The Definitive Hair Color Glossary

Whether you color your hair at home, are a dye-hard salon goer, or are ready for your next cut but don’t know what to ask for beyond “shorter” or “layers”...we’ve got you covered. Behold, our comprehensive dictionary for common (and not so common) hair color, haircut, and hairstyling terms. It’s an easy cheat sheet to help demystify the language behind hair color—so you’ll know exactly what “cool tones” are, once and for all. Without further ado, let’s crack open the dictionary.

 

Activator: Also known as developer, this is an oxidizing agent added to hair color to “activate” the chemical process that deposits artificial pigment into the hair shaft. 

 

Ammonia: Chemical formulated in most hair colors (not ours!) to open up the hair cuticle, allowing color to penetrate the cortex of the hair. Unfortunately, ammonia may also damage hair, and due to its odor, it is necessary to use in a well-ventilated area.

 

Ashy: Ash or ashy refers to the tone of hair color that is cool-based with blue, violet or neutral pigments. Ashy tones do not contain any warm, red or golden hues.

 

Babylights: Fine, delicate highlights that mimic the subtle, dimensional highlights seen on childrens’ hair.

 

Balayage: A French word that literally means “sweep,” used to refer to a free-form highlighting technique that involves painting a lightener on to hair strands for soft, natural-looking highlights.

 

Base color: Single process hair color—either permanent or demi-permanent—that is applied all over hair as the dominant color, or in-between highlighted hair.

 

Bleach: Strong lightening agent used to lighten or remove the color molecules inside the hair.

 

Brassy: Refers to unwanted warm, typically orange and red tones, usually in lightened or colored hair. (Want to get rid of brassy tones? Check these hair masks out.)

 

Bob: The classic short and choppy haircut, often accompanied by a fringe—think Anna Wintour’s signature look—is cut straight around the head at jaw-level.

 

Clarifying treatment: A degunking treatment to remove build-up from styling products, artificial color, and chemicals like salt and chlorine, to return shine and natural volume to your hair.

 

Color remover: Product that strips artificial color from hair (as opposed to bleach, which is used to remove both artificial and natural color from hair).

 

Contributing pigment: Also known as the undertone, this is the pigment with varying degrees of warmth that is exposed during a permanent color or lightening process. 

 

Cool: Cool-toned shades, also known as smoky tones, are ash and violet based in lighter shades of hair color, garnet or mahogany tones in red shades, and deep chocolate in brown shades.

 

Coverage: Refers to the amount of gray that can be covered by hair color. 

 

Demi-permanent color: Demi-permanent color mixes with a developer (peroxide), usually a lower volume than permanent color, to deposit color with little to no lightening power. See: Root Reboot®.

 

Developer: Also known as activator, this is an oxidizing agent added to hair color to “activate” the chemical process that deposits the hair color into the hair shaft. 

 

Deposits: Refers to hair color molecules entering the hair cuticle to create a change in color or tone.

 

Double process coloring: Coloring process typically used when lightening hair more that 2 levels. First the hair is lightened, usually with bleach, then pigment is added to create the desired shade.  

 

Dry cut: A precise haircut given to hair that hasn’t been washed yet.

 

Dusting: A method for removing split ends, in which only the slightest amount of hair is trimmed.

 

Extensions: Artificial hair pieces made of either real or synthetic hair. Can be attached in various ways for temporary or longer wear. Application techniques include the following: clip-ins, bonding and sealing via glue, micro rings and loops, netting, lace fronts, and tracking (sewn onto braids).

 

Filler: Used to even out the porosity of the hair by filling in the parts of the cuticle that are open, as with a protein filler. There are also color fillers that not only fill up the gaps in the cuticle but add color back into the hair as well.

 

Foil technique: Highlighting technique using foils to keep color/lightener separate from the rest of hair.

 

Full highlights: Highlights that involve the entire head, from the nape of the neck to the front of the head.

 

Glaze/Gloss: Often used interchangeably, both hair glazes and hair glosses add shine and adjust the tone of hair color, and can either be semi- or demi-permanent.

 

Highlights: Lightening sections of hair to add depth and dimension.

 

Level (or level system): A universal system used by colorists and hair color manufacturers to standardize hair color charts. Level refers to how light or dark a hair color is—the lower the number, the darker the hair. While tones are warm and cool, levels are dark and light. Your hair’s black and brown pigments determine level. Our Radiant Cream Color ranges from level 2 to level 10 on the hair color chart, with 2 indicating our deepest black and 10 our lightest blonde. Start by determining your natural level (and your current level, if your hair is colored). If you want to go lighter, there are limits to what home hair color can do. Our formula lifts 1-2 levels on natural hair. Making hair darker is more easily accomplished at home—though for healthier-looking hair, you’ll want to go darker gradually over time.

 

Lift: A term used to describe the lightening process. If you are attempting to “lift” hair,  you are usually trying to take it at least a level lighter, and sometimes removing unwanted color or tone.

 

Line of demarcation: A visible line that appears when hair grows out, separating colored hair from new growth.

 

Lob: A long bob, with ends that usually brush along the clavicles.

 

Lowlights: Depositing a darker color into separate strands of hair, creating the illusion of depth. 

 

Maximum lift: The amount of lightening possible in different hair coloring techniques and formulas. 

 

Mid-lengths: The middle section of hair, between the roots or outgrowth and the ends.

 

Neutral: Neutral shades are those that have a neutral undertone in their base, neither cool nor warm. Neutral shades are excellent for canceling unwanted undertones such as brassy reds and golds, plus providing more gray coverage.

 

New growth or regrowth: The uncolored new hair that grows in after the hair is colored.

 

Ombré: The transition of hair color from darker roots to lighter ends. Can be brown to blonde, dark brown to light brown, deep auburn to red/good, etc.

 

Overdirecting: Harnessing the volume-lifting powers of the hair flip, this blow-dry technique entails blow drying hair to one side, then flipping to the opposite side for extra height.

 

Oxidation: The chemical reaction that occurs when color and developer are mixed together and then exposed to oxygen.

 

Partial highlights: Highlights typically placed around the face and throughout the crown for a face-framing effect.

 

Patch test: Test usually given in the crux of the elbow or behind the ear to test for sensitivity or allergies.

 

Permanent hair color: Hair color mixed with a developer/activator that contains an oxidizing agent that changes the hair structure to deposit color. Can be used to lighten or darken or change the tone of the hair.

 

Pigment: Melanin protein bonds found in the cortex (the middle layer of the hair) that gives hair its color.

 

Point cut: A technique used to texturize hair that removes bulk from the ends, allowing the cut’s layers to blend together more seamlessly.

 

Permanent waves: That ‘80s phenomenon, the perm. Perms can give off a strong ammonia odor and damage fine hair.

 

Porosity: Refers to how well your hair is able to hold and retain moisture. It is affected by the condition of the cuticle, the outer layer of your hair, and determines how easily moisture and oils pass in and out of the hair shaft. Porosity is important to consider in coloring as it affects how much your hair will literally “soak up” the color. Learn more about how porosity affects coloring.

 

Razor cut: Layers and texture created using a razor.

 

Relaxer: A lye-based process by which hair is straightened chemically. Contains active ingredient sodium hydroxide. Lye-free processes do exist, though they contain other hair-damaging chemicals, potassium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide.

 

Resistant: Refers to hair that resists penetration of color, often in the case of being more difficult to achieve long-lasting gray coverage.

 

Roller set: A technique employing the use of a hood dryer, in which hair is put in rollers to help a bouncy, voluminous, wavy style last longer.

 

Roots: The new outgrowth of hair from the scalp, most noticeable when coloring hair or if coloring gray hair.

 

Semi-permanent color: Hair color that does not require a developer/activator and only partially penetrates the cuticle and is gradually washed out after each shampoo. See: Color Reviving Gloss.

 

Single process coloring: Refers to coloring that colors and or lightens hair in one step (and does not use bleach).

 

Sombré: A softer version of ombré hair, with an even more subtle gradation.

 

Split ends: When the ends of your hair become brittle, dry, and frayed, often as a result of exposure to heat or cold-weather damage. Time for a trim!

 

Sun-kissed: Highlights created by the sun, or subtle highlights intended to mimic those created by the sun.

 

Technique: Any form of hair color application, such as balayage, foil, or single process.

 

Temporary color: Non-permanent color that doesn’t penetrate the cuticle but sits in the outer layers of the hair strand, allowing it to be easily removed by shampoo.

 

Texturize: A hair cutting technique used to thin or add layers to hair, often used with styling products to further enhance texture.

 

Tint: A subtle, transparent hue that adds an extra layer of pigment on top of your base hair color.

 

Thermal reconditioning: A multi-step, chemical-laden straightening process. Hair is first shampooed, deep conditioned, and then processed with straightening chemicals. This is followed by a rinse, and sometimes another shampoo and deep conditioner. Hair is then passed through thermal irons at very high temperatures (over 300-degrees) in very small sections. Next a fixative chemical is applied to lock in straightness. There’s one more round of rinsing and conditioning. Finally, hair is blown out and passes once more through a flat iron.

 

Thin out: A texturizing, movement-enhancing technique to remove weight from very thick hair.

 

Tone: Refers to the “finish” of a hair color, indicated by the amount of warmth (orange/red) or coolness (blue/ash) of the hair. There are cool, neutral, and warm tones. Ever wonder what the numbers and letters on hair color boxes stand for? Tone is indicated by the letter, while level is indicated by the number. Fun fact: every natural hair color is some combination of black, brown, yellow, and red. The yellow and red pigments in your hair are responsible for underlying tone. Warm tones neutralize cool tones and vice versa. If you’re coloring your hair lighter, warm tones become naturally exposed, so we recommend using a cool tone for more neutral results. Otherwise, let your complexion be your guide. Warm tones can help add color, while cool tones will reduce the look of redness. Find the best hair color for your skin tone.  

 

Toner: Product applied to colored or lightened hair to neutralize unwanted tones, or refresh and enhance existing color.

 

Touch up: The application of hair color to root regrowth, also called a root touch up.

 

Undercut: Similar to a bowl cut, hair is clipped very close or shaved underneath with a layer hanging over it.

 

Virgin Hair: Hair that has never been color treated.

 

Warm: Warm shades have a honey or golden tone in lighter colors, with copper tones visible in red shades, and cinnamon and auburn tones in brown shades.

 

Got a hair color term you would add to our dictionary? Tell us in the comments and we’ll add it to our glossary!