Glossary
Brunette
Definition
Hair Colour Shades
Brunette is the broad family of brown hair colours, ranging from light brown through deep espresso shades.
Explanation
It describes a colour family rather than one formula, level, or undertone. Brunette hair can be warm, cool, or neutral and can look solid or dimensional. Natural and coloured brown hair may need different salon plans, especially when the goal involves covering grey, changing artificial pigment, or adding highlights without losing depth.
Depth and undertone
Depth describes how light or dark the brown appears. Undertone describes the visible warmth or coolness, such as golden, copper, red, neutral, ash, or violet-brown. Two shades at a similar depth can look very different because of undertone and lighting.
Words such as chocolate, chestnut, mocha, mushroom, and espresso are descriptive salon language, not universal formulas. Use photos in natural light and discuss what you do not want as well as what you do.
How a brunette result may be created
A single-process colour can create a more even brown result. A gloss may refresh tone and shine. Highlights, lowlights, or balayage can add dimension, while grey blending or coverage requires a plan based on the desired opacity and regrowth.
Previously darkened hair may not become lighter from another colour application alone. The colourist needs an accurate history before deciding whether colour removal, lightening, or a staged correction is appropriate.
Maintenance
A permanent root colour creates visible regrowth, while dimensional or demi-permanent approaches can fade and grow out more softly. Warm and cool pigments may shift at different rates depending on porosity, washing, heat, sun, and water exposure.
Use the home care recommended for the actual formula. A tinted conditioner can alter the tone, so tell the colourist about any colour-depositing product used between appointments.
Frequently asked questions
Does brunette mean black hair?
Not usually. Brunette refers to brown shades, including very deep brown that can look nearly black in some light. Black is generally treated as a separate, darker colour category.