Ways to use this list
- Doll and figure painting: kids spin a colour before painting a peg doll, a clay figure or a model, then spin again for the clothes.
- Thinking about a change: spin through Fun colours and notice which ones make you smile, then try the idea with a wig or a clip-in strand first.
- Colour mixing lesson: mixing natural hair colours from paint is great practice, since auburn, ash blonde and salt and pepper each need a different blend.
- Fancy dress: spin a colour for a wig or temporary hair chalk, then build the rest of the costume around it.
- Character sheets: spin a hair colour and a hairstyle for every member of a story's cast, so nobody looks like anyone else.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (38 entries)
- Jet black
- Soft black
- Dark brown
- Chestnut brown
- Light brown
- Auburn
- Copper
- Ginger
- Strawberry blonde
- Dark blonde
- Honey blonde
- Golden blonde
- Ash blonde
- Platinum blonde
- Grey
- Silver
- White
- Salt and pepper
- Pastel pink
- Hot pink
- Rose gold
- Peach
- Cherry red
- Burgundy
- Neon orange
- Sunshine yellow
- Mint green
- Emerald green
- Teal
- Turquoise
- Baby blue
- Electric blue
- Denim blue
- Blue-black
- Lavender
- Lilac grey
- Purple
- Rainbow
Questions people ask
What is the rarest natural hair color?
Red is usually named the rarest, found in roughly 1–2% of people worldwide, though it is far more common in Scotland and Ireland. Grey and white come with age rather than being a starting colour.
What is the difference between auburn, copper and ginger?
Auburn is a reddish brown, deeper and darker. Copper is a bright, metallic orange-red, and ginger is the everyday name for orange-red hair. Strawberry blonde sits between them: a blonde with a pink-red glow.
What is the difference between ombré and balayage?
Ombré fades from one shade to another, usually darker at the roots and lighter at the ends. Balayage is softer: the lighter colour is painted on by hand in sweeping streaks, so it grows out gently. Both are under Dye styles.
Is there an eye color generator to go with it?
Yes: the random eye color generator spins eye colours to match. Use the two together to design faces for drawings, dolls or stories.
What decides natural hair color?
Two pigments mixed in each hair. Eumelanin gives brown and black, and pheomelanin gives red and yellow. Plenty of eumelanin makes dark hair, very little makes blonde, and red hair has mostly pheomelanin. The mix is inherited, which is why shades run in families.
Why does hair turn gray or white?
Pigment cells at the root of each hair slowly make less colour as people get older. New hairs then grow in clear, which looks white, and a mix of white and dark hairs reads as grey or salt and pepper from a distance.