Brown hair varies from light brown to almost black hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment phaeomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as those of red hair.
People with brown hair are often referred to as brunettes, the feminine form, and brunets, the masculine term. Brown hair is common among Indo-Europeans and West Eurasians, especially those Central and Southern Europe, West Asia, and North Africa, where it transitions smoothly into blackish-brown and black hair.
Brunette literally means “little brown-haired girl", but in modern English usage it has lost the diminutive meaning and refers simply to any brown-haired girl or woman, or the associated hair color. Although brunet is the masculine version of the term, used to describe a boy or man with brown hair, the use of brunet is uncommon in English. One is more likely to say, of a man or boy, "He has brown hair," than to say, "He is a brunette," (or brunet).
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 tone to an olive complexion. Brunettes can have dark or light eyes. Occasionally, natural blonde or red hair will darken over time, resulting in a brown-haired individual with light colored eyes.
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 metaphor for the person; one would be unlikely to say, "She is a light brunette." Rather, one would say, "She has light brunette hair."
