Brown hair

"Brunette" redirects here. For other uses, seeBrunette (disambiguation).

For other uses of Brunet, seeBrunet.

A close-up view of brown hair

Woman with brown hair

Brown hair,also referred to asbrunette(when female) orbrunet(when male), is the second-most commonhuman hair color,afterblack hair.It varies from lightbrownto dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the darkpigmenteumelaninand lower levels of the pale pigmentpheomelanin.

Brown hair is common among populations in theWestern world,especially among those fromNorthwestern Europeand theUnited States,as well as populations inCentral Europe,Southeastern Europe,Eastern Europe,Southern Europe,Southern Cone,Brazil,Colombia,Costa Rica,Puerto Rico,and also some populations in theMiddle East,Central Asiawhere it transitions smoothly into black hair.Additionally, brown hair is common amongAustralian AboriginalsandMelanesians.

Etymology and grammar

The termbrunetteis the feminine form of the French wordbrunet,which is a diminutive form ofbrunmeaning "brown/brown-haired", the feminine of which isbrune.All of these terms ultimately derive from theProto-Indo-Europeanroot *bhrūn-"brown, grey". The form "brun" (pronounced/bruːn/) is still commonly used in Scotland, particularly in rural areas, and is also the word for "brown" in theScandinavian languages.In modern English usage, however, it has lost the diminutive meaning and usually refers to any brown-haired girl or woman, or the associated hair color.Merriam-Websterdefines "brunet" as "a person having brown hair" —with which they may have "a relatively dark complexion—spelled brunet when used of a boy or man and usually brunette when used of a girl or woman".Althoughbrunetis the masculine version of the popular diminutive form used to describe a little boy or young man with brown hair, the use of "brunet" is uncommon in English.One is more likely to say about a man or boy, "He has brown hair" or "He is brown-haired" than to say, "He is a brunette" (or brunet).

Lighter or darker shades of brown hair may be referred to as "light brunette" or "dark brunette", though in such cases one is generally referring only to the hair color, not using the term as a descriptor for the person; one would be unlikely to say, "She is a light brunette." Rather, one would say, "She has light-brown hair."

Geographic distribution

Brown-haired individuals predominate in most parts ofEurope.In northern and central Europe medium to light brown shades are the most common, while darker shades prevail in the rest of the continent. Brown hair, mostly medium to light brown shades, are also dominant inAustralia,Canada,South AfricaamongWhite South Africansand theUnited StatesamongEuropean Americansfrom theNorthern,CentralandEastern European(British,Scandinavian,Baltic,Dutch/Flemish,German(includingSwiss-GermanandAustrian),Slovenian,Polish,UkrainianandRussian) as well as Southern (Italian,Spanish,Greek,Portuguese) and Southeastern European (Bulgarian,Croatian,Serbian).

Afghan children with brown hair

Similarly toblondhair, brown hair occurs commonly amongAustralian AboriginalandMelanesianpopulations.

Dark brown hair is predominant in the Mediterranean parts of Europe, theMiddle East,North Africa,Central Asia,andSouth Asia.Very dark brown hair, easily mistaken forblack hair,can be found occasionally in parts ofEast Asia.This is also true ofSouthern Cone of South America(Chile,Argentina,Uruguay,Paraguay,central-southernBrazil),Colombia,Andean RegionofVenezuela,Costa Rican Central ValleyandPuerto Rico.

A study of 1,023 students inChilefound that the most common eye color was brown-black: 71 to 89.4% and the most common hair color was brown from 65.8% to 66.8%.

InSpain,57% are brown (7% of Spaniards are naturally blonde, 26% brunette, 3% redhead and the remaining 10% dark and light brown).

Dark brown hair also may occasionally be found amongIndigenous Americansand Siberians; (formerly) especially for mostly populations inSoutheast Asiadue to pigment changes (such asthe Philippines,MalaysiaandVietnam) for example particularly when they are young, as well as in many other groups.

Biochemistry

The pigmenteumelaningives brown hair its distinctive color. Brown hair has more eumelanin thanblond hairbut also has far less than black. There are two different types of eumelanin, which are distinguished from each other by their pattern ofpolymerbonds. The two types are black eumelanin and brown eumelanin. Black eumelanin is the darkest; brown eumelanin is much lighter than black. A small amount of black eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causesgrey hair.A small amount of brown eumelanin without any other pigments causes yellow (blond) color hair. Often, natural blond or red hair will darken to a brown color over time. Brown-haired people have medium-thick strands of hair.

Brown-haired people are thought to produce more skin-protecting eumelanin and are associated with having a more even skin tone. The range of skin colors associated with brown hair is vast, ranging from the palest of skin tones to a darkolive complexion.

Varieties of brown hair

Brown hair comes in a wide variety of shades from the very darkest of brown (almost black) to lightest brown (almost blond) showing small signs ofblondism.Shades of brown hair include:

• deepest brunette:the darkest brown, which can be a very darkchestnut;sometimes appears to be off-black at a distance, and is often considered to be black.
• dark brown
• milk chocolate brown
• dark chestnut brown
• light chestnut brown
• medium brown:standard brunette, comparable toRussetbrown
• walnut brown:a warmer variant of medium brown, comparable to a light chestnut
• caramel brown:warm brown tone.
• light golden brown:the lightest brown, almost dirty blond
• mousy:a dull light brown color, sometimes seen as a dirty blond
• light ash brown:almost blond hair
• lightest brown:light brown that goes mid blonde in the sun
• maple brown:a dark golden brown color, like maple syrup

• 
  deepest brown
  (Eoin Macken)
• 
  dark brown
  (Eddie Van Halen)
• 
  dark chestnut brown
  (Brian May)
• 
  medium brown
  (Antje Kapek)
• 
  light brown
  (Italiangirl)
• 
  cinnamon brown
  (AfghanNuristanigirl)
• 
  light ash brown
  (Guido Westerwelle)

Culture

Cultural connotations

In Western popular culture, a common stereotype is that brunettes are stable, serious, smart and sophisticated. According toAlluremagazine, in 2005, 76 percent of American women believed that the first female president of the United States will have brown hair.

Modern fiction

Anita Loos,the author of the novel and playGentlemen Prefer Blondes,wrote a sequel entitledBut Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.A film of this was made,Gentlemen Marry Brunettes,starringJane RussellandJeanne Crain.

Art and fiction

The Lady of ShalottfromAlfred, Lord Tennyson's poem is depicted as a brunette in most paintings. The woman portrayed inLeonardo da Vinci's most well-known painting,Mona Lisa,is brunette. In the French folk song "Au clair de la lune",the likable Lubin visits his brunette neighbor at Pierrot's suggestion. In the Irish song" The Star of the County Down "the narrator falls in love with a woman with" nut-brown "hair, called Rose McCann.

Rivalry with blondes

Main article:Blonde versus brunette rivalry

In popular culture, brunettes may be portrayed as being in a rivalry or competition withblondewomen. The rivalry may take the form of competitive sportsor as part of alove trianglein which a blonde and a brunette woman compete for the affections of a man.

See also

• Human hair color
• Human skin color
• Eye color
• Black hair
• Red hair
• Blond hair
• Melanin