Tone vs Depth

by Erick Carter

It can be very confusing to understand the difference between tone and depth concerning hair color.

Depth is how light or darker a color can be and is measured in numbers. On average it goes from 1 to 10; however some color brands go from 1-12.

The lower the number the darker the color, 1 would be black. In contrast the higher the number the lighter the color, 10 or 12 would be lightest blonde.

Please note if some color brands have a 12 that does not mean that 12 will be lighter than 10, they will just have an extremely slight variation in numbers 10 and 11.

Tone is the color you see when light is either reflected or absorbed. Ash colors absorb light while warm tones reflect light.

Absorbing the light can make a depth of a color seem darker than its counter part of a warmer tone. These tones can also have variations, example some reds can have orange tones making it more of a copper. Whereas ash tones can have grayer making them seem lighter or blue as if looking at the blue tones in a black crow.

When we combined the two tones we can create a beige tone. It is an ash tone with gold which is warm tone.

Hopefully that will help you understand tone and depth more when having a consult with your stylist.

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Erickcre8u@gmail.com

Erick Carter, Salon Zenergy

239-777-2380