Bellami Hair Color Matching: Shade Families, ColorMatch Sample Sets and Opened-Set Returns

Bellami Hair sells its Silk Seam clip-ins in more than 40 shades, and choosing the right one is the riskiest part of the order. Once a set is opened, Bellami will not take it back, even if the color is wrong. The brand offers several ways to check a shade first, including $15 ColorMatch Sample Sets, a texting service with stylists and a swatch built into its halo kits.

How Bellami names its shades

The shade picker on a Silk Seam product page has five filters: Black, Brown, Brown/Blonde, Red and Blonde. Within those, single-tone shades carry a name and a number, while multi-tone shades usually carry only a name.

• Blacks: Jet Black #1 (described as the brand's "blackest black", cool-toned with blue undertones), Off Black #1B and Mochachino Brown #1C.
• Browns: Dark Brown #2, Walnut Brown #3, Chocolate Brown #4 (a rich brown with subtle red and golden undertones), Chestnut Brown #6, Almond Brown #7 and Ash Brown #8 (light cocoa with cool beige).
• Reds: Mulberry Wine #510, Dark Maple Brown #530, Bronzed Amber #560 and Spiced Crimson #570.
• Blondes: Dirty Blonde #18, Butter Blonde #10/16/60, Ash Blonde #60, Platinum Blonde #80 and Beach Blonde #613.
• Brown/Blonde and multi-tone blends: names such as Dirty Brunette Highlight, Honey Comb Highlight, Vanilla Latte Highlight #8/8/60, Caramel Latte Rooted Highlight, White Mocha Balayage and Golden Hour Blonde Balayage.

Where a shade lists several numbers, such as Ash Brown/Honey Blonde #8/20/24/60, those are the single shades mixed into it. The numbers are Bellami's own, so a match from another brand's numbering is only a starting point.

The ColorMatch Sample Sets

Each Silk Seam ColorMatch Sample Set costs $15 and contains three swatches of real hair in related shades. Bellami suggests ordering one or two sets. The sets listed when we checked were:

• Blacks: Jet Black, Off Black, Mochachino Brown
• Browns: Dark Brown, Chocolate Brown, Mochachino Brown
• Dark Browns: Dark Brown, Mochachino Chocolate/Dark Honey Rooted Highlight, Dark Honey Cocoa Highlight
• Light Browns: Ash Brown, Chestnut Brown, Almond Brown
• Medium Browns: Warm Brown/Honey Blonde Ombre, Dark Brown/Dirty Blonde, Caramel Latte Rooted Highlight
• Blondes: Beach Blonde, Ash Blonde, Platinum Blonde
• Cool Blondes: White Mocha Balayage, Dirty Brunette Highlight, White Mocha Rooted Highlight
• Rooted Blondes: White Mocha Balayage, Pearl Blonde Highlight, Walnut Brown/Ash Blonde Rooted
• Brown/Blondes: Cool Brown/Dirty Blonde Balayage, Bronzed Caramel Marble Blend, Ash Brown/Ash Blonde Balayage
• Medium Blonde Highlights: Ash Bronde Highlight, Honeycomb Highlight, Vanilla Latte Highlight

The other four sets come in two identical pairs. Warm Brown Blondes and Light Blonde Highlights both contain Honeycomb Highlight, Dirty Blonde and Butter Blonde, and Brown/Blonde Highlights and Blonde/Browns both contain Vanilla Latte Highlight, Caramel Blonde Marble Blends and Ash Bronde Marble Blend. Check the contents, not just the set name, so you do not buy the same three swatches twice. Medium Browns and Rooted Blondes were showing as out of stock when we checked. There is no sample set for the red shades.

All sample sets are final sale. The product page says shoppers who are opted in to Bellami's marketing emails receive a $50 credit by email after the sample set is delivered; the promotion terms limit it to one use on an order of $200 or more.

Highlights, rooted, balayage, ombre and marble blends

Bellami's color guide suggests looking at your roots first, then your overall color, then your ends, and deciding whether you want an exact match or added dimension. The multi-tone options are aimed at hair that is not one solid color:

• Highlight: lighter pieces woven through a base shade, such as Honey Comb Highlight or Dirty Brunette Highlight.
• Rooted: a darker shade at the top that moves into a lighter one, for hair with darker roots or a lived-in color, such as Walnut Brown/Ash Blonde #3/60 Rooted.
• Balayage: a softer, painted-looking blend from darker to lighter, such as White Mocha Balayage.
• Ombre: a more distinct change from one shade at the top to another at the ends, such as Dark Brown/Ash Brown #2/8 Ombre.
• Marble Blends: several shades mixed through the hair, such as Ash Bronde #21/60/16 and Bronzed Caramel #6/18/8/60.

These shades sit in Bellami's highest price tier, from $230 for 16 inches to $715 for 26 inches. Several balayage sets were listed only at 20 and 22 inches, and the ombre sets at 18 to 22 inches, so check the length you want is offered before you settle on a shade. Bellami also says it does not recommend dyeing balayage or ombre sets because they have already been processed several times, and it advises against lightening or bleaching any of its hair. In practice, buy the shade you want to wear rather than planning to adjust it.

How to match the shade at home

Bellami's pages give a consistent method, which works whether you use a sample set or the swatch from a halo kit:

• Use natural light. Hold the swatch against your hair outdoors or near a window.
• Test at several points. The sample set FAQ suggests checking at the root, mid-length and ends. For halo kits, the brand says to match your mid-lengths and ends.
• Get a second opinion. Ask a friend or take photos from different angles.
• Ask a stylist. The Color Concierge page lets you take a short quiz and then text a Bellami stylist for recommendations, and the FAQ invites you to email a photo of your hair taken outside.

The Halo PRO kit includes its own swatch, which is one of the two framing fill-in pieces. Bellami says to compare it before opening the rest of the kit, because opening the full kit before confirming the match makes it ineligible for return or exchange.

What happens if the color is wrong

The return policy is the reason to take color matching seriously:

• Sealed sets only: hair can be returned or exchanged within 90 days of delivery only if it is unopened, in its original packaging, with the security seal intact and the tester piece included.
• Opened means final: Bellami says that for hygiene reasons any item that has been opened or had its seal broken cannot be returned or exchanged. That includes a set opened just to compare the color.
• Exchanges for another shade: an eligible sealed set can be swapped for a different shade or product, processed once the original is received and approved.
• Costs: original shipping is not refunded. Returns made through the US returns portal include shipping protection.
• Final sale: sample sets, clip-in bangs, clip and wrap ponytails, braided hairbands, hair care and wigs.

For quality problems rather than color, Bellami points customers to a hair feedback form. For weights, prices and shipping, see our full Bellami review. Any working offers we find are listed on our Bellami coupons page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I return a Bellami set if I opened it and the color does not match?

No. Bellami only accepts returns and exchanges of sets that are unopened with the security seal and tester piece intact.

How many ColorMatch Sample Sets should I order?

Bellami suggests one or two. Choose two sets with different contents, since some sets share the same three swatches.

Can I dye Bellami extensions to fix the color?

Bellami says its hair can accept color but recommends a professional colorist, advises against lightening, and does not recommend dyeing balayage or ombre sets. Any dyeing is at your own risk.

The bottom line

Bellami gives shoppers a lot of shade choice and real tools for checking it, but the return policy leaves no room for an opened mistake. Order a $15 sample set whose three swatches cover your likely match, check it in daylight at the mid-lengths and ends, and only then buy the full set and break the seal.

Visit Bellami Hair

Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Prices and policies were checked on the Bellami Hair website at the time of writing and may change.