Hair Color Wheel

Interactive tool

Interactive hair colour wheel

Select a tone on the hair colour wheel to see the shade that cancels it, then choose a natural level to see the warmth lightening will expose. Everything runs in your browser.

Pick a tone

Use Tab to reach the wheel, arrow keys to move between tones, and Enter or Space to select.

Pick a tone

Select any segment. Opposite tones sit directly across the wheel from each other, and when they meet in your hair they cancel towards neutral.

Underlying pigment by hair level

Choose your natural or current level. Lightening removes darker pigment first and leaves warm pigment behind, so each level reveals a typical tone. The wheel then highlights the tone that neutralises it.

Select a level from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde).

How to read the colour wheel result

  • Opposites cancel warmth without removing depth. Violet on yellow makes a cooler, softer blonde, but it cannot turn level 7 orange into level 10 platinum. To go lighter you have to lift.
  • Strength matters. A little opposite tone neutralises. Too much overshoots and leaves its own cast, such as lilac, blue or khaki.
  • The levels chart is a guide. Real hair varies: two people at level 6 can lift to slightly different warmth, and previous dye changes the outcome a great deal. A strand test shows what your hair will do.

Where to go next

For the theory behind the wheel, read undertones and neutralising. To fix a colour that has already turned warm, go to fixing brassiness or toning and toners.

Colour wheel tool questions

Why does the wheel have 12 tones?

It shows the three primaries, three secondaries and six in-between tones. Opposites sit six steps apart, directly across the wheel.

What colour cancels red in hair?

Green. Green-based, matte or green-ash products neutralise visible red.

Does the level selector work on dyed hair?

Only roughly. The pigment stages describe natural, uncoloured hair, and previously dyed hair can lift unevenly or stay warmer. A strand test is the reliable check.

Safety first. Do an allergy patch test 48 hours before every permanent or demi-permanent colour, even a brand you have used before, and a strand test to check the result. Many oxidative dyes contain PPD (para-phenylenediamine) or related chemicals that can cause serious allergic reactions. This site gives general information, not medical advice: if you react, rinse the product off and get medical help.