Attitudes to hair colour

[Feidlimid]

Hello everyone :)
I don't know if a thread like this exists, but I've looked at some recent threads and haven't seen much on this topic so I thought I'd start this.
I'm a natural redhead and, from my experience, in the UK the attitude towards redheads can be... hostile at times. While I'm lucky that I've never been incessantly bullied for my hair colour and mostly get compliments for it, I've been called some VERY colourful words by complete strangers while I've been out due to being a redhead. I love my hair the way it is but sometimes it knocks my confidence when people feel the need to make unnecessary comments.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences and what the attitudes are towards redheads (or even any other hair colour) where you live. It would be interesting to hear other people's views on this :)

[Sharysa]

There's considerably less redhead hostility in the States, but I noticed that a lot of people assume that all Asians have shiny, straight, black hair. Whenever people start going on and on about how Asians have such gorgeous hair, I know that most of them assume it's the "straight and shiny" type like movie stars, not the "wavy and matte" type like mine.

Hell, even other Asians are surprised to see my hair when it's down. They know we can have that kind of hair, but they're surprised because I'm NOT straightening it.

It's just this conflicting mesh of positive discrimination and general stereotyping. When I was in high school, I straightened my hair for YEARS to fit into that mold.

[jeanniet]

Funny thing is, on LHC there's lots of hennaheads and most of us are crazy about red(dish) hair. I don't think the US is as bad, but very orangey-red hair probably gets the most negative comments. I don't know why.

Agree about the Asian thing, and also that Asians have black hair. I'm half Indian, and people always insist that my hair is black. It's dark brown, and it's obvious to me.

[sumidha]

That's messed up. I really don't get why people think it's ok to make (unflattering?) comments about other's physical attributes, whether they be hair color or texture, skin, height or pants size. Especially strangers! Wtf.

I have had a guy in a car say to me "I see we're a natural brunette." as I was on my bike waiting at a stop light. It took me like a block and a half to realize he was referencing my armpit hair. :S

Sometimes it feels like the world is full of creepsters and their unsolicited opinions, lol.

[Kaelee]

My grandad hates red hair. :lol: He can't figure out why I dye mine that color. I don't understand why he hates it. But he's figured out by now it won't do any good to say anything at all about it (or my tattoos, or my piercings.)

[luxepiggy]

There's considerably less redhead hostility in the States, but I noticed that a lot of people assume that all Asians have shiny, straight, black hair. Whenever people start going on and on about how Asians have such gorgeous hair, I know that most of them assume it's the "straight and shiny" type like movie stars, not the "wavy and matte" type like mine.

Hell, even other Asians are surprised to see my hair when it's down. They know we can have that kind of hair, but they're surprised because I'm NOT straightening it.

It's just this conflicting mesh of positive discrimination and general stereotyping. When I was in high school, I straightened my hair for YEARS to fit into that mold mold.

I must admit I have been guilty of this - since I DO have the stereotypical stick-straight Asian hair, as does everyone in my extended family, for the longest time I simply assumed all other Asians did as well. It simply never even occurred to me that there were Asians out there with non-1a hair until a couple of years ago, when I was at an Asian girlfriend's house and noticed that she had a flat-iron.

But now I know better! (^(oo)^)v

[Kherome]

Piggy! I haven't seen one of your posts in ages! ;)

The only attitude towards my hair that was ever negative was my mothers. I was born, popped right out with a head full of red hair, and my Gram (a redhead) said "Oh how sweet! Look at her red hair!" So my Mother burst into tears and said "It's not red! It's blond!" Then my mother proceeded to make me feel awkward about my red hair my whole life by telling me I couldn't wear certain colors because it clashed with my red hair etc.

[jeanniet]

I must admit I have been guilty of this - since I DO have the stereotypical stick-straight Asian hair, as does everyone in my extended family, for the longest time I simply assumed all other Asians did as well. It simply never even occurred to me that there were Asians out there with non-1a hair until a couple of years ago, when I was at an Asian girlfriend's house and noticed that she had a flat-iron.

But now I know better! (^(oo)^)v

Haha--you know what, I have curly hair and thought Asians had straight hair, too! Which explains why I always treated mine as straight/wavy. I just thought it was frizzy. Come to think of it, I saw a picture of my dad once when he was a young man and still had long hair (Sikh--in the picture he must have just washed and combed it) and it was pretty wavy/frizzy, so he must have had curly hair too. But growing up I did think all Asians had straight hair. Wish I knew where that picture was!

[jeanniet]

Piggy! I haven't seen one of your posts in ages! ;)

The only attitude towards my hair that was ever negative was my mothers. I was born, popped right out with a head full of red hair, and my Gram (a redhead) said "Oh how sweet! Look at her red hair!" So my Mother burst into tears and said "It's not red! It's blond!" Then my mother proceeded to make me feel awkward about my red hair my whole life by telling me I couldn't wear certain colors because it clashed with my red hair etc.

Kherome! That's your natural color? I guess I always assumed you dyed or hennaed it, because so many here do. What a lovely color, you lucky duck!

P.S. And yes, hi, Piggy!

[NoRush]

I haven't really experienced any negative attitude towards my natural hair color (dark espresso type color) but when I was a teenager I dyed my hair strawberry blond (read: carrot red, I hadn't blached so it didn't come out exactly as the box said), and while I absolutely loved it and my mom just let me do my experimenting, my friends weren't exactly supportive, they didn't make fun of it, we were never like that towards each other but they were, shall we say very happy for me, when I slapped some raven black over it :P No other shade of red, nor the blue or the purple I had on my head ever elicited such negative response as that.

[Feidlimid]

Piggy! I haven't seen one of your posts in ages! ;)

The only attitude towards my hair that was ever negative was my mothers. I was born, popped right out with a head full of red hair, and my Gram (a redhead) said "Oh how sweet! Look at her red hair!" So my Mother burst into tears and said "It's not red! It's blond!" Then my mother proceeded to make me feel awkward about my red hair my whole life by telling me I couldn't wear certain colors because it clashed with my red hair etc.

It's such a shame your mother would do that, my mum does the exact opposite- tells me any colour will work well with my hair ^_^ It's good that your grandmother seemed proud of it though :)

Thanks for all the interesting replies, I have to admit I used to be one of those people who thought Asians had smooth, sleek hair and it always made me jealous! I have a Filipino friend now though who has very thick, wavy hair so I'm more aware now. :laugh:

[Mya]

from my experience, in the UK the attitude towards redheads can be... hostile at times.

That's something I find very curious. Why is there such an attitude in the UK? Maybe there's a very strong sense of division given by lifestyle/aesthetic symbols?

Where I live there is no particular attitude towards any hair color. Red hair is usually appreciated for a matter of personal tastes. It would get comments like any other hair color (except brown, poor brown is ignored). The same can be said for blonde hair. Blonde jokes totally are a USA thing.

[amanda_the_tall]

That's something I find very curious. Why is there such an attitude in the UK? Maybe there's a very strong sense of division given by lifestyle/aesthetic symbols?

Where I live there is no particular attitude towards any hair color. Red hair is usually appreciated for a matter of personal tastes. It would get comments like any other hair color (except brown, poor brown is ignored). The same can be said for blonde hair. Blonde jokes totally are a USA thing.
Blonde jokes aren't so popular now, around here at least, because EVERY male I know FLIPS OUT over blondes. They worship them as the ultimate hair color. Unfortunately, I agree that brown hair is mostly ignored, since my natural mousy medium brown goes unnoticed even when I do dye it a deeper shade.

[Sharysa]

I must admit I have been guilty of this - since I DO have the stereotypical stick-straight Asian hair, as does everyone in my extended family, for the longest time I simply assumed all other Asians did as well. It simply never even occurred to me that there were Asians out there with non-1a hair until a couple of years ago, when I was at an Asian girlfriend's house and noticed that she had a flat-iron.

I find it ironic that the bohemian trend is in full-swing and my 1c/2a hair is now PERFECT for it.

[swearnsue]

There is a common thought that older women should have light colored hair. I use henna and it has darkened my gray hair to a very dark brown/red and I've had people say that it makes me look older, that I should use a peroxide type hair dye and go blonde.

In the USA I think red haired males are picked on. They are called "Gingers" like it's a bad thing.

[leslissocool]

Piggy is back! I missed you!

My hair is dark so I never get stereotyped regarding color, but I did get bullied because it was oily. However I'm the only one in my family with this type of hair so it's always been admired.

[ExpectoPatronum]

My hair is just your average brown..so I was never bullied, but people have said my hair color is 'boring.' Most of my friends in high school were blondes and I had one red-headed friend so, I guess I was the boring one out of the group. But really, I don't think any other color would work well with my skin tone.

[Kittney]

Random people feel the need to comment on how my eyebrows and hair are opposite colors. They then start to pry and when they find out my natural hair color really is blonde and my eyebrows really are very dark brown/black they proceed to call me a liar or give me instructions on how to fix it so I look "better".

Around here people still do use blonde women as a reference point for intelligence but not nearly as often and eventually someone always feels the need to exclaim to male redheads that they are gingers as if it is a bad thing.

[~honeyflower~]

In my lake of the woods, blonds are trying to get dark brown.

[Ocelan]

I think here men say they like blondes best aswell, but the yellow blonde hair which comes out of a box nobody really likes, especially when the roots kick in. Otherwise I understand men liking lighter colored hair as it is often linked to higher estrogen production, or rather less testosterone, and therefore more feminine features (according to scientific studies). Of course luckily not all men are just after blondes as the "blondes are better" way of thinking doesn't apply to women who have extremely high estrogen levels but also higher testosterone which make their hair darker + genes and all that stuff.

Here the most hated but also the most common hair color is the "mousy" or "dishwater" brown aka blonette by LHC standards which most people just can't categorize. People here find it ugly and boring, because it's what most people here are growing out of their heads. That's why most women here decide to dye their hair any other color: blonde, red, black, brown, anything that isn't their normal boring color. I used to do this too. I dyed my hair dark, but now I've learned to like my natural color and it works for me much better than the dark colors. And I think most people don't just dye their "mousy" hair because they think it's boring, but more I think the reason is that other people might find it boring and people are afraid of that.

Also, I've always thought red hair was pretty and wanted to be a redhead myself, but for the first time I came across with some sort of redhead hatred was when I friend of mine had been spending time with a redheaded guy and she said "I can't date him he's ginger!". We all laughed, but later on I understood that there was really something behind what she said. It wasn't a joke. There must have actually been something off-putting about his red hair. Then again the dyed redheads don't get called names or anything and men even like them about as much as blondes. What's up with that?

[Flick6]

In Australia they call red haired people ranga, I dont know how to spell it phonetically!! It is a bit of an insult, our first female PM was ridiculed for being a ranga.... however I have a red headed child, and I am sure she thought her name was "What-Beautiful-Hair-She-Has" for the first few years of her life, because every stranger we met would say that to me! Mind you her hair is a deep auburn sort of red, and she has olive skin and brown eyes... I think the red-head judging is saved for the orngey red heads with fair skin and freckles. I do not understand why because I think they are often very beautiful!! growing up with brown hair and brown eyes I was always deeply envious of people with green or blue eyes and hair that was any colour other than BROWN.

[Feidlimid]

That's something I find very curious. Why is there such an attitude in the UK? Maybe there's a very strong sense of division given by lifestyle/aesthetic symbols?
I'm just as curious as you are. I try and see it like this- people will always find something to criticise about you, whether you're overweight, underweight, have bad skin etc. My hair just happens to be the easiest option, which is annoying but I have to try and live with it.

In the UK redheads are all called 'gingers', but like in the USA it's less desirable to be a male redhead. I am referred to as 'ginger' a lot of the time but I don't take it badly unless I know the person is saying it in a malicious way. In fact, in school when a younger student was looking to give me a message and was struggling to find who I was, my friend blurted out 'She's the ginger one!' which made me laugh. :laugh: Needless to say I was found pretty quickly after that.

I like brunette hair personally, I think if I wasn't a redhead I'd like to be a brunette because it would suit me the most. My eyebrows don't match my hair either (they're dark brown) but I've never been accused of being a fake or told to 'fix them', although when I was younger a girl in my class exclaimed 'you're naturally brunette!' when she noticed them. I told her I wasn't and I think she just left it.

[jacqueline101]

I've always assumed kind of the same as Luxepiggy except my family on my moms side are apache Indians with long straight hair. They never cut their hair real short so I thought all Indians had long straight hair. Color wise I assumed they all had dark hair. I've never noticed any anger in my country towards redheads.

[MsBubbles]

It's so upsetting. My son has a beautiful head of light, strawberry blonde hair. Not bright flaming red, but orange enough. I guess one consolation is that if his hairline takes after his Dad's, he won't have too much hair after about 8 years' time, and it'll go white above his ears shortly after that.

[dulce]

Where I live ,most older ladies have short permed dyed hair or short permed gray hair.I am the only one in my area with long[hip length+] and gray.I notice people either seem to love my hair or absolutely hate it.Gray combined with length,especially if worn loose on a post menopausal lady[me]seems to offend some people.

[Feidlimid]

Where I live ,most older ladies have short permed dyed hair or short permed gray hair.I am the only one in my area with long[hip length+] and gray.I notice people either seem to love my hair or absolutely hate it.Gray combined with length,especially if worn loose on a post menopausal lady[me]seems to offend some people.
I notice that in my area too a lot of older ladies have very short hair. I find it funny that people would get offended over the fact that older ladies want long hair, I think I'll be keeping my hair even when I'm old and grey!

[Ocelan]

Yes, gray long hair really is rare here too. I only remember a few women with gray or salt & pepper hair worn in a braid, the rest perm it and cut it above chin or ear level. Many also dye it and some older ladies with obvious orange faded dye with white roots in their permed hair look a bit odd to me. I wish more would just let it grow or atleast just let it be the color it is naturally. The perm seems to be a remnant from the times from the 80's when many of now middle aged or older women found their style and kept it. My mom no longer has a perm, but she does have shorter than chin length hair and she does rollers in her bangs just the way she did when she had a perm. I believe in the future when my generation will get older there will be less perms but probably atleast as much short cuts and dark and red dyes with highlights.

My grandma liked her hair "long" or my mom did, I don't know how it really went as my grandma was too old and fragile to do anything to her hair on her own, so my mom brushed and braided it. Her hair was only APL and so very thin at that point when she was past 80 years old, but I thought it was beautiful nonetheless and her hair was sparkling white, just like snow. Beautiful! :)

[Kherome]

Kherome! That's your natural color? I guess I always assumed you dyed or hennaed it, because so many here do. What a lovely color, you lucky duck!

P.S. And yes, hi, Piggy!

Yes, my hair is all virgin, no dye of any kind. I've been tempted by henna, but at this point I have never tried it.

[Skade]

Yes, my hair is all virgin, no dye of any kind. I've been tempted by henna, but at this point I have never tried it.

Wow all virgin, that's amazing. I definitely thought it was henna. Your hair is so beautiful Kherome!

[Kherome]

Thank you. I had no idea everyone though I was a henna head! Haha It's tempting...so tempting. But, I resist.

[TheMechaGinger]

I get a lot of attention for my hair, almost all of it is positive. But every once in a while I get odd comments from men that are grossly sexual in nature. I've ran into a few guys who assume because I'm a red head I'm easy and normally I brush it off but sometimes it bothers me.

[swearnsue]

After reading these posts I'm feeling tempted to let my roots grow out. It's been so long since I've gotten a good look at my hair but I'm guessing that I'm at least 75% gray (silver) and 25% medium/light ash brown.

I love the shine and strength I get from henna though...

[heidi w.]

I make a lot of unnecessary comments. Best to just ignore us and walk on. It's the truth.
Don't ruin someone's day because you're upset. It's not worth it.
They're just having a bad day. Maybe they'll be better tomorrow.
Heidi w.

[heidi w.]

TheMechaGinger, just feel sorry for them for not having your hair color. Lots of crap about that abounds. And it's all untrue for the most part.
Heidi w.

[Tini'sNewHair]

I know someone who hates (yes thats right, she hates!) the natural "redheads" - I always admired people with this type of hair because i personally think that it looks so beautiful but this person i know says the most awful things and if i could, i would love to give her a good smack across that yucky mouth of hers :)) but yeah so far i only know this one person and i live in Australia.

[CousinItt]

I used to wish I had inherited my mother's red hair. Instead I have my father's very ashy blonette colour. I haven't come across any bias towards red-heads here in Canada. If anything, my mother was admired for her auburn tresses, and there's a ton of red-heads in the city I live in.

What I come across often are the people who say they have to dye their hair because it's so mousey. So many people seem to buy into the notion that the only attractive hair colours are dramatic or unusual extremes. I did too when I was younger, but now I enjoy my hair colour.

[maborosi]

I like brunette hair personally, I think if I wasn't a redhead I'd like to be a brunette because it would suit me the most. My eyebrows don't match my hair either (they're dark brown) but I've never been accused of being a fake or told to 'fix them', although when I was younger a girl in my class exclaimed 'you're naturally brunette!' when she noticed them. I told her I wasn't and I think she just left it.

I used to be accused of being a 'fake blonde' because my eyebrows and lashes are naturally almost black whereas my hair is naturally light blonde.

I have never actually seen a redhead with dark brows, though, to me that's interesting!

~maborosi~

[WilfredAllen]

I get a lot of attention for my hair, almost all of it is positive. But every once in a while I get odd comments from men that are grossly sexual in nature. I've ran into a few guys who assume because I'm a red head I'm easy and normally I brush it off but sometimes it bothers me.

sometimes guys have a problem where they start confusing porn with real life ... :( If they bug you, it's fun to point this out and watch them get embarrassed :D

[WilfredAllen]

I used to wish I had inherited my mother's red hair. Instead I have my father's very ashy blonette colour. I haven't come across any bias towards red-heads here in Canada. If anything, my mother was admired for her auburn tresses, and there's a ton of red-heads in the city I live in.

What I come across often are the people who say they have to dye their hair because it's so mousey. So many people seem to buy into the notion that the only attractive hair colours are dramatic or unusual extremes I . I did too when I was younger, but now I enjoy my hair colour.

I live in Canada and I somewhat agree. I've seen redheads teased once in a while, but always in a friendly way, and almost always witha Southpark reference thrown in. I've also known redheaded guys to sometimes say they feel self conscious about their hair, but girls don't seem particularly adverse to it (some girls love red hair on guys, some don't, most are ambivalent). Every girl I know doesn't like, or used to not like her own natural colour, red headed or not.


I have also seen that attitude of people needing to dye their hair to a more dramatic colour. Mousey/medium brown, at least on women, isn't too popular.

[LadyCelestina]

There is a certain type of blonde people I try to avoid because of their looks.I know it sounds superficial and it probably is,but what's the point of social interaction if you feel bad while at it?
It's light blonde hair in combination with watery blue eyes,red wet lips and flushed cheeks that insanely creep me out...

[oktobergoud]

I dye my hair red and I always get compliments on it! Actually, a lot of people ask me if it's my natural colour and when they find out it's not, they're actually disappointed! It's mostly older people though, but still. It's like because it's not natural, it's all of a sudden not pretty anymore haha! :P

[Haybop]

I have mousey brown hair which I find terribly boring. I'm torn between whether I'd prefer natural red hair or my mum's black hair :S I do come across people who come out with some horrible comments on redheads (inc my friend who's dating a guy with a gorgeous shade of red hair) that I just don't understand - it does seem rather prevalent in the UK (more England than others).

[Etna]

I know a woman who despises red hair to the point she said she wouldn't know what to do if she had a child with red hair. Strangely, her father has red hair and is a very nice person, so I find her disdain for it to be perplexing.

I love red hair and think it is beautiful, and would be proud if I were lucky enough to have red-headed children, or even better if red hair would grow naturally from my scalp.

Disliking hair colors is so silly and a waste of energy, in my opinion.

[Haybop]

I don't understand this hatred of red hair... it's just another hair colour! It's like saying you'd be inconsolable if you had a child with blonde hair, you don't hear that with any other hair colour (unless you're on Jeremy Kyle and the chances of the child being a blonde only happen if it's from a different father ;D).

People should embrace the vibrant and range of colours that red heads can have, just as they do with all the others :D

[butterfly_dream]

I adore the red hair and in fact I'm blonde (blonette :wink:) and I henna my hair
There is no any red head hostility in Italy, the red hair are usually highly appreciated here. Perhaps the reason is that there are very few natural red heads where I live.

[HylianGirl]

I have met only three natural redheads, they are rare where I live, but this color is actually very aprreciated aroud here. I happen to like it very much (that's why I decided to henna xD). My mom used to say she doesn't like red hair and was agaist me hennaing, but once she saw the results, she loved it.

I often here obout this "mousey brown", and for the life of me, I have no idea what this so called boring brown is. I think all natural colours are beautiful, and medium brown (is it the "mousey brown"?) looks so well on many poeple. It's not as harsh as dark brown, nor as light as blonde. Not that blonde or dark hair are bad, don't get me wrong, it's just that those are colors that don't fit everyone, and brown is that perfect in between of darkness, if that makes sense. Ido'nt think it's ugly or boring at all.

I actually find it kinda funny, it seems to me like many japanaese and korean girls lighten their hair to a light or medium brown from their dark brown/black hair and yet people from the west keep saying it's boring.

One of the things that kept me from hennaing before is that I actually like my natural hair color, I feel it really suits me. But hey, I wanted to try adding some red to see what it would look like, when I get tired of it, I'll just grow it back ^-^

[akilina]

Eh there are so many generalizations and I don't care to value rude people's opinions or let it hurt me. Why be that soft over your hair if its something you love??
I've heard people say natural read heads are psycho, blond chicks are bitches, black hair must be a goth, brown hair you're boring, colorful hair you must be a bad person...
Why value the opinion of small people...?

[humble_knight]

Hello everyone :)
I don't know if a thread like this exists, but I've looked at some recent threads and haven't seen much on this topic so I thought I'd start this.
I'm a natural redhead and, from my experience, in the UK the attitude towards redheads can be... hostile at times. While I'm lucky that I've never been incessantly bullied for my hair colour and mostly get compliments for it, I've been called some VERY colourful words by complete strangers while I've been out due to being a redhead. I love my hair the way it is but sometimes it knocks my confidence when people feel the need to make unnecessary comments.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences and what the attitudes are towards redheads (or even any other hair colour) where you live. It would be interesting to hear other people's views on this :)

In the 1990s, there was an English lass who had beyond-floorlength natural red hair. I remember watching a BBC2 Horizon programme about hair. It included interviews with people of all hair colours, hair types and lengths. The beyond-floorlength redhead also took part in that programme.

[Surinecet]

Most of my life I've had red/reddish hair (some natural, some enhanced with henna or dye), and don't recall ever getting a negative comment on it. I've always loved red hair, and wanted to look like Anne of Green Gables. :) I have found, however, that there are plenty of detractors to colorful hair (such as blue or purple dip dye).

[Tori Angeli]

I've heard the "mousy brown is boring" thing before, and always felt my entire life that my ash brown hair was kind of a non-color. Might as well be invisible. I went through a phase where it was burgundy, another where it was dark brown, and finally just gave up and let it grow out because I was spending so much money on box dyes (it's all virgin now). I still felt like it was a blah color. No one in stories has ash brown hair. The "attractive" brown is supposed to be chocolate, or espresso, or something else that resembles food.

One day, a friend of mine referred to my hair as "flowing chestnut locks." I've been proud of my hair color ever since. Chestnut! What a beautiful word for that medium brown! It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose.

[truepeacenik]

I used to be accused of being a 'fake blonde' because my eyebrows and lashes are naturally almost black whereas my hair is naturally light blonde.

I have never actually seen a redhead with dark brows, though, to me that's interesting!

~maborosi~

I'm natural red. My eyebrows are medium to deep brown.

Body is hair is red. The armpits are a bit off the mark, looking brownish in one light, reddish in another. The rest of the body hair is two/three shades lighter than my head hair.

[Mina_Harker]

My grandmother was half Cherokee indian, and she had dark red hair. She was the favorite of the family because of her hair. In some cultures red hair was considered to be a supreme gift from god (especially Native American cultures). They believed that they had been favored by the sun god. Besides being the rarest hair color in the world it is also one hair color that CAN go the longest without loosing its pigment (according to a recent study). It is also the color of hair of some of fictions favorite heroes and femme fatales, like: Poison Ivy, Jessica Rabbit, and Jean Grey. I wish I had red hair. I am one of the few in my family that did not inherit the red hair/green eyes/pale skin combo. I just look normal:( Live it up! You have the hair that Native Americans (some of them at least) worshiped!

[Arien]

I'm very sorry to hear about such negativity towards your hair. I find it surprising and very sad that people feel the need to make negative comments. I didn't think people in the U.K particularly made fun of those with red hair anymore, thought that went out of fashion years ago. Certainly I know many women that long for various shades of red/copper/strawberry blonde hair and are dying their hair to achieve it. All shades of red seem to be very popular at the moment. I'm just sorry someone with naturally red hair is getting criticised for it. Shame on those people letting the side down!

[Feidlimid]

I didn't expect so many replies to this!
I agree that I shouldn't let value the opinions of the people who give me negative comments, but I'm not exactly confident in the first place so those comments can really affect me sometimes. The positive attitude from everyone in the community is helping with with a lot, so thank you for all the replies :)

[Unicorn]

Funny thing is, on LHC there's lots of hennaheads and most of us are crazy about red(dish) hair. I don't think the US is as bad, but very orangey-red hair probably gets the most negative comments. I don't know why.

Agree about the Asian thing, and also that Asians have black hair. I'm half Indian, and people always insist that my hair is black. It's dark brown, and it's obvious to me.

I've been told by more than one hairdresser, that truly black hair is only found amongst Japanese people. Everyone else (who's hair may be described as black) has dark brown hair. Though I have seen obviously brunette hair described as black :confused:


Thank you. I had no idea everyone though I was a henna head! Haha It's tempting...so tempting. But, I resist.

I'm another who thought you were a henna head. You have beautiful coloured hair.


Unicorn

[butterfly_dream]

Feidlimid!
The world is full of nitwits! We don't need to care the uncouth people's opinions. :mad:

[humble_knight]

I didn't expect so many replies to this!
I agree that I shouldn't let value the opinions of the people who give me negative comments, but I'm not exactly confident in the first place so those comments can really affect me sometimes. The positive attitude from everyone in the community is helping with with a lot, so thank you for all the replies :)

I just saw your length pics on another thread.............Blimey O' Reilley! Talk about thudworthy hair! :thudpile:

I hope in real life your circle of friends help you in regards to your confidence :thumbsup: I still struggle with it and I'm 36!

[Feidlimid]

I just saw your length pics on another thread.............Blimey O' Reilley! Talk about thudworthy hair! :thudpile:

I hope in real life your circle of friends help you in regards to your confidence :thumbsup: I still struggle with it and I'm 36!

:o Thank you for such a thoughtful comment! Yes, my friends are helping me with my confidence a lot already.

[McFearless]

I love red hair! It doesn't exist in my country but in Canada it seems pretty standard for redheads to be called ginger and albino growing up, which is ridiculous. Sorry you have to deal with that :(

[Mya]

I didn't expect so many replies to this!
I agree that I shouldn't let value the opinions of the people who give me negative comments, but I'm not exactly confident in the first place so those comments can really affect me sometimes. The positive attitude from everyone in the community is helping with with a lot, so thank you for all the replies :)

Ah! Don't worry. Sometimes it feels like we're surrounded by mean people, but in fact they're just very noisy. :blossom:

[Sharysa]

I've been told by more than one hairdresser, that truly black hair is only found amongst Japanese people.


truly black hair is only found amongst Japanese people


TRULY BLACK HAIR IS ONLY FOUND AMONST JAPANESE PEOPLE

That's so ridiculously racist that it wraps right back around into hilarious. Most Asian cultures LOVE black hair, and have loved it for eons of years. The problem is that most Westerners think there's only one or two kinds of "black" (shiny blue-black or jet/raven-black) because that's all they're exposed to. Color-wise, there's blue-black, jet-black, soft-black, and brown/red-black.

Since I'm Filipino and I therefore don't have "truly" black hair, what the hell would this color be?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/CrossoverQueen/Photos/Photoshoot%207-10-2013/shot4_zpsaa741ca6.jpeg

[CousinItt]

I've heard the "mousy brown is boring" thing before, and always felt my entire life that my ash brown hair was kind of a non-color. Might as well be invisible. I went through a phase where it was burgundy, another where it was dark brown, and finally just gave up and let it grow out because I was spending so much money on box dyes (it's all virgin now). I still felt like it was a blah color. No one in stories has ash brown hair. The "attractive" brown is supposed to be chocolate, or espresso, or something else that resembles food.

One day, a friend of mine referred to my hair as "flowing chestnut locks." I've been proud of my hair color ever since. Chestnut! What a beautiful word for that medium brown! It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose.

Chestnut! Awesome. I will now only use chestnut to describe my hair colour.

[leslissocool]

That's so ridiculously racist that it wraps right back around into hilarious. Most Asian cultures LOVE black hair, and have loved it for eons of years. The problem is that most Westerners think there's only one or two kinds of "black" (shiny blue-black or jet/raven-black) because that's all they're exposed to. Color-wise, there's blue-black, jet-black, soft-black, and brown/red-black.

Since I'm Filipino and I therefore don't have "truly" black hair, what the hell would this color be?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/CrossoverQueen/Photos/Photoshoot%207-10-2013/shot4_zpsaa741ca6.jpeg

I have truly black hair naturally! I'm not asian, AT ALL, and my hair on sunlight is pitch black, no brown whatsoever. Last time I covered the bleach damage off my hair, the stylist had to put level 2 color on my hair, and she did say she ONLY uses that color on asians however anything lighter would have not matched my roots.

This is me, on a sunny day, in disney standing on the sun, no hair dye at all:

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee449/leslissocool/541980_3087274386467_1318319135_n_zpsd7308cf7.jpg

My hair is just that dark, it's raven black. That's why to lighten it it takes a LOT of bleach and high developer.

[Beborani]

I grew up reading books written in English by British or American authors (good literature and trash!) where only hair colors mentioned were blond, redhead and brunettes. i used to keep looking at my hair color and wondered where I'd fit if someone were to describe me. Occasionally I saw raven but it was almost always in negative context--the woman would be Evil!

Black was the coveted color in India so those with shades of brown would try to achieve black by oiling. My mother and daughter have lighter hair than I--my daughter keeps getting asked if she bleaches (by Indians).

[Unicorn]

That's so ridiculously racist that it wraps right back around into hilarious. Most Asian cultures LOVE black hair, and have loved it for eons of years. The problem is that most Westerners think there's only one or two kinds of "black" (shiny blue-black or jet/raven-black) because that's all they're exposed to. Color-wise, there's blue-black, jet-black, soft-black, and brown/red-black.

Since I'm Filipino and I therefore don't have "truly" black hair, what the hell would this color be?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b124/CrossoverQueen/Photos/Photoshoot%207-10-2013/shot4_zpsaa741ca6.jpeg

Hmmm, that seems a rather belligerent response. I'm not sure what part of my post you regard as racist, please feel free to enlighten me.

In hairdressing terms, "soft black", "red black" and "brown black" are not regarded as true black, hence the use of secondary descriptors such as red and brown.

I afraid I don't know what the hell colour you have, maybe you should ask someone closer for that information, maybe your mom can help you out with that.

@leslissocool throughout childhood my own hair was always been described, with pride, as jet black. So I was a tad miffed when hairdressers insisted my hair was dark brown or brown black. My heinz 57 heritage includes Indian and Chinese Asians. No Japanese to my knowledge. Though as said hairdresser pointed out, when I used chemicals (relaxers) on my hair, the damage is sufficient to lift my colour to a very dark chestnut. currently rinsing with ACV also lifts the colour of my now chemical free hair.

If memory serves, in hairdressing terms, the blue/black is the one regarded as true black. If I recall correctly, they define this by lifting a fine layer of hair to a bright light and if any brown or red shows through it's has a secondary descriptor.

Your description of "pitch black in sunlight" sounds like the hairdresser definition of true black.


Unicorn

[Phalaenopsis]

I have the light brown colour also known as blonette. But I never had any problems with it. My hair colour is rare to be seen on adult women, so in that regard I'm special again, lol. You see my hair colour A LOT on 12-14 year old girls here, since they are not allowed to dye their hair yet.
I like my hair colour now more than ever, because I finally have realized how well it matches my eyes and skin tone and clothes and make up shopping became a lot of fun.
A male friend of mine found it a very special colour, he told me this colour could not be recreated with hairdye because my hair has so many variations of gold, blond and brown.

For years I struggled wanting to be a blonde or wanting to dye it chocolate brown, because it would match my eyebrows more and make my green eyes pop. Now, I'm just happy with it :)

[leslissocool]

Unicorn

Well the way I was explained, blue black is level 1, level 2 is midnight black? I know my son has the dark brown hair that "looks" black but it isn't and he's a level 3-4.



https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/546158_3087276106510_214329073_n.jpg him and me side to side in natural light.

I recently did some research, did you know that in the world black hair (NOT brown, level 2) is the most common natural hair color? Baffling, but true. Damage can often look lighter, my damaged hair looked very light compared to my hair now.

[mary*rose]

Natural red heads do seem to be singled out, probably because they're not so common. My best friend's family has all dark hair then BAM out of nowhere, her little sister has bright red hair. I always thought it was interesting, that she stood out like that. But I never thought any bad of it.

I do remember two gingers in the performing arts dept at school. One was a guy, and he was teased for being the "red-headed stepchild". I don't think he took it very seriously, though. But the other was a girl, and because she was pretty and popular and rich, a whole little mermaid fad was started in her little clique. It was pretty funny - people got t-shirts and bags and would sing songs from the movie...

Funny, the importance placed on appearance in this culture. I wonder why, when one misses so much when that's the only focus.

[Unicorn]

Unicorn

Well the way I was explained, blue black is level 1, level 2 is midnight black? I know my son has the dark brown hair that "looks" black but it isn't and he's a level 3-4.



https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/546158_3087276106510_214329073_n.jpg him and me side to side in natural light.

I recently did some research, did you know that in the world black hair (NOT brown, level 2) is the most common natural hair color? Baffling, but true. Damage can often look lighter, my damaged hair looked very light compared to my hair now.

What a lovely picture! I think if I saw your son alone I'd describe his hair as black, but next to yours the deep brown in his hair is apparent. Goodness you DO have a strong black, it's gorgeous.

The descriptors may well be different in the States, as I've not come across 'levels' being used. But the black being referred to as "true black"/of Japanese extraction was the blue black. It wasn't mean to be offensive, just a snippet about hair colours.

I may well fall under level 2, I don't really know. (or did prior to henna, grays etc.) but definitely not the beloved blue black.

I guess number wise, if one thinks just of Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Africa, that's most of the worlds population, plus other smaller populations, Latino, none Chinese/Indian Asians etc.


Unicorn

[Sharysa]

Hmmm, that seems a rather belligerent response. I'm not sure what part of my post you regard as racist, please feel free to enlighten me.

I'm very sorry about my tone--it's just that I deal with lots of internal racism with my choice of career/study (Theater/Performing arts) and seeing that sort of thing just triggered my "lol STEREOTYPING" reaction.

What got me riled up is where the other hairdressers said that "only JAPANESE can have truly black hair." That just writes out EVERY OTHER Asian culture (and the Americas' Native/Indigenous population, and the Mediterranean, and quite a few others). We've all historically had black hair as a mark of beauty, before any kind of colonization or general outside influence ever took place. If non-Japanese cultures didn't have black hair at least some of the time, why on earth would we use it as a descriptor of classical beauty?


If memory serves, in hairdressing terms, the blue/black is the one regarded as true black. If I recall correctly, they define this by lifting a fine layer of hair to a bright light and if any brown or red shows through it's has a secondary descriptor.

Huh. I did the light test, and my hair's mostly black with a tiny hint of brown/red. Would that be "not quite black" by hairdressing terms, even if it never looks anything but black? Although that does explain why Western society has such a narrow range of black, which sucks.

[Neneka]

"Mousy" coloured hair has been mentioned few times. Where I live most people are naturally ashy blondettes or something similar. Most people dye their hair because we hear all the time it's a colour no one wants. I want it though and I think it looks beautiful. What's wrong with ashy tones really?

I have had green hair for a while too. Every time I went out I heard negative comments. People were talking about my hair all the time and the tone wasn't positive. It really got to me. I loved the green but hated how people treated me because of it. In stores I felt like they were watching that I don't steal anything. Now that I have "normal" hair again people are more friendly again.

[leslissocool]

What a lovely picture! I think if I saw your son alone I'd describe his hair as black, but next to yours the deep brown in his hair is apparent. Goodness you DO have a strong black, it's gorgeous.

The descriptors may well be different in the States, as I've not come across 'levels' being used. But the black being referred to as "true black"/of Japanese extraction was the blue black. It wasn't mean to be offensive, just a snippet about hair colours.

I may well fall under level 2, I don't really know. (or did prior to henna, grays etc.) but definitely not the beloved blue black.

I guess number wise, if one thinks just of Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Africa, that's most of the worlds population, plus other smaller populations, Latino, none Chinese/Indian Asians etc.


Unicorn

Thank you! :blossom: Yes, my hair even among my siblings sticked out. It's really thick and really just black. There was one other person in my family with such hair, my Turkish great grandmother. She was known for her raven hair.

Each hair color labels their product differently, but this one seems to me what I am talking about:

http://helpinghair.webs.com/color%20swatches1.jpg

Level 2's are either called natural black or darkest brown. Now in box dye level 2 looks too light on me, so I could really just be a level 1 on most box colors if I were to match my natural hair color.

So I mean, any mix can have black hair really. It's just hard to tell until you go in the sun :shrug:

[Sharysa]

And now I'm periodically holding up random locks of hair to the window and wondering if the brown/red hints from the first test were from damage or naturally present. My hair is black. My family/friends/co-workers call it black. It's ridiculously black in any light that's not weirdly colored.

A three-second test that someone else made up for reasons that have nothing to do with me should NOT bother me this much. I don't even go to salons anymore.

Why does the industry have such narrow standards for black hair? Every other color has eight-million shades. Why can't there be different kinds of black, like most people consider there to be?

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

Hair colour does seem to be something that others judge our personalities from. It's quite funny, really; I'm naturally a blonette, leaning on the blonde side of things and the amount of 'stupid blonde' jokes I've heard are ridiculous and don't match my personality at all. Funnily enough, I dye my hair to match my family, who all have dark brown or true black hair (my dad is pure British and had pitch black natural hair before starting to go white). My current partner has hair that looks henna'd but is actually natural (it's amazingly rich and bright red) and despite the stereotype he's much cooler headed than I am.

[Sharysa]

Maybe I'm semi-immune to the "dark hair = intelligent" thing because I'm Asian-American, but I tend to surprise a lot of people because I'm not stoic/collected at all.

Like, people probably look at me and think "Oh, she's smart and quiet. She's probably studying [insert White-Collar/Lucrative Business]." Everyone gets surprised that not only am I studying theater, I can barely function academically because it's just not suited to my type of learning. (And I also think the entire US school system sucks, but that's another problem.)

I also surprise people by swearing a lot. Definitely more of a "redhead" stereotype than a dark/black-haired one.

[Springlets]

Why does the industry have such narrow standards for black hair? Every other color has eight-million shades. Why can't there be different kinds of black, like most people consider there to be?

How I understand it is that in Western cultures for conventional dyes, like the kind you see in a regular store, you will see 3 different types of black (representing levels 1-3) because this follows the general populace's ideas of color. If you were to go to a place that specifically sells beauty products (such as Sally's) or to a hair stylist, there would be only one type of black (represented by level 1). I live in China, and I think they feel similarly about their hair because most of the populace has between level 1- level 4 hair, so it is easy for them to see the difference between those levels. I've often heard on these boards and from people around me here that their hair is actually brown, not black like it is sometimes called. So it seems to me more people with that type of hair would rather it be considered brown than black. And if it looks brown in the sun, then I think it should be. I feel similarly about the so-called 'mousy light brown' hair which looks blonde in the sun, it should be considered blonde (and it is by hairstylists).

[Syaoransbear]

My hair is naturally dark/medium blonde, but when I dyed my hair very light blonde every thing I said and did was under such scrutiny. I felt(and feel) nervous doing anything that would even slightly reflect my intelligence, such as card games, in case I made an error. If I ever had a forgetful moment or a time where I didn't understand something immediately, my hair color was immediately commented on. Sometimes I just felt like saying, "No, I'm not having a blonde moment. I'm having a 'talking-to-a-person-can't-explain-things-properly' moment."

Being blonde seems to make people jump on anything that makes you sound stupid, when people of other hair colors could say or do the same thing and still be considered intelligent. It's like they very desperately want you to conform to the stereotype that blondes are unintelligent.

[bubblyredhead]

My hair is naturally red, I've gotten everything from the " oh you are a red head you must have a horrible temper" to " do redheads taste like strawberry short cake" and then the old ladies or random people grabbing my hair and going omg it is so pretty. I've had guys say they wont date me because im a ginger and others that started talking to me specifically because I have red hair. Luckily there seems to be a fair amount of redheads in oklahoma so there isn't a huge amount of teasing unlike other areas I have lived. When I lived in Florida there was this one girl in my kindergarten class that would pull my hair as hard as possible and push me down saying I don't deserve pretty hair.

[junglenavaar]

i have black hair. people used to tell me that it doesn't exist which i now just ignore cuz my hair aint nothin but the color black. i love it. i've never dyed it, nor do i want to. i have a few white hairs though, afraid to be gray/white on the scalp eventually, but ill deal with it. i do put oils on my hair (a lot of south asian and middle eastern ones) that have traditionally been used to keep hair thick and dark. so far, it's going well! i like all hair colors though. i just dont like damaged hair from all the synthetics that i sometimes see on others.

[Brileeka]

There are actually quit a bit of red heads at my school, I'm not sure why but it seems to be more than average. One of my best friends that I've know since kindergarten is a red head. She has bright red orangey hair and I don't think she gets picked on a lot but I do hear people call her a ginger a lot but I don't think she seems to mind or at least has gotten used to it. Or people well just make stupid little comments about it sometimes that make her blush. Me being a Blonde I get called dumb a lot. while I admit I'm quit an airhead I'm not dumb and that does get on my nerves at times. It gets old after hearing it so much and all the dumb blonde jokes. The person that actually picks on me most about my blonde hair is my red head friend but I know she means nothing by it. Sometimes she says I give Blondes a good name. :rolleyes:

[MidnightMoon]

Since most people have dark hair here (but wish it was lighter), blondes and redheads don't get picked at like ever...The small percentage of white/mixed but light population sometimes dyes it lighter and more than 90% of the girls I know go to the beauty salon (most people here are mixed with black to a certain degree so their hair ranges from absolute afro to curly/wavy and despite being the majority of the population black or mixed in most jobs their require hair to be straightened...)

[heathen]

I did a two-step with henna/indigo year and a half ago.. and I was attending a tiny, conservative Catholic college at the time (sooo not my place, but went for the curriculum... transferred after a semester! :rolleyes:) and my black hair and fair skin got me called various things ranging from "goth girl", "vampire", to my personal favorite "Tim Burton's daughter"... Behind my back, that is. Even when my hair was its natural chestnut brown I sometimes got comments about looking "intense" because of the contrast between my skin and hair. In middle school I caked my face with bronzer, but now I have grown to love having pale skin and dark hair. I think the combo is stereotyped as being "mysterious". I like that. Though, I'm sure the "Tim Burton's daughter" thing was meant to be insulting. Maybe it was the combo of the Doc Martens AND the black hair.... Hey, I wear Sperry Top-siders too! Bro-goth, maybe?

I'm growing it out now, so I have about six inches of growth and it has faded a couple shades from a pitch black to a brown-black so I guess it looks like a subtle ombre-ish thing. I loved it for the time, but the indigo ruined my soft, finer hair texture and made it suuuper dry. I wish there were a better way to reclaim my vampirism...

[heathen]

Forgot to mention I don't really DRESS goth at all... Maybe a few things I have are a nod to the style because I admire it, but does having black hair and wearing velvet/and or docs make one a vampire???

[heathen]

I have truly black hair naturally! I'm not asian, AT ALL, and my hair on sunlight is pitch black, no brown whatsoever. Last time I covered the bleach damage off my hair, the stylist had to put level 2 color on my hair, and she did say she ONLY uses that color on asians however anything lighter would have not matched my roots.

This is me, on a sunny day, in disney standing on the sun, no hair dye at all:

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee449/leslissocool/541980_3087274386467_1318319135_n_zpsd7308cf7.jpg

My hair is just that dark, it's raven black. That's why to lighten it it takes a LOT of bleach and high developer.

Oooh, I REALLY love your natural hair! :crush: I have always wished mine were that color! I'm just curious, what ethnicity are you, if you don't mind my asking??

[Merlin]

Mrs M is a natural redhead - and in the 30 years I've known her nobody has ever made any negative comments about it - they either say nothing or make positive comments.

[leslissocool]

Oooh, I REALLY love your natural hair! :crush: I have always wished mine were that color! I'm just curious, what ethnicity are you, if you don't mind my asking??

Not at all! My father is half Turkish half German (lives in Italy so Italian somewhere in that german blood line, my grandmothers mother language is German she moved to Italy after she got married) and
My mother is half Spanish ( parents came from spain) and half Guatemalan ( as in indigenous) so I got quite a few races going! I take after my Turkish grandfather though, the eyes and the hair and my face bone structure.

[heathen]

Not at all! My father is half Turkish half German (lives in Italy so Italian somewhere in that german blood line, my grandmothers mother language is German she moved to Italy after she got married) and
My mother is half Spanish ( parents came from spain) and half Guatemalan ( as in indigenous) so I got quite a few races going! I take after my Turkish grandfather though, the eyes and the hair and my face bone structure.

Wow, beautiful!

I was going to stay I couldn't tell from your picture, but that sounded kind of mean typing it out for some reason! You have a unique look.

And I thought I was a bit of a crazy mix. I'm Ukrainian, Jewish, Polish, Italian, Sicilian, Croatian and Hungarian. 75% Eastern Europe with a dash of Italy is what I usually say because people always ask for some reason. You probably get that too because you don't look like one thing definitely.

Assuming you live in the U.S., I find that sometimes people I run into are really unaware of what people in certain parts of the world look like. I really look like a Slav, but I have not run into many people who can say I look like a Slav. They usually see my dark hair and they are like...Uhhhhhhh Italian?? (Cuz all Italians have dark hair right?!) I'm sure if people play the "guess what I am" game with you, you'd get some pretty far out answers! If I had to guess I might have said maybe part Indian.

[Haybop]

Wow, leslissocool, that is amazing hair and hair colour :D Also a great mix of genetics :O

I honestly just love most hair colours, the only reason I guess I have a thing against my hair colour is because it's my own... my big sister has practically the same colour as me (minus the random silvers) and I think her hair looks lovely :P

I will learn to love my own hair as much as I do other peoples' manes :D

[leslissocool]

Wow, beautiful!

I was going to stay I couldn't tell from your picture, but that sounded kind of mean typing it out for some reason! You have a unique look.

And I thought I was a bit of a crazy mix. I'm Ukrainian, Jewish, Polish, Italian, Sicilian, Croatian and Hungarian. 75% Eastern Europe with a dash of Italy is what I usually say because people always ask for some reason. You probably get that too because you don't look like one thing definitely.

Assuming you live in the U.S., I find that sometimes people I run into are really unaware of what people in certain parts of the world look like. I really look like a Slav, but I have not run into many people who can say I look like a Slav. They usually see my dark hair and they are like...Uhhhhhhh Italian?? (Cuz all Italians have dark hair right?!) I'm sure if people play the "guess what I am" game with you, you'd get some pretty far out answers! If I had to guess I might have said maybe part Indian.

:lol: yup I get asked this a lot! IRL I get mostly Brazilian. It's really odd. Runner up, I get middle eastern ( most Latin Americans and Hispanics) told me I look Saudi Arabian. Once I got told I looked like someone's boss who's from Iran. This is before I speak, once I speak everyone notices I'm Italian or guess Argentinian if I'm speaking Spanish.

But very often, even up here in this tiny city I live in I had a guy speak to me in Portuguese thinking I was Brazilian :lol:. I just go with it, I know a little and understand it pretty well.


That's a great mix you have yourself too! I think Slavic features are gorgeous, specially Ukrainian, gorgeous mix for sure!


Wow, leslissocool, that is amazing hair and hair colour :D Also a great mix of genetics :O



Thank you so much!

[Unicorn]

@leslissocool looking at your chart, I may well be a level 3, as I seen hair that makes mine look rather brown.


And now I'm periodically holding up random locks of hair to the window and wondering if the brown/red hints from the first test were from damage or naturally present. My hair is black. My family/friends/co-workers call it black. It's ridiculously black in any light that's not weirdly colored.

A three-second test that someone else made up for reasons that have nothing to do with me should NOT bother me this much. I don't even go to salons anymore.

Why does the industry have such narrow standards for black hair? Every other color has eight-million shades. Why can't there be different kinds of black, like most people consider there to be?

Don't let it bother you.

From the hair dressing perspective, they tend think about it in terms of colouring the hair. If someone has black looking hair but undertones of red (for example) any change of colour would have to take that into account in order to have the correct end result. So they will choose a dye that will either enhance the red or tone it down according to what the client requests.

It isn't so much about how it looks to the naked eye, it more about how it can be expected to respond to different treatments/colours. Hopefully that puts it into the correct perspective.

My hair looks black to the naked eye, but goes brassy if the colour is lifted too much. There's a particular colour that tones down the brassiness. (I forget what it is), but they used something specifically to tone it down on me, as I wasn't keen on it. I have yellow undertones to my skin, so the brassiness just left me looking jaundiced.


Unicorn

[TheIronMaiden]

My mom never supported my decision to go black. I'm natural light redhead/golden blonde, and she always told me what pity it is that someone with such a beautiful hair colour is dying one's hair black. Now I'm stucked with some kind of ombre-like look that doesn't really flatter my virgin hair. It will be like this a few years...

[Sharysa]

Assuming you live in the U.S., I find that sometimes people I run into are really unaware of what people in certain parts of the world look like. I really look like a Slav, but I have not run into many people who can say I look like a Slav. They usually see my dark hair and they are like...Uhhhhhhh Italian?? (Cuz all Italians have dark hair right?!) I'm sure if people play the "guess what I am" game with you, you'd get some pretty far out answers! If I had to guess I might have said maybe part Indian.

It's not any easier if you're in a high-diversity area--just means there's more mistakes to make. :P I've been mistaken for a whopping EIGHT ethnicities. Mixed/Mestizo, Mexican, Native American, Japanese, Chinese, Hapa (half-white, half-Asian), and Mien (South-Asian). Some of the mistakes were from other Asians, as well. XD

And even my friends who know that I'm Filipino on both sides say that my wavy hair makes me look Hawaiian. "Brown girl with wavy hair" seems to throw off a lot of people.


It isn't so much about how it looks to the naked eye, it more about how it can be expected to respond to different treatments/colours. Hopefully that puts it into the correct perspective.

That explains it a lot, actually--so it's pretty much the artistic color theory applied to hair? But it still makes me wonder why there hasn't been an Asian line of hair-dye yet, since our hair gets pretty darn diverse (black to almost chestnut/red in some places). But then, Asian cultures tend to be big on homogeneity anyway.

[Amberleigh]

Well I'm in the US. I think a lot of redheads here are kinda discriminated against. I've always considered red hair incredibly beautiful on both men and women. Especially men! I think it comes from spending my childhood salivating over the Weasly boys. I happen to have an unhealthy obsession with men with red hair. Especially that orangey kind-of strawberry blonde. What we call gingers here lol.

For decades the "beautiful" thing for women has been blonde, no matter how ridiculous or cartoonish it may look on you. As long as its blonde apparently. I've always been told by people that I needed to dye my hair blonde (which is an impossibility for me with darkest brown hair, believe me I tried. It melted it.) Some just commenting, some acted like it was some kind of religion and that if I didn't dye I would face hellfire. I spent many years ashamed of my natural hair color. I dyed it so much that I fried and melted it. After that I was just like that's it, no more hair dye for me. I still hate it. All the women men idolize here, with the exception of Megan Fox, are bleached blondes.

[goldenlady]

Hey all,
I've been lurking on this forum for absolutely ages and finally joined.
This topic really interests me!
I'm from the UK too and my natural hair colour borders red and blonde. When I was a teenager I got a few 'ginger' comments - nothing really bad and nothing close to bullying, I don't think it was red enough for people to really lay into me, and I was quite good at sticking up for myself. I used to love how pale my hair went in summer. When I was about 17 I started bleaching my hair - going really blonde.
I loved it! My whole immediate family are blonde, and my features (grey eyes, light skin, and very pale eyebrows) really suited lighter hair. At first I went too blonde and it didn't look natural, but I've since grown out most of that and now only bleach a couple of shades to get it golden.
I haven't even thought about returning to my natural colour, I just feel this shade suits me a lot more and most people assume I don't dye it at all.
Don't get me wrong.. I love red hair and think it's really beautiful. It just didn't really suit me.
It's really strange how this 'ginger' hair thing has taken off in the UK, with idiots like Katie Hopkins making comments about 'Ginger babies being harder to love'.

[Juniper.]

My hair is naturally somewhere in the ashy brown/blonette spectrum but I hennad it for a good 4 years or so and got nothing but compliments on my copper hair (I'm in the UK also). I loved the colour and I love natural redheads. My gran and my cousin are both redheads and whilst my gran loves hers (she's never lost the colour completely, but it has faded a lot), my cousin dyes hers all the time. Redheads do get some flak from idiots but on the other side of the coin they're also seen as fiery and passionate.

Personally I'm fading and growing out my henna to go natural, but I do miss being a redhead!

[alexis917]

I'm Korean German and Irish, so my hair is most like my dads (super dark brown),
and my skin is warm toned but as light as my moms- and I burn like crazy -_-
The pale skin/dark hair combo means I have to go light on eyeliner and can't wear a lot of black.
On days when I do, people ask if I'm goth/Emo/whatever.

[sarahthegemini]

There has always been hostility (is that a word?) towards redheads where I'm from. I think it's because it stands out, and of course children/teens will pick on people for absolutely anything, so a stand out hair colour is common for bullies to single out. Personally, I love red/ginger hair. Such striking shades.

[Sharysa]

Recently, I noticed that a few people in real life have assumed I know dozens of Asian Hair-Care Secrets (TM). They tend to be disappointed when I reveal that I do what most every long hair devotee does, aside from homemade shampoo and post-shower oiling.

And I live in the SF Bay Area, not a rural town with few minorities. Maybe it's because my particular town has a lot of older/recent-immigrant Indians and Chinese, so the people in question might be thinking I was raised traditionally.

[Feidlimid]

It's really strange how this 'ginger' hair thing has taken off in the UK, with idiots like Katie Hopkins making comments about 'Ginger babies being harder to love'.

I've heard of this woman before and how she judges people based on their names, but I was never aware she had made a comment like that! How would she react if she happened to have a red headed child, I wonder? It's disgraceful that she'd go as far as to target children. Based from the uproar from her comments though it seems that her opinion is not one that is shared by many, which is a huge relief for me.

[Komao]

Hello everyone :)
I don't know if a thread like this exists, but I've looked at some recent threads and haven't seen much on this topic so I thought I'd start this.
I'm a natural redhead and, from my experience, in the UK the attitude towards redheads can be... hostile at times. While I'm lucky that I've never been incessantly bullied for my hair colour and mostly get compliments for it, I've been called some VERY colourful words by complete strangers while I've been out due to being a redhead. I love my hair the way it is but sometimes it knocks my confidence when people feel the need to make unnecessary comments.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences and what the attitudes are towards redheads (or even any other hair colour) where you live. It would be interesting to hear other people's views on this :)

Try not to let it knock your confidence. I think redheads look great. Look at Anne of Green Gables and how Gilbert called her carrot-top. He did that cause he liked her. Look at Ann Margaret. She had brown hair and dyed it red as they say it made her more sexy and she stood out from the crowd.
This has been going on forever. Some people are just mean, others jealous.
You are unique and special and you should enjoy your beauty.

[goldenlady]

I've heard of this woman before and how she judges people based on their names, but I was never aware she had made a comment like that! How would she react if she happened to have a red headed child, I wonder? It's disgraceful that she'd go as far as to target children. Based from the uproar from her comments though it seems that her opinion is not one that is shared by many, which is a huge relief for me.

She stated how she had 'no gingers in her family'.. alongside a picture of all her children with brown hair. She's a bit of a joke anyway... She stated on a TV programme that calling children after place names makes them a lower class.. to which the presenter said "Your child's called India!"