Hairpiece colours: the colour chart
Hairpiece colours are numbers, not names, and the same number can look different from one brand to the next. This chart explains the codes South African stores list, from 1 (black) to 613 (platinum blonde), plus T, P and slash blends. Each tile shows the code in Londie London, Darling and Expression, using each store's own pack photo. Checked 6 Oct 2026.
Blacks
2 codes
Browns
3 codes
Blondes
4 codes
Reds and burgundy
6 codes
Ombre and two-tone
14 codes
Colours and prices by brand
Hairpiece colours, explained for South African shoppers
Why the same code looks different
A hairpiece colour code is shorthand that the maker or seller chooses, not a standard that anyone polices. One styling guide says it plainly: two brands can label the same number slightly differently, the same number can vary between production batches, and a slash can mean a different mix from one brand to the next. Another chart calls the numbers universal. Both are partly right. The scale from dark to light is shared, but the exact shade is not.
You can see it in South African listings. FroHub's guide to X-pression colours calls 33 Dark Auburn Chestnut. PEP, in its own listing for Darling Yaki Braids, calls 33 Light brown. Same number, two very different descriptions. That is why every tile above carries a store's own pack photo as well as a name.
How to read a code
Start with the number. Low numbers are dark: 1 and 1B are black, and 2 and 4 are browns. The middle numbers are the fashion browns and reds: 27 for honey blonde, 30 and 33 for auburns, 350 for copper and 99J for burgundy. 613 is the lightest common blonde. The cards above give each one with the sources that name it.
Then read what comes in front of the number or between numbers. A slash joins shades. A T means tipped, a P means piano (alternating bands), and some makers use M for a mix. If a pack carries a name instead of a number, such as Taupe, Lavender or Ice Pearl on Londie London, treat it as the seller's own name.
Choosing between close shades
Most mix-ups happen between neighbours. One styling guide describes 27 as a warm honey blonde, brighter than 30 but softer and more golden than platinum. It describes 30 as a warm reddish-brown or auburn, and 33 as deeper and more reddish than 30. If you are between two, look at the store's pack photos side by side, which is what the tiles above are for, and ask your braider which one they would blend.
For a natural look on dark hair, 1B and 2 sit closest to natural black and dark brown. 30, 33 and 350 are the warm red-brown shades, 35 and 39 sit in the same family, and 99J is the burgundy.
Which codes South African stores list
We read the listings of 27 South African stores on 6 Oct 2026. Counting the stores with braiding hair or hairpiece listings in our scrape, and leaving out three wig specialists, code 1 appears at 8 stores, 2 and 4 at 7 each, and 27, 30, 33, 39 and 350 at 6 each. 99J and 613 appear at 4 stores and 144 at 3. Every code in the tiles above is one we found in a South African store listing on that day. Not every code is in stock at every store.
Londie London had the most distinct colour labels in our scrape (41), then Darling (37) and Expression (30), which is why those three brands are on the tiles. Magic's Freedom had 18. The brand pages list each brand's codes and what a pack cost.
Blondes, taupe and coloured hair pieces
Blondes come in several numbers: 27 (honey), 144 (golden), 613 (platinum), and named shades such as Light Blonde on Expression and Desert Blonde on Londie London. Taupe is sold by name rather than number. Londie London and Expression list it at Cosmetic Connection and Universal Dealers, and Be Beautiful Hair lists a Taupe too. Wikipedia describes taupe as a dark gray-brown colour, so expect a cool brown rather than a blonde.
Fashion colours are also sold by name. Cosmetic Connection lists One Million Silky Shine in Chic Red, Copper, Orange, Blue, Horizon, Purple and White, and its Expression Ultra Braid in Purple, Rosewood and Yellow Grey. A few brands add numbers we could not match to any chart we opened, such as 340 and 100J on Expression, so match those on the pack photo.
Avoiding a mismatch
Buy every pack for one head in the same order and from the same listing, because the same number can vary between batches. Read the code on the pack, not only the colour name on the shelf. If two codes could pass, such as 27 and 30 or 33 and 35, compare the store's pack photos in good light and ask the seller about returns before you pay. We have not checked any store's returns policy.
The photos on this page are each store's own product photos. We have not photographed, weighed or tested any pack, so treat them as a guide to the shade and nothing more.
Colour codes: questions
What does hairpiece colour 33 mean?
Colour 33 is a deep reddish brown. FroHub's X-pression guide calls it Dark Auburn Chestnut, a styling guide calls it deeper and more reddish than 30, and PEP labels it Light brown on Darling Yaki Braids. Check the pack photo, because the name changes by seller.
Is 1 or 1B better for natural black hair?
1B is the softer black, and one styling guide says it is among the most popular braiding shades because it looks like soft natural black. 1 is jet black, the darker of the two. FroHub names them Off Black and Jet Black. Some brands, such as Magic's Freedom at Cosmetic Connection, sell 1B only.
What is the difference between 27, 30 and 613?
27 is a warm honey or strawberry blonde, 30 is a light auburn, and 613 is a platinum or bleach blonde, the lightest of the three. 27 is brighter than 30 but softer and more golden than 613.
What does the T in T1B/30 mean?
T means tipped: the hair is dark at the root and lighter at the tips, so T1B/30 is off black fading to light auburn. Do not confuse it with a slash code like 1/30, which a seller may sell as an ombre or as a blend. Ask which.
What is a P code like P27/613?
P stands for piano, where two shades alternate in bands rather than fading. P27/613 is honey blonde and platinum blonde in stripes. Londie London sells P27/613 at Cosmetic Connection and Universal Dealers. Other makers use other letters, so read the pack.
Is colour 350 the same in every brand?
Not necessarily. FroHub lists 350 as Copper, and another chart calls it red-brown or medium auburn. Londie London, Darling and Expression all list 350 in South African stores, so compare their pack photos on the tiles above before you buy several packs.
Which hairpiece colours do South African stores list most?
On 6 Oct 2026 the codes listed by the most stores were 1 (8 stores), then 2 and 4 (7 each), then 27, 30, 33, 39 and 350 (6 each). Burgundy 99J and platinum 613 appeared at 4 stores. These counts only cover the 27 stores we checked.