Sherwin-Williams Sea SaltvsBenjamin Moore Healing Aloe
Why this comparison: The cross-brand spa-green face-off: SW’s icon against BM’s. Sea Salt and Healing Aloe are very close (ΔE 2.14). The difference shows up most in side-by-side comparison and under specific light.
Built from our full reviews of both colors — same measured data, same real-room photos. About the testing process →
The Numbers
Healing Aloe is slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 63, 5-point delta).
What Each Color Really Is
Sherwin-Williams files Sea Salt under greens, and that is the honest starting point: it is a soft, dusty green that has been grayed almost all the way down. What makes it behave the way it does is the small amount of blue-black in the mix. That colorant is what keeps the green from ever looking minty, and it is also the thing that steps forward the moment the light in the room goes cool. So there are really three hues sitting on the wall at nearly equal strength — green, gray, and a little blue — and the room picks the winner, not the can.
At LRV 63 it reflects a bit more light than Agreeable Gray, the greige most people already have somewhere in the house. That is a useful way to picture it: the same easy brightness everyone likes about a greige, except this one shows real color instead of disappearing. It is light enough to keep a small bathroom feeling open, and soft enough that it never announces itself as "a green room." The catch is that low-saturation colors like this have very little of their own personality to push back with, so whatever your windows and bulbs hand them, they accept.
A grayed sage-green with a cool, blue-leaning undertone — Benjamin Moore's own copy calls it "a refreshing wash of green with notes of gray," and that gray is doing more work than the name lets on. It sits in the Classics collection, not a recent trend launch, which is why it shows up again and again in kitchen and bathroom renovation photos without ever being the headline color of a season. It is a quiet, dependable green, not a famous one.
At LRV 68 it sits close to a light neutral — brighter than any true sage in the BM deck — which is exactly why it reads differently in different rooms. In real daylight the green comes forward and it looks like a proper, if muted, sage. Take the light away and the high reflectance value stops helping: with nothing to bounce, the undertone tips toward its gray-blue half and the green reads as an afterthought.
Specs Side by Side
| Spec | Sea Salt | Healing Aloe |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Benjamin Moore |
| SKU | SW 6204 | 1562 |
| Hex | #CDD2CA | #D5DBD2 |
| RGB | 205, 210, 202 | 213, 219, 210 |
| LRV | 63 | 68 |
| Undertone | green / cool | green / cool |
| Family | Gray | Gray |
How Light Changes Them
Warm strong daylight brings the green forward. This is the spa look people bought it for.
Cool light strips the green and the blue takes over. Sample it here or skip it.
2700K bulbs warm it back to green. Cool 4000K LEDs push it clinical — change bulbs, not paint.
With no daylight the color drains to a plain gray. Readers call it muddy. Pick something deeper.
The green comes forward and it reads like a genuine, cool-toned spa sage. Its best and most photographed light.
Cool, flat daylight drains the green and leaves a plain blue-gray. Test a large sample before committing a whole room.
Greener in morning light, softer and more blue-gray by evening. The shift is real but gentle, not a color change.
2700K warm bulbs bring some green back after dark. Cool white LEDs push it toward flat gray — swap bulbs before repainting.
Both Colors in Real Rooms
Photos from our full reviews — the same rooms and captions, so you can judge each color where it actually lives, not on a chip.
When to Pick Which
Bathrooms with clean white tile and trim · bedrooms that need to feel calm · vanities and laundry cabinets · anyone who wants color that still behaves like a neutral
Your room faces north and you want green · you have beige travertine or honey-oak floors · your trim is a warm cream · you want the coastal color to be obvious
Bedrooms and bathrooms that want a spa feel · south- or west-facing kitchens and living rooms · lower cabinets under a crisp white upper · nurseries that shouldn't read babyish
Your room is north-facing and stays dim · you want an obviously leafy, saturated green · your fixed finishes already lean cool blue-gray · you're painting a sun-blasted south or west exterior wall
No comparison page can see your light. Upload one photo of your room and try both colors on the same walls, seconds apart.
Sea Salt vs Healing Aloe FAQ
Which is lighter, Sea Salt or Healing Aloe?
Healing Aloe is lighter: LRV 68 vs 63. Healing Aloe is slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 63, 5-point delta).
Which is warmer, Sea Salt or Healing Aloe?
They share the same undertone family — both read green / cool. The difference between them is lightness and depth, not temperature.
How similar are Sea Salt and Healing Aloe?
Sea Salt and Healing Aloe are very close (ΔE 2.14). The difference shows up most in side-by-side comparison and under specific light. The only reliable test is seeing both in your own room and light — a side-by-side on a screen or chip flattens the difference.
Can I use Sea Salt and Healing Aloe together in one house?
Not in the same room, and be careful in the same house. At ΔE 2.14 they are so close that two walls in each will read as a tinting mistake, not a design choice. Pick one, or keep them on different floors where they are never seen together.
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