<p>So what are your thoughts? </p>
<p>peacock wannabe? :)</p>
<p>it’s only hair. Just make sure to take lots of pictures to show her kids down the road…</p>
<p>I think it shows a sense of fun and I think college is the perfect time to do things like this.</p>
<p>My D did this the day she arrived as a freshman at MIT. Her dorm had a dying station and both guys and girls got it done. She went for flaming red streaks. I must say I was upset when I saw her at convocation that afternoon. But then in marched the procession of deans and one woman dean had spiky hair with pink spikes and I gave up. It faded to orange, then she did purple, which looked cool. When I commented on the purple she sent me my own jar of purple die, but I haven’t had the guts to do it yet. She did tell me that with how gray my hair has gotten, I wouldn’t even have to bleach it out first. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>For a while S had a girlfriend with hair that changed color every so often, to colors not found in nature. Didn’t matter to me…it’s just hair. It was sort of interesting.</p>
<p>Is this any worse that when we used to put hydrogen peroxide on our hair to lighten it? I have a few pictures from one summer in HS when I had orange hair when I was really going for a sunkissed blond look.</p>
<p>I had a friend who, in her 40s, got a bad dye job from a salon and it was purple, like an eggplant after a few days. She had them redo it.</p>
<p>^And for a while Henna was all the rage. So many people had purple, er, reddish hair.</p>
<p>My mother was a beautician and never put a drop of anything on my hair to change the color. With my kids, I told them that they could color their hair any way they wanted because it would grow out. Though my son went through a very blond stage in elementary school, neither of them has tried anything else. </p>
<p>My community college students have all kinds of different colors and styles. We have a great time talking about it and it is a great way for the kids to kind of get acquainted with each other before class starts. </p>
<p>Hair color is harmless.</p>
<p>MD Mom–you were lucky. My mother was a beautician and a couple of times gave me home permanents, with less than stellar results. Back in the day, they were really for only for older people who were disciplined enough to “set” their hair in pin curls every night. Not for awkward 7th graders. :eek:</p>
<p><em>still cringing</em></p>
<p>mommusic–I got my share. I had the very first London cut in my small town in Iowa (think Twiggy). I am also the only student in my entire grade school class whose hair is backcombed in my annual pictures. If I remember, I liked her to do my hair at the time, but now I think I looked really silly.</p>
<p>If my mom could see me today, she would say: “Time for a re-touch.”</p>
<p>A friend’s kid wanted to be Ron from Harry Potter one Halloween and dyed his hair a bright red…it was that way for weeks. (Luckily he looked pretty good in it!)</p>
<p>Hmmmm, nice colors to cover my gray? Thinking about it. ;)</p>
<p>Our Bryn Mawr tour guide had dark hair with a purple streak running through it, and it looked really good on her, even though I’m not typically a fan of that look. It just fit her personality. Hair color can be changed. MUCH rather have my daughter do that, than get a tattoo.</p>
<p>I had blue hair, green hair, purple hair, pink hair-and I even had it after I got a “real job” in museum for a time. It wasn’t until I went into banking that I went to plain, old dark brown. It wasn’t unusual in Berkeley during the 90s. I have encouraged DS to express himself, but he has never been into changing his look. When I retire I will go back to pink (at least streaks). Some colors really make my eyes pop.</p>
<p>One time, I noticed that the barista at my favorite coffee shop had green hair, and I commented on it. He told me he had put green Jello in his hair for a Halloween costume, not realizing that it would color his hair somewhat permanently! Actually, I thought it was a pretty nice color.</p>
<p>Well, I just dyed blue streaks in my 17 year old’s hair two weeks ago. Her hair is really long - to her waist - and very dark brown. The first bleaching took it to an orangy color; the second took it down to strawberry blonde; the third took it to light brown/blonde so we could then dye it blue without it turning green instead. I’m not sure I’ve ever spent more one-on-one time with my daughter and it was wonderful. I wish I could post a picture - it turned out really cool. It’s a turquoise blue color. The streaks are three on one side and two on the other and they start back a couple of inches from the front hairline. She can put it in a ponytail or bun and it is almost hidden by the front hair going back. </p>
<p>Hair is a great way to experiment with your look without making a permanent decision. I imagine she will try a few additional colors before she tires of it and changes it back.</p>
<p>I think the subject’s been covered really well, but I’ll just sum up that the question “What message does blue/red/green/purple/pink hair send?” can be answered by “the person who has it likes blue/red/green/purple/pink hair” and any other message is firmly in the mind of the beholder.</p>
<p>One of my kids has talked about a blue streak in his (long, blond) hair for some time. It will grow out. Now when he painted his nails to match his dress shirt for his Seriously Corporate America interview (for which he wore a very nice suit), DH about had a coronary. BTW, he did get an offer!</p>
<p>I live in small town middle America and I don’t think twice about someone with their hair colored. We have 3rd graders who come to school with pink or blue hair (usually boys) and no one really cares. It gets the kid some attention from the other kids for about a day and that is it. Some of our teachers even have streaks of pink and not just the young teachers. What I notice now is how common feathers are in hair. I think they look kind of nice when done well.</p>
<p>My absolutely beautiful 23 yo D is currently aqua blue (yes, I am biased). It actually looks great on her. She is an artist, studying fashion design in NYC and is a bohemian spirit (always has been). </p>
<p>I wish she had not gotten the few tattoos she’s gotten (these are gonna last a lifetime), but the hair doesn’t phase me.</p>
<p>My mother and I had so many fights about my hair that I swore I’d never fight with my own daughter about it. There’s no message to weird-colored hair; it’s not a gang signal, a secret code among kids, a sign of subversion, or an indicator of character. It really is just hair. :)</p>