts.
I always considered blonde to be lighter with golden highlights.
So I trip over my own tongue trying to describe how dark I got (from very light blonde as a baby) and what I am now with my silver blended in lol

[Sparklylady82]

Okay, so, the resurrection of my own thread has brought me more questions than answers. So, I'm just gonna post some hair pics so I can get some input for my own self.

Length:
http://i.imgur.com/PCH3rKB.jpg

Length (braid):
http://i.imgur.com/eYcDqU9.jpg

Nape:
http://i.imgur.com/1Fy47hf.jpg

Roots:
http://i.imgur.com/NLl3S8X.jpg


I know these pics might look borderline red/strawberry, but the fact is that my hair is VERY warm. Also, I was trying to balance out how ashy the pics ended up looking on my computer screen.

ETA: Also, the drawing I have for my av is a pretty good measure of what my hair color looks like in real life.

Looks blonde to me!

[Stray_mind]

When they have shades of yellow/gold in their hair.
This. That's when i consider hair blonde too.