Upload a photo for an estimate of your hair color: its level from 1 to 10, warm or cool tone, signs of dye and gray, and a note for your colorist. Then try a new shade on the same photo.
No photo handy? Try an example
Your reading will include
Your shade and level
A salon name for your color and where it sits on the 1–10 scale.
Warm, cool or neutral
The tone in your color — it decides which new shades look natural.
Natural, dyed or gray
Highlights, balayage, grown-out roots and how much gray.
What to try next
Shades within reach, how many levels each one is, and a try-on.
Free with an account — 20 readings a day. Your photo is used only for this reading.
No photo handy? Try a sample:
Pick a hair color first.
Only your hair color changes. Your photo is used for this edit and never shown publicly.
Free with an account, 20 readings a day · A photo-based estimate · Try-ons use credits
Worked examples
Each reading estimates the level, tone, natural or dyed color and gray, with a note for your colorist and the closest catalogue shades. Select a shade to try it on the photo.
Closest shade in our catalog: Dark brown
Level
Level 3 · Dark brown
Show your colorist
“My hair is a natural level 3 dark brown with warm glints. I'd like to go one or two levels lighter and keep it warm, without any orange.”
Shades to try next
These worked examples were written for the example photos and don't use your daily readings. A reading of your own photo is an AI estimate, not a lab measurement.
Depth
Colorists grade depth from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde). Your reading gives one number, which tells you how far any new shade is from where you start.
Most natural hair sits between level 2 and 6. Each level lighter usually means more lightening — and more care afterwards.
Tone
Warm, neutral and cool tones can appear at similar depths. Compare the color reflected through the strands as well as the overall darkness.
Natural or dyed
The reading looks for signs of how the color was made: one even shade, lighter pieces from mid-length, or a darker band at the roots. It describes what it can see, not your hair's history.
Photo conditions
Light and water change how hair looks in a photo, so they change the reading too. The same model in three conditions shows why a daylight photo of dry hair gives the most useful estimate.
Three steps, then try a new shade on the same photo.
A selfie in daylight with your hair down works best — or start with an example.
See your level from 1 to 10, warm or cool, natural or dyed, and a note for your colorist.
Pick a suggested shade and see it on the same photo — no second upload.
Find shades that suit you, compare new colors or mix a custom one.
Answers to what people ask before they book a color appointment.
Upload a clear photo of your hair above, taken in daylight. You get a descriptive name for your color, its level from 1 to 10, whether it reads warm, cool or neutral, whether it looks natural or dyed, how much gray shows, and a note you can show your colorist.
Colorists grade depth from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde): 2–3 are dark browns, 4–5 medium to light browns, 6–7 dark and medium blondes, and 8–10 light to platinum blondes. Your level tells you how far a new shade is — each level lighter usually takes more lightening.
Lighting is usually why. Warm indoor bulbs make brown look redder, shade makes it darker, and filters shift it again. Use a photo in soft daylight with no filter — and if two photos disagree, trust the one taken near a window.
It often can. It looks for signs like a single very even shade, a darker band at the roots, or lighter pieces that start mid-length, and names what it sees — all-over color, highlights, balayage, ombré or grown-out roots. Very natural-looking color can pass as natural, so tell your colorist what you've had done.
Look at the shine in daylight: gold, copper or red means warm; ash, beige or a hint of blue-violet means cool; neither means neutral. The reading gives you the tone directly, and the suggested next shades are chosen to suit it.
It estimates how much gray there is — a few strands, some, mostly or all — and where it shows most, such as the temples or the part. For mostly gray hair it skips the level number, since there's no single depth to measure.
After the reading, tap a suggested shade or “Try a new color on this photo”. Step 2 opens with your photo already loaded, so you only pick a shade and generate. Each suggestion shows how many levels lighter it is and roughly how many appointments that takes.
With a free account you can read up to 20 photos a day, and the examples work without one. Trying a new color on your photo uses credits, and new accounts get free credits to start.
Hair dye is a chemical process, and the right formula depends on your hair's history and condition, which a photo can't show. Instead you get your level, tone and a plain-language note to take to a colorist — the starting point they need.
The photo is resized in your browser and sent to the AI model that reads the color. If you then try a new color on it, that edit follows the hair color changer's terms.
Still have a question? Email us at support@haircolorchangeai.com.
Upload a photo for your level, tone and a colorist note, free with an account. Trying a new shade uses credits.