BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Hair What is your hair color saying?

Thanks Lynne,

This topic sure brought up some interesting results and opinions LOL.

It is funny what issues are "hot buttons" for people. I remember last year when Alexandra and I got into a rather heated argument in the dog forum, LOL!

It is always so easy to misinterpret things in a forums setting - or to find stress on parts of a sentence, where one might have meant the accent to go somewhere else. I know with Alexandra and I a HUGE part of our misunderstanding was the fact that I come from the Southern US and she comes from Britain - and our speech patterns (and definitely our writing patterns!) are totally different.

Back to the hair color part!

When I was younger I was a blonde-blonde; mostly because I was out in the sun all the time. I would be a medium blonde naturally, but the sun kept me pretty bleached out. It looked good on me then. But as I got older, it just didn't look right on me anymore. It didn't feel right on me anymore either.

I've always had a hint of red in my hair, tending towards the strawberry blonde, so I tried going red (auburn) one time and a friend at work said "oh, you went back to your natural color!" My husband and I got a real kick out of that. But everyone (other than my parents who still think I should have waist down to my tush that is gold-blonde) thought the red really fits me - both in looks and personality. I have very fair skin, and green eyes - it just goes well.

After my bald stint - I just started having fun with my hair, I have done crayola red, a hot pink, brown (which was absolutely horrid - I do not have the skin tone to be a brunette), and black (I was surprised that this actually looked fairly decent, I would have figured it would have been as bad as the brown). But the red tones fit me better, and the blonde still looks good as long as I keep it "choppy" more like highlights with the red.

I LOVE women with silver hair that take care of their hair - I think it is beautiful. Some women are ashamed of it or just don't care and so will use any product on it, and the hair looks dull. But women who use the correct products and take care of it just look amazing. But I think that is true of any hair, really. It is just there is a big difference between shiny silver hair and dull silver hair.

I agree completely that the hair looking healthy is a key part of what people react to. A lot of what "first reactions" are about are judging the health of a person, for all sorts of evolutionary reasons. Men are sizing up a potential mate, that sort of thing.

So if your hair was stringy and frizzy then that would give an impression to someone who met you - and that "hair condition" impression would probably outweigh any blonde / red / black sorts of considerations. If your hair was in 20 spikes pointing out in all directions, probably the same thing. The person you were meeting would care less about hair color and more about its current configuration.

So there's a hierarchy of what people notice

Yeah, Michelle, I agree about forums, e-mails, text messages being read the wrong way. I've had a few tiffs with ppl having to explain that it was said in a different way, because obviously, you can't read the tone.
Plus, I'm British, and I think we can be accused of being quite dry or sarcastic LOL. I'm sure it's true from state to state as well, I noticed a huge difference between ppl getting my humour in New York, and taking a while to catch on in Florida

Also, Michelle, Lisa, I agree about hair cut and condition being more important than colour - it's obvious I suppose. If someone has a mo-hawk, are you really going to notice what colour it is first? LOL.

My friend has beautiful blue eyes, and she looks great with her hair a nice red - red colour, but she insisted for years on bleaching it - trying to get it as pale as possible. A thing we both loved to do LOL. But it started going all dry, and fluffy with split ends - and she didn't want to buy the expensive treatment to take care of it. So now she's gone back redish brown and it looks quite nice. I think it just needed a break.

I gave mine a year and a half off from any bleach or highlights and had it black, which was quite a shock at first, but I had so many compliments and then it faded to a dark brown - but I just never felt right with it. I really feel, that no matter what other ppl say, you should go for what you want, because then you feel more confident and confidence is the best impression I think.

That is definitely true. For example when I donate my hair to locks of love it is then very short for a while, until it grows back out. I *HATE* it short. Hate hate hate it. But everyone loves it. They say it suits my face, etc. So "technically" if I wanted to present the best first impression to people I would have my hair that short length. But I choose to have a "worse" first impression, to have the longer hair which makes me happy. It's a trade-off I accept I'm making.

Exactly Lisa, I couldn't agree more - since I was about 15 my Nan has gone on and on about me having my hair dark and short (something which I do get a lot of compliments on, but hate on myself) - so after I had a number 3 all over one time (basically shaved LOL) I refused to ever do what pleases anyone else and so now have it mid length and fair. I think it's great that people can be strong enough to say "I'm doing what I like, not what everyone else likes :)" Besides, everyone likes different looks, so you can't please everyone, but you can please yourself.

I really like your editor photo Steven, I think it fits you perfectly! I can't imagine you with dark, short hair. You've got that little, sexy tousled thing going

Yeah Steven, I like your hair like that too.

Lisa, your hair really does suit your face at shoulder length.

I know I should pay more attention to my hair, but i am so content to pull it back and leave it alone all day. I am growing it out to donate or sell (haven't decided yet) and will see how long it gets while still being healthy. No split ends yet!

Yet I am streaked with grey. It's not really bad - you only see it up close or when my hair is dirty - but i feel like I could at least TRY to pay attention to how i look. It's a conundrum. I just can't be bothered to keep up with it. Coloring it myself is annoying, and having someone else do it is expensive.

Will people really hold it against me?

Thanks Ladies (blushes) I like both your hairstyles in your pics too. Michelle looks very glamorous and I can't notice any grey in your hair Jill. I'm surprised, I know that when hair is dark it can go grey when you're young, there was a boy in my high school with jet black hair and he was going grey at about 15!

I don't think anyone will hold it against you Jill,especially if it doesn't notice very much. You could always try maybe a toner, just to lose the little bit of grey if it's bothering you. I think you can get certain dyes which only pick out the white strands??

I could hardly remember my original colour till a year ago LOL. I'd love to show you guys all the crazy styles I've had, mo-hawk (which was quite nice actually, bleached mo-hawk with auburn hair haha) then I had it peroxide white whith black extentions (the whole Christina Aguilera Dirrty phase) I don't know what I was thinking LOL - it's funny to look at the pictures though. Can't believe I was so brazen to walk about and not care Then I had it jet black about two years ago, then brown, and finally back to the original blonde

I have the wonkiest hair. Ever since I was a teenage, I had some gray. In the last 20 years it is like a skunk strip on one side of my head. so that I don't have to pay and colour every 6 weeks because I have 2 colour roots. i camouflage every 3 months. Brown low lights, blond hight lights and I leave alot of my natiral hair colour including the grey. It must sound like it is full of streaks, but it looks pretty cool and I only have to go every 3-4 months. Not bad. But it does take time when I am there. I don't want to hide my grey . I wish more gray would come all over my head and not just on side. Mattie