Period Blood Color Chart
The colour of period blood mostly tells you one thing — how old the blood is. Here’s what every shade means, from fresh bright red to older brown and black, plus the one colour actually worth a check. Tap a colour for the full explanation.
- Bright RedFresh, fast-flowing blood — typical of your main flow days.
- Dark RedBlood that sat a little longer before leaving — very common.
- BrownOlder, oxidised blood — normal at the start or end of a period.
- PinkBlood diluted with cervical fluid, or a light flow.
- BlackVery old blood that took a long time to leave — usually harmless.
- OrangeBlood mixed with cervical fluid — usually fine, sometimes worth a check.
- GreyThe one shade to take seriously — get it checked.
How to read your period colour
Think of colour as a clock for how long blood has been in the body. Blood is rich in iron, and the longer it lingers — in the uterus or on the way out — the more that iron oxidises and darkens. Fast, fresh flow is bright red; slower blood turns dark red, then brown, then nearly black. When blood mixes with the clear fluid your cervix makes, it can look pink or orange. That’s why a single period can run through several colours and all of them be normal: bright red on your heaviest days, browner shades at the slow start and finish.
The colour itself is rarely the thing to worry about. What matters more is what comes with it. A foul or fishy smell, itching, fever, pelvic pain, bleeding between periods, bleeding after sex, or any bleeding after menopause are the genuine signals to get checked — whatever the shade. Use our Menstrual Cycle Calculator to see where bleeding fits across your cycle, and the Period Calculator to track when your period is due.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the colour of period blood mean?
- Period blood colour mostly reflects how old the blood is — how long it took to leave your body. Fresh, fast-flowing blood is bright red; blood that sits longer oxidises and darkens through dark red and brown to black. Mixed with cervical fluid it can look pink or orange. Most colours are normal at some point in a period. Grey is the main exception worth checking.
- What period blood colour is unhealthy?
- Most colours — bright red, dark red, brown, black, pink, even orange — are normal at some stage of a period. Grey discharge is the one to take seriously, as it can signal a bacterial infection, especially with an odour or itching. Whatever the colour, see a provider if there's a foul smell, fever, pelvic pain, bleeding between periods, or any bleeding after menopause.
- Is brown period blood a sign of pregnancy?
- Usually not — brown blood is most often the slow start or tail end of an ordinary period. Light brown spotting earlier than an expected period can occasionally be implantation spotting, but the only way to know is a pregnancy test, not the colour of the blood.
- Why is my period blood different colours on different days?
- That's completely normal. Flow is slower at the start and end of a period, so that blood oxidises and looks brown or dark; on your heaviest days blood leaves quickly and looks bright red. Seeing several colours across one period just reflects the changing speed of your flow.