Lakme Color Chart: Tonality and Level Guide

The Lakme color chart looks overwhelming at first glance, but the numbering system is actually one of the cleanest in the industry once you break it down. If you can read the number on the tube, you can predict the result on the head. Here is the full decode for Collage, Chroma, and the rest of the Lakme color family.

How Lakme Numbers Work

Every Lakme color code follows the same format: a level number, a period, and one or two tonality digits. The level number is always the first digit. The tonality digits after the period tell you the reflective tone and secondary tone.

Example: 7.34 reads as level 7, primary tone gold (3), secondary tone copper (4).

The Level Scale (1 to 10)

• 1: Black
• 2: Very dark brown
• 3: Dark brown
• 4: Medium brown
• 5: Light brown
• 6: Dark blonde
• 7: Medium blonde
• 8: Light blonde
• 9: Very light blonde
• 10: Palest blonde

Lakme also has a 1000 series for high-lift blondes that reads in the 11 to 12 range on the level scale.

The Tonality Scale

• 0: Natural
• 1: Ash (blue-violet base)
• 2: Iris (violet base)
• 3: Gold (yellow-gold base)
• 4: Copper (orange base)
• 5: Mahogany (red-violet base)
• 6: Red (true red base)
• 7: Matte (green base)
• 8: Chocolate (warm brown base)

Reading Full Codes

• 6.0: Level 6 dark blonde, natural
• 6.00: Level 6 intense natural (more pigment for gray coverage)
• 6.1: Level 6 ash blonde
• 6.13: Level 6 ash gold blonde (primary ash, secondary gold)
• 7.34: Level 7 gold copper blonde
• 5.5: Level 5 mahogany brown
• 9.32: Level 9 gold iris blonde (beige)

Natural Series vs. Intense Natural

The .0 series (like 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) is your standard natural. The .00 series (like 5.00, 6.00, 7.00) is the intense natural, formulated with extra pigment for resistant gray. For a client with more than 50 percent gray, default to the .00 over the .0.

Mixing for Gray Coverage

The rule of thumb on stubborn gray: add natural to your target shade. For a 50/50 gray client who wants a level 6 copper, formulate 30 ml of 6.44 plus 30 ml of 6.0, mixed 1:1.5 with 20 volume. The natural grabs the resistant gray, the copper delivers the tone.

• Up to 30 percent gray: Target shade straight
• 30 to 50 percent gray: 3 parts target, 1 part natural
• 50 to 75 percent gray: Equal parts target and natural
• 75 to 100 percent gray: Use intense natural (.00) or blend 1:1 with natural

Underlying Pigment by Level

The deeper you lift into a level, the warmer the underlying pigment. If you do not neutralize it correctly, you get brass.

• Level 4 to 5: Red
• Level 6: Red-orange
• Level 7: Orange
• Level 8: Yellow-orange
• Level 9: Yellow
• Level 10: Pale yellow

Use the color wheel to cancel. Green cancels red, blue cancels orange, violet cancels yellow. Lakme ash (.1), matte (.7), and iris (.2) tonalities handle this cancellation directly.

Chroma vs. Collage Numbering

Both lines use the same numbering system, which means a Chroma 7.34 deposits the same tone as a Collage 7.34, just without the lift and with a softer fadeout. You can cross-reference them during formulation to swap between demi and permanent as needed for the same target shade.

Double-Digit Tonality Reading

Two digits after the period give you a primary and a secondary reflect. The first digit is always the dominant tone, and the second is the accent. A 7.34 reads mostly gold with a copper accent. A 7.43 is the reverse: mostly copper with a gold accent. That single-digit swap changes the whole character of the shade. When a client brings in a reference photo and it pulls slightly warmer or slightly softer than the standard, flipping the secondary digit is often the formulation fix.

When to Reach for Intensifiers

Lakme offers dedicated tonal intensifiers for extra punch: the red intensifier, the copper intensifier, the ash intensifier, and the gold intensifier. Use them in 5 to 10 ml amounts added to a standard formula when you need to push a tone harder without jumping up a tonality number. A 7.43 boosted with 5 ml of copper intensifier is richer than a 7.44 and holds more true.

Shop Lakme at Hair Color USA

Hair Color USA stocks the complete Collage and Chroma shade libraries plus printed color charts, developers, i-Plex, and Teknia. Set up your color shelf from a single supplier in Jackson, Michigan. Shop all Lakme products and formulate with confidence.

Print this level and tonality guide, tape it inside your color cabinet, and reference it during every consultation. The more fluent you get in the numbering, the faster your formulation gets.