Brown hair is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It 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 pheomelanin. 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 brunette, which in French is the feminine form of brunet, the diminutive of brun ( brown, brown -haired or dark -haired).
Brown hair is common among populations in the Western world, especially among those from Central Europe, Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Southern Cone, the United States, and also some populations in the Greater Middle East where it transitions smoothly into black hair. Additionally, brown hair is common among Australian Aborigines and Melanesians.
