Pink is usually created by mixing red with white, but the exact shade depends on how light is added or removed. Color systems treat pink as a tint of red rather than its own basic wavelength.
Basic color mixing
In paints, dyes, or inks (subtractive mixing), pink comes from combining a red pigment with a white pigment, which lightens the red into a pale tint. In this sense, “pink” is just red with added white, so different ratios give very pale pinks or deeper, stronger pinks.
Light and pink
As light, there is no single “pink” wavelength; instead, pink appears when red light is combined with higher‑energy light (often white or bluish) and interpreted by the visual system as a desaturated or mixed red. Some lighting, such as plant grow lights that use a mix of red and blue LEDs, also appears pink to the eye for this reason.
Pink as a tint of red
Color theory defines pink as a pale tint of red, placing it on the red side of the spectrum but with much higher lightness. Many different named pinks (magenta, peach, mauve) are made by starting with red plus white and then shifting with small amounts of other colors like blue, yellow, or black.
