<p>My 19-year-old niece wants to dye her hair with blue streaks. My sister-in-law has tried to talk her out of it, but apparently without much success. Niece is a college freshman, fairly good student, generally responsible, and is planning to pay for her blue hair with birthday money.</p>
<p>I admit that I have a generally bad impression of young people with blue (or whatever color) streaks in their hair. (Also of facial piercings.) But I am not exactly sure why.</p>
<p>I totally agree that this is a battle not worth fighting. My eldest S, naturally a dirty blonde and now in law school, once had neon green hair, followed by bleached white hair (to get rid of the green). It’s only hair, and its not an irrevocable decision.</p>
<p>Compared to permanent damage caused by tattoos and piercings, hair color issues are easy to fix. In most cases, it simply grows back. Our kids knew that they could do whatever they wanted with their hair as long as they did not wipe out the roots. If it is just a few colored streaks, most people would probably not even notice it. If it is a completely pink head, yes, it looks bizzare even here in Seattle, but as I said, hair will grow back. :)</p>
<p>Speaking as a 56-year-old gray-haired woman with a pink streak in the front, I think colored streaks are charming. Since I’m in Portland, my opinion is probably irrelevant.</p>
<p>I agree with dmd77. Let her streak her hair with blue. Sometimes we need a little spunk in our lives. </p>
<p>dmd77–bravo on your pink streak and gray hair. I love my gray hair and get tons of compliments when I change it up with short funky cuts. I don’t have a pink streak (yet :)), but I did get a small tattoo this year. I took my son to get a tattoo (told him he could get one and only one). I shocked him when I sat down in the chair next to his, stuck my arm out exposing the inside of my wrist, and said, “Let’s get started”.</p>
<p>I’d be worried if this was a recent grad in the throes of a job hunt, but I pick my battles and blue hair is not the hill on which I’m willing to die. I have a much greater reaction to tattoos and gross piercings and – ewwww! – ear gauges in guys.</p>
<p>What message does blue/red/green/purple/pink hair send?
that she has a colorful personality?
seriously, there are bigger fish to fry. hair grows out and she wont be using this “look” to get attention forever.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of odd hair colors, but as everyone else said, as long as she isn’t looking for a “regular” job any time soon and as long as she doesn’t destroy the roots, it will grow out eventually. </p>
<p>I think there are spray-on versions. You might suggest to her that she try that first, just to make sure she likes it. Correcting bad color choices is expensive, as well as hard on the hair. She might decide she would prefer another color.</p>
<p>I would be upset about tattoos and piercings, personally, because I really, really dislike them. I’m a one-hole-per-ear kind of person, who didn’t even get their own ears pierced until age 30. But we’ve discussed this here before, and it is clear that there is a wide range of reaction to such things, even among CC parents. Some of whom have their own tattoos. :D</p>
<p>Let her get it out of her system now. Also if you as a parent put a pink or blue streak in your hair she may grow out of it faster. You know when parents do anything kids do it’s instantly lame. :-D</p>
<p>Getting pink or blue hair is a lot better than getting a tattoo. I told my daughters that if they feel they must make a flamboyant artistic “statement” with their bodies to please make it with their hair and not their skin. The hair will grow out.</p>
<p>As someone who had blue hair in 1981, pink in 1983 and auburn in 1984 (time for a job!), it means you are a young person with access to hair dye. During high school D had fuschia and purple hair. I could have cared less.
***D would probably still be sporting pink hair, but she is smart enough to know that the world of classical music is just a tad too conservative for such things.</p>
<p>I lost track of the many hair colors my daughter went through in high school. It’s only hair, impermanent and easily changed back, not like a tattoo! In our house, we ran to get the camera to capture the moment, kind of like her first walk, first talk, etc. They will outgrow the novelty soon enough and of all the rebellion things they can try -tattoo, body piercings, alcohol, drugs - this is the least harmful and kinda charming in my book.</p>
<p>unicornbubbbles - I told my husband that the minute my daughter wants to get a tattoo, I will enthusiastically offer to go with her and get a 2-for-1 mother/daughter deal! That should kill all desires on her part…</p>
<p>My only requirement for hair & my kids is that it be clean. The cut & color is not permanent. (that said, the HS swimmer son has a crewcut because he has my thin, fine, straight hair that he otherwise does not take care of…refer to my 1st statement).</p>
<p>I don’t think the color would matter too much for a typical job a 19yo might apply for. I’ve seen everything at retailers and wacky hair is far easier on the eye than facial piercings.</p>
But we’ve discussed this here before, and it is clear that there is a wide range of reaction to such things, even among CC parents. Some of whom have their own tattoos. :D</p>