Braiding hair is sold by number, not by name. On the standard scale, lower numbers are darker: 1 is jet black, 1B is natural off-black, 2 is dark brown, 4 is medium brown, 27 is honey blonde, 30 is auburn and 33 is dark auburn. Three common codes sit outside that scale entirely — 350 is copper, 613 is platinum blonde, and 99J is burgundy.
If you have ever stood in a beauty supply aisle holding two packs that both say “30” and look nothing alike, you already know the system is useful but imperfect. This chart explains what each number means, how to read blend codes, and where the numbering breaks down.
What do the numbers on braiding hair actually mean?
The number describes where a shade sits on a scale from darkest to lightest. It came out of the salon color world and carried over into extensions, wigs and braiding hair, which is why a stylist can say “bring me a 27” and be understood in any shop in the country.
Two things make the system harder than it looks. First, a handful of widely used codes were never part of the darkest-to-lightest scale at all — they describe a tone instead. Second, no standards body enforces the numbering, so each manufacturer dyes to its own interpretation.
Braiding hair color chart
| Code | Name | What it looks like | At Mayvenn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jet black | A flat, cool black with a slight blue cast. Darker than most people’s natural hair. | — |
| 1B | Natural black | Off-black. Soft, slightly warm, and the closest match to natural Black hair. The default for every uncolored pack. | All natural textures |
| 2 | Dark brown | Barely lighter than 1B. Reads as black indoors and brown in sunlight. | — |
| 4 | Medium brown | Warm chocolate brown. The most forgiving color on the chart and the usual base for a blended boho install. | Color 4 Medium Brown |
| 27 | Honey blonde | Warm golden blonde. The most requested colored shade in braiding hair, full stop. | Color 27 Honey Blonde |
| 30 | Auburn | Red-brown. Sits between 4 and 350 and is the least dramatic way into a red. | Color 30 Auburn |
| 33 | Dark auburn | A deeper, cooler red than 30. Closer to brick than to copper. | — |
| 350 | Copper | Bright ginger-orange. A statement color that photographs far more vividly than it looks in the pack. | Color 350 Copper |
| 613 | Platinum blonde | The lightest shade in common use. Nearly white in daylight. | Color 613 Blonde |
| 99J | Burgundy | Deep wine red. Cool-toned and more berry than fire. | Color 99J Burgundy |
Every colored pack in our human braiding hair collection is 100g of unwefted bulk hair, pre-colored rather than dyed by you.
What color is 30 braiding hair?
Color 30 is auburn — a warm red-brown. It is the middle ground between a brown and a true red: dark enough to read as a natural-looking color from across a room, warm enough to catch light at the ends of a braid. Stylists reach for 30 when a client asks for red but does not want copper.
It is also the most commonly mislabeled shade on the chart, because “auburn” is used loosely across the industry. If you are matching 30 to an existing install, compare packs in daylight rather than trusting the number.
What color is 2 in braiding hair?
Color 2 is dark brown. It is only one step lighter than 1B, which means it reads as black under indoor lighting and only shows its brown cast in direct sun. People choose 2 when they want a color that is not quite black without any visible lift.
Because the difference from 1B is so small, 2 is rarely worth ordering on its own. If you want a subtle change from natural black, color 4 is the shade that actually shows.
Which is darker, 1 or 1B?
1 is darker. Color 1 is jet black — a flat, slightly blue-toned black that is darker than almost anyone’s natural hair. 1B is natural black, which is a softer off-black with a warmer cast.
For a braid install that is meant to blend with your own hair rather than announce itself, 1B is the correct choice, and it is what all of our natural-texture bulk hair ships as.
Why do 350, 613 and 99J break the pattern?
Because they are not positions on the light-to-dark scale. They are tone descriptions that entered the numbering system separately and stuck.
- 350 describes copper — an orange-forward red. It is not “350 steps lighter” than anything.
- 613 is platinum blonde and functions as the top of the scale in practice, even though the number does not sit in sequence.
- 99J uses a letter to signal the tone: J for the cool, blue-based red that makes it wine rather than copper.
This is why you cannot rank these three against each other numerically. 350 is not lighter than 613, and 99J is not darker than 33 in any consistent way.
How do blend codes like 1B/27 and T27 work?
A slash means two colors are combined in the same pack. A T prefix means the color is ombré — dark at the root, transitioning to the named shade at the ends.
- 1B/27 — natural black mixed through with honey blonde. Reads as highlights.
- 4/27 — medium brown with honey blonde. The classic bronde blend.
- 27/30 — honey blonde and auburn together, which lands as a warm copper.
- T1B/30 — natural black root fading to auburn ends.
You do not have to buy a pre-blended pack to get this effect. Most stylists build it from solid colors instead, which gives control over the ratio. The standard boho blend is one pack of a light shade for every two of a darker base — commonly 4 with 27, or 1B with 30.
Why does the same number look different from brand to brand?
Nobody governs the chart. Two manufacturers can both call a shade 30 and dye to noticeably different results, and the gap widens on the warm colors, where a small change in the red base is very visible.
The gap is even wider between synthetic and human hair. Synthetic fiber takes pigment at the point of manufacture, so a synthetic 27 is uniform down every strand. Human hair takes dye the way hair does, with variation across the bundle — which is what makes a human-hair 27 look like a color someone had done rather than a color that was manufactured.
Two practical rules follow from that. Buy all your packs for one install at the same time, and buy them from the same source. And if you are mixing a colored pack with a natural one, order the natural hair from the same place too — our bulk braiding hair ships as 1B across every texture for exactly this reason.
Can you dye or lift braiding hair yourself?
It depends on what you started with. Our natural black bulk hair is unprocessed, so it lifts to about a 27 without falling apart. Our pre-colored packs have already been through a dye process, and we do not advise bleaching them further — the result is usually brassy and the hair loses the movement you paid for.
If you want a color lighter than 27, start with a pack that is already that color rather than trying to get there yourself.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular braiding hair color?
Color 27, honey blonde, is the most requested colored shade in braiding hair. 1B natural black outsells everything overall, but among colors, 27 leads by a wide margin, followed by 30 and 4.
What color is 1B braiding hair?
1B is natural black — an off-black with a slightly warm cast rather than the flat blue-black of color 1. It is the standard uncolored shade for braiding hair and the closest match to natural Black hair.
Is 27 or 30 lighter?
27 is lighter. Honey blonde (27) sits above auburn (30) on the scale. If you want a visible lift, choose 27; if you want warmth without brightness, choose 30.
What color is 99J?
99J is burgundy — a deep, cool-toned wine red. It is darker than 350 copper and reads as berry rather than orange. It shows clearly against natural black hair without needing a lift.
Do human hair and synthetic braiding hair use the same color codes?
They use the same codes, but not always the same result. A synthetic 27 is pigmented uniformly during manufacture; a human hair 27 is dyed and carries natural variation. Expect the human hair version to look softer and less flat.
Where to go next
If you know your color and now need to work out quantity, read how many packs of braiding hair you actually need. If you are planning a boho install specifically, human hair for boho braids covers texture and mixing. And for inspiration on how color reads once it is installed, see our gallery of color transformations on braids, wigs and natural hair.
Shop the full range in human braiding hair, or browse virgin hair bundles if you are matching a sew-in to your braids.
