This is a subject I’ve wanted to touch upon for ages after years of having obscurely coloured hair, then recently naturalish then back to pinks and purples you flow through a series of changes amongst the general public anything from strange looks to lovely compliments and all the madness in between, this is all the crazy happenings of a person with bright coloured hair!
HAVING ODD COLOURED EARS BECOMES A NORMALITY
A strange point to start on, but let’s get the weird done with. I dye my hair at home, and despite using Vaseline around my hairline and smothered across my ears I still somehow manage to look like I’ve been smacked about the ears, when you’ve got a limited amount of time to strategically wipe your neck and face you somewhat forget the importance and leave it out. Thankfully I have been blessed with fortunate enough genes to be able to cover my ears with thick afro like hair, there’s enough to go around and hide pink ears.
PEOPLE CONSIDER YOU UNEMPLOYABLE
Which is an absolute joke, and never fails to tickle me when I think about how my trademark and niche is defined by something that is considered ‘unemployable’ considering we live in an age where individuality is rewarded and jobs are getting more flexible on hair dye, piercings and tattoos even in retail and office jobs as it slides into daily culture and grows more acceptable, you would expect the out of date insults to stop, especially remarks about not looking ‘professional’, ask Zandra Rhodes why her pink hair made her look ‘unprofessional’
YOU FORGET YOU HAVE BRIGHT HAIR
I spend a lot of time commuting and lose concept of why people stare, I get very insecure about people looking at me and slightly hostile if people make remarks about having bright hair, having spent so many years backfiring comments about how my hair is a characteristic that is mine and not theirs to judge on, that when nowadays people see/ask I forget I stick out like a shining beacon of light in a crowd, which is handy when you lose someone at a gig or in your local grocery store.
YOU CANNOT WAIT TO BE ELDERLY WITH RAD HAIR
Pink and purple hair at 70? Yes please, I want to be the sassiest coolest granny ever. My mum remarked on how my hair looked like a elderly ladies blue rinse and praised how they maintained pastel hair (which is incredibly hard work, so hats off to the OAP’s) My style inspiration is Anna Piaggi the editor of Vogue Italia she was the coolest old lady and worked her blue hair like she was born with it!
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LIVE IN A WHITE PAINTED HOME
Although you never flicked your hair and the dye itself says none drip it will find a way of splattering up your bathroom, personally I like the prospect of a pink bathroom whereas my boyfriend doesn’t (I will get my pastel bathroom!) And if its not the hair dye you’ll find bits of hair…everywhere! Small pastel coloured dust bunnies down the sides of the sofa, down the plug hole, it’s bright and every strand sticks out like a sore thumb
CHILDREN ARE FASCINATED
I was in a shop with a friend the other day and told a little girl I was a princess when she asked why I had coloured hair. Another time a girl started plaiting my hair on the bus. You see kids whispering to each other and mesmerised by its vibrancy. Expect to be called a pretty pony, because to them you are as rare as unicorns.
In fact all humans are generally fascinated by this, I had Kate Nash stop half way through her set to tell me I looked like a mermaid, and Jarvis Cocker couldn’t get enough of it, it certainly made me happy and certainly shows it provokes curiosity!
CONDITIONER IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
I use conditioner like its available running water, and hiss at shampoo. Anything that keep the longevity of saturation will stay dear, I use it for diluting my dye on a day I’m feeling a not so hot pink. We all of course know about the damage that occurs from dying, although my dye is vegetable based and has conditioning properties it still affects my hair and requires TLC like we all do, coloured hair or not!
All in all my bright coloured hair makes me a unique snowflake, I enjoy it and wouldn’t change it for the world, whether people mock you for being yourself or embrace your mermaid-ness that fab saying ‘Throw kindness around like confetti!’ seems pretty fitting, so who cares coloured hair is fab and its here to stay!
