Women (unless you guys have real input), have you ever colored your hair blond? Do you still? What are your reasons?
I was blond until high school, then dishwater brown, then as a statement I would color all shades of red because I wanted that more wild look, black and even did a bit of purple. Now I am going naturally gray.
I heard this interesting interview today about coloring the hair blond as being more 'white'. Listen to the link below and comment as well.
[npr.org]hair-blonde
Please stick to the subject, thanks.
As a not bald guy, I'd like to say, "hair is over rated".
It's just a lot more trouble than it could possibly be worth.
Just embrace your scalp and be free!
I'm just grateful I have hair. Lost it last year during chemo treatment. Before that, I used to keep it shoulder-length, it was thin and straight, and I kept it reddish-brown. It's grown back thicker and wirier, in its natural color of now salt-and-pepper, and I've decide I love it short and if I should ever color it again I'll probably go for something lighter.
I have never dyed my hair but I have dyed a lot of other people's hair over the years and it isn't difficult to do. It is hard on your hair, even though most of your hair is dead. It is hard on your body because most hair dyes contain chemicals that are toxic, as someone who studied organic chemistry these are some of the chemicals you don't on you that are contained in most hair dyes.
ammonia,
peroxide,
p-phenylenediamine,
diaminobenzene,
toluene-2,5-diamine,
Ammonia and Peroxide aren't too detrimental in low concentrations but they are usually quite strong in hair dyes because they are used to strip out the natural colour of your hair so the dye has a clean base to attach to. Anything that ends in ine or ene is usually a problem because they tend to be mutagens, carcinogens or teratogens which is science lingo for mutations, cancer and deformations.
which is why I stopped coloring my hair.
@HippieChick58 I haven't died my wife's hair in over a decade now and she is happy with her natural brunette colour. She got her first grey hair last year, just a couple and she hasn't asked me to dye it for her yet, I hope she leaves it natural.
I’m naturally blonde, although not this blonde. I have no intention of ever seeing a gray on this head as long as I am physically or mentally able. I only do it because it’s a bit brighter than my natural color.
I was a cosmetologist and dyed my hair every color! I kept blonde for a while and now I'm back to my natural color!
I was super blonde as a kid and now it's dark blonde. Still no grays yet. I've only ever dyed it once; a wash out color because I refuse to deal with roots. It was supposed to be reddish but came out purplish brown. Sometimes I think about doing a wash out chocolate brown. Or RED.
I've been every natural color. Blond for about one year.
I'll never forget my nephew coming to the door and saying "OMG your hair is YELLOW!". It was light blond - not yellow.
I'm already so incredibly pale skinned that it did go with my complexion. I never thought it made anyone look lighter? And it's very sad that that is a "Thing".
It had nothing to do with my skin color it was just something I chose to do for variety.
There was a documentary with Chris Rock about the black hair industry. It's incredible what they go through. And what they spend on hair. And it's all marketing and being told they should look more "white".
[imdb.com]
I went blonde in my early 20's. I only did it once and just let it grow out. I was surprised at how many more guys were interested when I went out to the (gay) night clubs.
It was such a hassle to get it done, and the chemicals to leach my hair were pretty painful. I just coudl nto see trying to maintain it. I di dmy experiment and then I was done.
Only colored my hair once as a teen. I was naturally blonde, though the color has changed by itself and now is more light brown. Most in my family had beautiful brunette hair. Never understood the popularity of blonde.
I am a natural blonde. I have explored all shades of blonde. I am 60 and just starting to get some grays. I have colored previously, after I leaned how toxic the dyes are I gave that up. Now IF I want to enhance my color I use strong teas. Roobios Red tea makes a nice reddish rinse. Doesn't last long, but gentle on your hair, the more often you rinse the longer it stays. Mostly I just let my hair be as it is. My grandmother was prematurely gray at 25, I figure I'm good.
I like highlighting in different colors for fun and style. I first did it in my 20s and then not for a long time. With all the colors out theses days, I had to try again. I only use temporary dye with no ammonia or peroxide. Blonde is supposed to look like natural highlights, and perhaps it does. That's what's wearing off these days.
Have had all 3 major colors....the most fun was red but also the hardest to maintain...start off deep auburn, 2 weeks later, Carrotop. Now mostly white, but spiky so not to seem "old"
The interview and Ms. Rankine's research touched on race. I find a paradox between what seemed to be some women-of-color's desire to go "white" and the general desire within races to be respected as they are. If you're latino, BE Latino, if you're African-American, BE African-American, IF you're Asian, BE Asian. Moving to my view of hair color, I wish women with dark hair wouldn't dye their hair blond. The roots show after a short time and you have continued maintenance. I've seen some pleasant shades of red, green, and purple. I started going gray at the age of twenty-one. I've not dyed it, yet. My personal "preference" for a woman to get my "attention"; a dark brunette with a UK (Wales, Scotland, Ireland, England, South Africa, Cornwall) accent. A clerk in a local national chain store with dark hair from South Africa was able to get me to subscribe to their "awards" program and open a store credit card. Enough said.
My hair, naturally dark blonde with a hint of red) bleaches quickly in the sun so my colour changes from season to season, often naturally ombré. I do have a little grey around the temples now, i’m Lucky for my age, but a wash out colour close to my own blends it in.
I used to get that natural ombré too. Many people think is a result of coloring. I just enjoyed the natural changes.