What does hair color say to others about who you are?

Wise Use of Hair Color

Well, I have to be blonde - I feel really boring if it's not blonde. I think it sets me apart from others cos it's light, and I like to be different. Plus, it was always naturally white-blonde and then it got darker, so technically, I'm just going back to my roots cos its dark blonde without highlights. I love blonde hair - I always have. I think it says a lot, if you look at the media.

Mine says I don't care about my hair.

I really should get the greys out, but it's too much effort. :-P

Mine says I am who I am, and I don't have any need to be otherwise. I tell people that I care about my appearance by keeping my hair clean, healthy and styled.

My friends has this beautiful deep red hair - I think it says she's fun. I think it's important, hair can make or break you.

HI,
I used to color my hair alot. It damaged it over the yrs. I had my hair a very light platinum blond & as dark as black. But I started to grow it out a couple of yrs. ago. It is not almost all of my natural hair color, which is a very dark brown, that looks black with alot of silver which look like highlights.

Out of any hair color I had this my natural haircolor now, gets the most positive attention from men & women. I get alot of compliments. If your hair is damaged from any kind of dyes, highlights & colors it will not look good. Healthy shiney, hair looks good, natural or colored.

Also, I do disagree with a post above from, Horror Editor, that blonde hair is better in the media. That is not always so. It used to be. But now with different ethnic, famous, talented women, such as Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek & many more, darker hair is taking over. I'm glad. It is about time. I am not, in no way putting down anyone with light or blonde hair. But it is not always better & for everyone.

I'm 52 & when I was younger & a teen, the popular look was to have pin straight, long blonde hair. My hair was & is dark & naturally curly. Anyone who did not fit that blonde sterotype was look down on in my area & elsewhere. I'm glad that things have changed so that many looks, hair textures, styles & color are appreciated. In the past, only 1 way or 2 ways of looking was the best & acceptable.I'm glad that there are all kinds of beauty & not only because a woman has blonde hair. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody! Judy K.

SILVER50, I didn't say that at all, if you look again. I said I found it a more positive thing for me, and that it gave me more confidence, I left the media part open, but I meant that if you look at most ppl, they feel better blonde. Because it's brighter. Of course, I am a blonde, so of course I'm going to feel better a lighter shade as well. Plus, I do think in the media and even on this site, it's acceptable to put down blondes and make blonde jokes; which I think says a lot more about the ppl making them. If anyone was making comments or 'jokes' about redheads or people with grey hair, I don't think it would go down so well. I also think that says a lot about blondes and how they don't take everything as serious. Media examples: 'blondes have more fun', 'Gentleman Prefer Blondes', 'Blonde Ambition' these are the media references that come to mind. Like it or not, it's seen as more glamorous by Hollywood. I only saw a show this morning with women saying how unattractive Scarlett Johansen looked as a brunette compared to being blonde. I don't think it's better for everyone, I never said that either - I think some people, such as you mention, Halle Berry, she's been Blonde in two of her most famous movies and didn't look that great, I think it's what suits the individual.

I think brunette, blonde, redhead - can all be stunning and beautiful.

HI,
I was not trying to come down on you at all.I also do not want to argue or get into any kind of battle with you. I was & am just giving out my opinion, just as everybody else do here. I think that all hair shades are beautiful. I will disagree about the media stuff. It has changed alot, that blonde is not always the # 1 look for magazines, movies etc.

I do think the blonde jokes are unfair & immature. Most actresses/ models were brunettes before becoming blonde. I would say to do what looks bests for you. If it's a natural hair color, fine, if it looks better colored that's ok too.

Healthy hair looks the best no matter what color. I never said that you said it's better for everybody. The media will say what it has to & that is usually to make $ or sell something. The Styles etc. are always changing. Those blonde sterotypes are changing & I'm very glad.

The majority of the top celebrities now are not blondes. Yes, many women or men who have dark hair & go blonde, usually don't look good. It's the same for women with blonde hair who go very dark or black with their hair color.

No 1 hair color should be better or # 1. We should just accept people as they are & not sterotype. You know the "blondes have more fun". etc. If you do check out some polls most men do not prefer blondes these days. Have a nice Sun.

I'm a light brunette with gray, also my hair is over 3feet long, and very thick. I like my hair the way it is.

The article is about the immediate impression given to others by different colors and how it can be used - if you so choose.

Sorry Lynne, Guess i better pay closer attention

I'm always happy when you comment, Rosie. I just didn't want the thread to go too far off course.

I think different hair colours say different things to different people, considering their background etc. If you go to Egypt or certain places in Africa, ppl with blonde/fair hair are followed because it's so rare to be seen. Typically, I would think - Blondes - Glamourous/cold, Red-heads - Fiery/warm, Brunette - Mysterious/Boring, Black - Harsh/strong, Grey - old/don't care much. These are all stereotypes though, I think it depends on the person sporting the hair colour, and what they've done with the cut/ if it suits them. I mean, someone who's bleached their hair a yellowy/orange colour looks terrible and false, just as someone dying their hair black, can look false and harsh. It really all depends on a lot of things.

I never go by polls on what hair colour is in vogue, or attractive, I find them mostly inacurate as most polls are aimed at selling something and also change every two minutes.

HI,
To the above comment, you really don't seem to want to accept any different opinions. I can tell by your comments about black & grey hair. Black hair is not harsh. Grey hair is not old/don't care much. Not at all.I have silver & dark hair & I get many compliments. Brunette/boring? Most women have brunette hair. Yet, you say positive things about blondes & red hair. I really don't want to argue with you, but you are stereotyping people & haircolor. You seem to want to make negative comments about brunettes, dark hair & grey hair. I find that very offensive.

I never go by polls 100% but the media & people pushing stereotypes are also trying to sell products too. I don't want to get into a battle with you about it. We have to agree to disagree to keep the peace around here.But somehow, I don't think that you will let it go. Hopefully you do. Lets, respect each other's opinions & not stereotype & make rude comments about the different hair colors.

What my dark/silver hair says about me is that I am confident & have my own style. I'm 52 & I'm lucky to look much younger. I am very slim too & dress nice. So, that is very far from old looking & not caring.

So to the above poster, can we let this go already? Or do you want to make some more negative comments about dark & grey hair?? Please, let's respect each other's opinions & let it go.

I hope that everyone has a good weekend. Judy

Hi Judy, no I don't mean to offend you - I said those were stereotypes in the media, and I don't think calling someone cold is a compliment. For every positive I gave a negative (or tried to even it out).

I've already said twice that different haircolours look beautiful depending on the individual. You don't seem to be reading the full post, just taking things out that you want. I literally love all types of hair colour, although I admit I'm not a fan of grey hair, but I've seen people who can carry it off, if it's all a beautiful silvery colour. I love black hair, and I love Brunette's! I've had both these hair colours - the topic is 'What does hair colour say about you?' - I'm giving my opinions on what they say to most people as a stereotype, which I've said I'm against.

I am annoyed that you constantly mis-quote me however, I did not say ppl with Black hair looked false I said it can, and this was also part of a sentence. Reading back through the posts, you have mis-read everything I have written nd taken it as a pesonal insult for some reason. It was and is not. I'm not having any debate with you/I'm talking to anyone reading this thread.

As I've said before, but I'll repeat it now again, I think all hair colours can be beautiful. This is a discussion, and obviously that means giving different opinions. I also don't see why you think I'm addressing you constantly, in some kind of negative way? I'm not. I've just answered a few topics you brought up.

Anyway, I hope that clears it up, I'm just trying to show stereotypes of haircolour by the media, these aren't all my personal opinions as I said. I also said it depends on the individual, I'm sorry that you felt it was aimed at you somehow, but it wasn't. It's only hair colour at the end of the day. Jeez!

Take it easy

Hey, happy birthday Steven!

LOL - thanks Jilly I really appreciate that you noticed. Hope you have a great weekend

Take it easy,

Steve

Happy Birthday Steve. I've been gone all day and got to the forums just in time to see your birthday cake.

HI to Steven,
I knew you would not let it go. We need to agree to disagree. This is 1 reason that many people leave this site & others. I did not mis-read anything that you or anyone else said. I can read & understand what people write & post. I'm not stupid.

You really need to take it easy. We don't agree, so please let's just leave it at that. Or will you continue to want to go back & forth?? I don't. You can think what you want. But it is silly to go back & forth about it, so let's stop. I rather be at peace than right & argue. Which what this is turning into.

I think we can all agree that for better or for worse, people do make judgments about each other based on how they look, and based on their own experiences in the past. We all hopefully feel proud about how we look, and we enjoy the way we dress. But it's a good thing to take stock every once in a while and be aware of how others in the current culture might perceive us *at first* before they get to know us. We can of course choose to stay with how we dress! But it's better to be aware of the way people perceive us and act with that awareness, rather than be unaware of it.

Silver - I understand that you are very proud of your silver hair, and that is wonderful! I do think it's good to be aware of how many people in our current culture perceive it, though. I have many friends in their 50s and 60s and this is something we have experimented with heavily. We have dyed our hair, stopped dying our hair, dyed it different colors. People we interact with treat us *very* differently depending on how the hair looks. Our faces are the same, our clothes are the same, our accents are the same. It is the hair which people are reacting to.

Many of my friends have chosen to stay silver or grey, which is wonderful for them! But they also realize that their choice does have an effect on how they are perceived by strangers.

I think that's all that was being said - that in our culture, the color grey does create an impression in most peoples' minds. I definitely have proven beyond any doubt that that is true.

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

Thanks Steve, for your nice comments. I need to add an updated picture soon. I don't have bangs anymore. My hair is really boring right now as I am growing it out to donate or sell.

HI Lisa,
I don't let culture or society dictate how I look or what color my hair is.I do what works for me & is best for myself. I have nothing but positive attention about how I look & my dark/silver hair. I see many women in my city of Chicago who are letting their gray hair show & on most people it looks great.

I look very current & updated with my whole style I have enough confidence not to follow every trend or what other people think I should do. I have been treated very well with my dark/silver hair. I get alot of compliments & at 52 still get alot of positive attention from men. Women like my hair & style too. No, I don't look like a old hag at all. Never had any negative attention due to my hair color. It looks better than it ever did & yes, I am very proud of it.

Mattie - one thought in the meantime is to use a rosemary shampoo. I've been making my own shampoo recently and a rosemary one naturally has your hair darken. So it tones down my grey so it's less noticeable.

Silver - I understand what you're saying, and I agree that you can be treated well! We all wear what we want to wear for all sorts of reasons. My comment is only that you will be treated DIFFERENTLY than if you had chosen to have your hair blonde, or red, or some other color. It's fine to say "I will do this anyway" but it's good to be aware that you're making that trade-off.

For example, many of my friends found when they chose silver that they were treated with more patience and deference. In essence they were being treated as "someone's grandma" and were given extra time to make choices, were helped along and so on. So the differences are not necessarily negative - but they definitely exist.

So it's not about society or culture dictating anything to you. It's about being aware of how human beings tend to act to certain visual cues. Grey hair is one of those cues.

Lisa, '
I am never treated as someone's grandma at all. I never had any kind of negative treatment about my silver/dark hair. I don't see any different treatment of myself at all due to my hair color. Just more compliments than I usually receive. Which is very postive to me.

So, we need to accept that we each have our own opinions. No human being ever treated me as you said your friends were treated. It's sad that people don't want to accept that every woman does not feel the need to dye their hair because of grey. I totally disagree with you. I think we should drop it already. You can think what you want as I will. Let's leave it at that.

I see many women who dye their hair & look awful. Let's live & let others live their own lives to do what they want to do with their looks. There are more imporatant things to worry about. I am not making any kinds of trade offs at all. So, if you think that go ahead. I think women who allow what they think everyone else thinks they should do are the ones who are making trade offs. So, can we finally drop this? I hope so. We each have our own opinions. So, let's keep it at that.

Somehow I doubt that will happen. I'm aware of only positive attention with my silver/dark hair. So, please stop trying to convince me of your opinion.

I think you might have mis-understood my post, Silver. I didn't say at all that the grey-haired women were treated negatively. I said people treated them positively - helped them with questions, were patient with them, and so on. I'm confused why you felt those were negatives?

You are saying, yourself, that you see a difference based on your hair color - that you receive more compliments. So you, too, agree that people are doing something based on your hair color, which I think is what we were all saying, yes?

Let's let this go. Ok? I can read & understand things. You can think what you want & I respect your right to your opinion, even though I don't agree with you. Please, do the same for me. It's like beating a dead horse at this point. I don't want to argue or debate with you or anyone else back & forth.

You made the statement "I think is what we were all saying, Yes? That says it all. I did not know this site was based on everyone agreeing or not agreeing. I'm sure, you won't let it go. So I will. It's sad that you want to keep going in circles about this. I don't.

I've been on this site a long time. Things have changed in a bad way around here. There were a few good people who have left. Kristen Houghton was 1 of them. Certain people just want to argue & keep it up. It's very sad. I used to enjoy this site alot & I'm sorry to see that some people just want to argue. I have better things to do.

I apologize if you feel I was arguing, I felt I was finding a common ground. You are right, if you do not agree that people react based on hair color, then that is quite fine.

Right now my hair is growing pout from light ash blond to whatever it grows out too...it appear to be silver BUT as I am on chemo it has started turning almost black in stripes...very odd...I do like it though....I had been wanting to get away from the drudgery of coloring my hair every five weeks for decades and finally after a scarey trip to BAD haircut hell I decided that it was time...besides I have no clue what is going to happen during the course of my chemo so I will have to wait and just be surprised...

As to the question I think that whatever your color may or may not say when my hair was blonde I got more looks from men BUT now several women have noticed my "beautiful color" and asked me who did it...

Roni

I guess it's saying I do not care since I am keeping my natural color and I have gray hair. It just does not bother me. I will have it colored in a few months or maybe more but I'm not in an hurry. I will probably go with dark blonde (always hated that color [tried light blonde once and it was fabulous on me] until i had my hair bleached before trying out pink and i loved what i saw in the mirror) and then another unnatural color (pink was great on me) or just go straight with another unnatural color (if i could have the same green as the Dallas Stars thats what id go with). I want to again go platinum blond one day then I'll go Elmo red then black, I know black will be awful on me since I am very pale but I want to try it at least once.

The last few months I've really let my hair say "I'm an old lady." Gotta change that. Lol