If you see platinum blonde hair

[sapphire-o]

On an adult, do you assume it's lightened? :) I myself don't know any adult with light blonde hair. My MIL is the lightest person I know, she's almost colorless and came from a Norwegian family, but she has standard (golden) blonde hair. DH is her palest child and he had light blonde hair as a child and dark blonde hair as adult. I wonder if platinum or light blonde hair is possible on adults? Albino and greying don't count, of course. :)

[AnnaMarie]

No necessarily, it depends on the persons colouring. I went to school with a girl who had natural platinum blonde hair, she also had very pale colouring and pale blue eyes so her hair looked really natural. When I see it on people with darker colouring, olive skin etc. then I will presume its been lightened. :) She still has platinum blonde hair now naturally at 28. She does have the lightest colouring I've ever seen on anyone that wasn't albino.

[Jeni]

Its possible as an adult just rare as far as I'm concerned. I have met one women who was in her 30s and had natural light light light blond hair, she said most people assumed she dyed it.

[LittleOrca]

It I see a woman (or man, but more common on women) with that horrid orange skin and platinum hair, then yes, I think it's lightened, especially if the eye brows are painted on or dark. If I just see it on a woman who is fair toned and eyebrows match or are close to matching, I think it's more likely natural, but with blonde being the "it" thing since about the Renaissance (according to one book I have :shrug: ) who knows. ;)

[twilight_faerie]

I pretty much always assume women with light blonde hair have bleached it. It's so common nowadays, I feel like every time I turn around there's a bleach blonde.

[Tangles]

Most men that are towheads also have nearly transparent skin, so I assume women that are platinum naturally will also have very pale skin. (Golden blonde can appear on beige skinned people though, my mom had golden blonde hair and wasn't that pale and had very dark eyebrows, though now they've turned paler.)

Honestly, though I understand it's a personal choice, I don't get this bleaching to platinum thing. It's very ageing on many people, makes features look harsher (unless you already have the features and coloring of a veela!) and besides that isn't very kind on the hair or wallet.

[wintersun99]

Yes, if it's Platinum than I do assume it's intentional. Not that this is always the case, I suppose, but I have never seen nor met an adult with naturally (i.e. virgin) Platinum hair.

[marajade]

It I see a woman (or man, but more common on women) with that horrid orange skin and platinum hair, then yes, I think it's lightened, especially if the eye brows are painted on or dark. If I just see it on a woman who is fair toned and eyebrows match or are close to matching, I think it's more likely natural, but with blonde being the "it" thing since about the Renaissance (according to one book I have :shrug: ) who knows. ;)


I had always assumed that blond fascination/culture had started in the 1930s/40s due to movie stars and possibly Nazis view on superior race, thanks for the info- I'd always wondered! I wonder why that is?

[invisiblebabe]

I love the veela description :D

I know several adults in their early twenties who are naturally platinum blonde. I've known them since they were children, and they were platinum then, too. :) They are not albino (although I do have a friend who is albino :) ).

[iris]

I have a (male) friend who has platinum blonde hair, and he's in his mid thirties. No, I don't automatically assume light blondes are dyed. I do with purply reds, but not with platinum blonde. You can usually tell by the roots :shrug:

[ecologystudent]

I don't assume anything unless it is so obvious that I actually notice. :D

[Coriander]

I don't assume either, but it seems that every time I turn around at school I'm seeing some young 19 year old with bleached blonde hair over black "bottom" hair.

[spidermom]

Oh yes - the genetic blueprint for natural platinum blonde hair does exist. We have a set of twins in my town with silvery white hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Their complexion is a very fair pinkish color. I know of them because they went to my daughter's school. Very striking; beautiful - true cool blondes. Most of the platinum blondes that I see are bleached, however; I can tell. The dark roots must appear within a few days.

[AnneAdeline]

I don't need to even assume, because the platinum is usually accompanied by much-darker roots.
I have known one person with natural platinum blond. I knew since we were in grade school, so I know it isn't bleach. True platinum is just gorgeous.

[Canarygirl]

I met a female tour guide in Belize (she was from LA) and she had white blonde hair and eyebrows (and eyelashes). You could tell it was her heritage and natural. I've met others with light blonde hair but nobody's as light as hers was.

[spidermom]

I met a female tour guide in Belize (she was from LA) and she had white blonde hair and eyebrows (and eyelashes). You could tell it was her heritage and natural. I've met others with light blonde hair but nobody's as light as hers was.

Oooooh, you've been to Belize; fabulous place!

[Buddaphlyy]

Yes because I know it's too rare to be seen as often as I see it. Doesn't matter to me though.

[Missie]

There's a lady in her 40's I know from work. Her stick straight hair is natural platinum blonde and she actually has olive skin and chocolate brown eyes. As soon as you hear her speak it clicks that probably her hair color is natural. She is from Finland and has beautiful natural white blonde coloring. I've looked at the roots of her hair (surreptitiously of course) and it grows out with a yellowish tinge and then seems to whiten after about a millimeter. Maybe the effect of our strong Australian sunshine. From memory, her eyebrows are fair too..

[SimplyLonghair]

I don't assume it is fake but then my Dear Dad was until he was 30 something, and my 30 yo son still is a platinum blonde. My DD nickname was Cotton. LOL:D

[DarleneH]

My best friend is a natural blond, and then she's outside so much in the summer it goes almost white blond. She actually DARKENED it last year because she was so tired of light blond all the time. I just don't ever hear of blonds going darker!

[MemSahib]

I used to know a naturally platinum blonde. Pale skin, blue eyes — everyone thought she bleached it but she didn't. I've also seen a few men with this color. One of my brothers was a "cotton top" as a young child but it darkened some as he aged.

ETA: I should also say that my brother has light olive skin and will tan to a lovely golden brown in the sun. This was really striking with his white-blonde hair as a child. He does have blue eyes.

[Atalaya05]

Though I do assume that most platinum blondes I see have dyed and not virgin hair, I have also known a few that truly had that coloring. One girl even had naturally white blond hair with darker eyebrows - not too common but apparently it does happen. I've also known a girl with naturally red/purple hair :) It was gorgeous, but she got tired of the red and dyed it black.

[Nevermore]

I knew a whole family of platinum blondes, well, all the kids were at least. The father had light brown hair, the mother dyed hers red. Their pool ruined their hair though, it went green and once that was corrected, was never the same white blonde color again. It was still blonde, just much more yellow.

[Tangles]

One girl even had naturally white blond hair with darker eyebrows - not too common but apparently it does happen.

Well some people do fill in their brows, but my mom was very blonde in her youth, with almost black eyebrows. I think it was because her mom had very dark hair, so she got "dark eyebrow" genes. I've never seen white blonde with naturally dark brows, though. Sounds stunning.

[Elbereth]

In Finland platinum blonde is uncommon, but not super rare. I know adults who have very light blonde hair. It is more common for children to have that haircolor, though.
Usually you can tell natural platinum blondes from the condition and texture of the hair. A typical platinum blonde hair is usually very fine, straight, quite thin and silky. If a darker blonde (say, me with silky golden blonde hair) tried to achieve that look via bleaching, the result would be very dry, unhealthy hair (in LHC standards anyway, I am sure that to the majority of people it looks totally normal). I have never seen naturally curly platinum blonde hair.

It is also possible for a naturally blonde person to have darker eyebrows and lashes; usually in this case her eyes are brown or hazel and not blue or gray. That is a very rare coloration but I have known a couple of people with it.

For most blonde people, sun exposure can make hair almost white. My DH's brother (dark blonde) who worked outdoors all summer had nearly white hair and eyebrows when the fall came. In this case, tan is the tip-off. People with light coloration usually burn easily and do not tan well, so if you see someone with a deep tan and very blonde hair (golden blonde to platinum blonde), either the hair or the tan are more likely fake. With the exception of those brown-eyed folks, they seem to also tolerate sun better than we "100% blondes".

Ahh, this is complicated. :?

[Citrine]

I'm naturally platinum blonde and have had this color all my 20 years on Earth :) Most people are correct in assuming that natural blondes will have pale coloring and sometimes almost-translucent skin (I certainly do). Being a natural blonde makes me suspicious of other blondes though, I don't think most are natural at all :mad: Many people assume that my hair color is unnatural, but if you're around me long enough then the constant absence of diff. colored roots is a tip-off.
I've always assumed that blonde was the "hot" color ever since Roman times. Supposedly a law was passed requiring all prostitutes to dye their hair blonde to make identification easier. Eventually upper-class Roman women started dyeing their hair blonde too in order to appear attractive (like the prostitues :wink:)

[Lize]

In Finland platinum blonde is uncommon, but not super rare. I know adults who have very light blonde hair. It is more common for children to have that haircolor, though.


Not super rare in Sweden either. And pretty common in children yes.

[SimplyLonghair]

In Finland platinum blonde is uncommon, but not super rare. I know adults who have very light blonde hair. It is more common for children to have that haircolor, though.
Usually you can tell natural platinum blondes from the condition and texture of the hair. A typical platinum blonde hair is usually very fine, straight, quite thin and silky. If a darker blonde (say, me with silky golden blonde hair) tried to achieve that look via bleaching, the result would be very dry, unhealthy hair (in LHC standards anyway, I am sure that to the majority of people it looks totally normal). I have never seen naturally curly platinum blonde hair.

It is also possible for a naturally blonde person to have darker eyebrows and lashes; usually in this case her eyes are brown or hazel and not blue or gray. That is a very rare coloration but I have known a couple of people with it.

For most blonde people, sun exposure can make hair almost white. My DH's brother (dark blonde) who worked outdoors all summer had nearly white hair and eyebrows when the fall came. In this case, tan is the tip-off. People with light coloration usually burn easily and do not tan well, so if you see someone with a deep tan and very blonde hair (golden blonde to platinum blonde), either the hair or the tan are more likely fake. With the exception of those brown-eyed folks, they seem to also tolerate sun better than we "100% blondes".

Ahh, this is complicated. :?
My Dad's hair was very curly as a child and white white! As to the skin, he used to have Red skin! from being in the sun all of the time and no sunscreen in those days. He never tanned just became very red. We have some Scandanavian but mostly Scotch Irish on his side of family. Just very very fair. But his beard was red as my hair is! LOL

[Darian Moone]

My niece is 26 and has been a platinum blonde w/blue eyes since birth. She's never put any sort of color on her hair at all.

[Deborah]

My niece has natural platinum blonde hair, and the pink/white skin to go with it. She's had it all her life. Many people think it is bleached, since true, nearly white hair is rare on a 35 year old.

[julya]

My son has curly, platinum blonde hair. I think it will get darker when he is older though, it looks like mine used to when I was a kid. I have had a few people ask me if I bleached his hair, who bleaches a little kid's hair?!

[aisling]

In Finland platinum blonde is uncommon, but not super rare. I know adults who have very light blonde hair. It is more common for children to have that haircolor, though.
Usually you can tell natural platinum blondes from the condition and texture of the hair. A typical platinum blonde hair is usually very fine, straight, quite thin and silky. If a darker blonde (say, me with silky golden blonde hair) tried to achieve that look via bleaching, the result would be very dry, unhealthy hair (in LHC standards anyway, I am sure that to the majority of people it looks totally normal). I have never seen naturally curly platinum blonde hair.

It is also possible for a naturally blonde person to have darker eyebrows and lashes; usually in this case her eyes are brown or hazel and not blue or gray. That is a very rare coloration but I have known a couple of people with it.

For most blonde people, sun exposure can make hair almost white. My DH's brother (dark blonde) who worked outdoors all summer had nearly white hair and eyebrows when the fall came. In this case, tan is the tip-off. People with light coloration usually burn easily and do not tan well, so if you see someone with a deep tan and very blonde hair (golden blonde to platinum blonde), either the hair or the tan are more likely fake. With the exception of those brown-eyed folks, they seem to also tolerate sun better than we "100% blondes".

Ahh, this is complicated. :?

I could add to this that I haven't at least seen a real platinum blonde with darker eyebrows & lashes, but it is not rare among golden blondes and especially not among medium to dark blondes and they can very well have blue or blue-grey eyes with dark eyebrows.

[flapjack]

Honestly, If the person in question does not look like they have northern European heritage, then I'll assume it's dyed.

[Exodus]

I'm from Finland too, and on kids platinum blonde is not that uncommon. But when it comes to adults, I think I can count them on my right hands fingers. And those people were pale, and they did not have black eyebrows. So for 99 %, if I see a platinum blonde, I assume it's fake.

[LutraLutra]

I like think I can usually tell if someones hair is their own colour or not, whether that's actually true or not I don't know, lol. I think processed hair looks pretty different from virgin hair. I love to see people with unusual colouring.

[Speedbump]

Yes, it is possible on adults. I went to school with two platinum blondes. One of them turned a bit darker, but the other one is still platinum, and it is totally natural. So yes, it happens. :)

[patissegrietje]

I agree on the possibility of natural platinum blonde on an adult, since i have a (male) friend who is now 40 years of age who has naturally white hair.
He also has very pale skin, burns easily in the sun, has white eyebrows and white lashes and the most gorgeous dark blue eyes!

[zift]

You can ~tell from the skin and eyebrows and general looks wheather it's real or bleach. In my country it's probably %99,99999999 bleach. And even dark blonde is %99,99 bleach so...It's a very very rare sight for me, I've only seen light blonde hair in my foreign country visits and on albinos in real life.:)

[blondecat]

I had natural platunum hair when I was grape picking.

The more sun I see, the lighter my hair gets.

[I am also very light skinned and blue/grey eyes, blonde lashes, brows

[blondecat]

My best friend is a natural blond, and then she's outside so much in the summer it goes almost white blond. She actually DARKENED it last year because she was so tired of light blond all the time. I just don't ever hear of blonds going darker!

I have concidered dying darker, but, Im too stingy to pay for a dye job

[Phalaenopsis]

It's possible on adults. One of my neighbours is about sixty years old. Not a gray hair in sight, she still has that fine platinum blonde hair. Her eyebrows are also very light. Her skin is very fair.

But it's not very common, that's true.

[Lady Verity]

*waves*

There's me, in the summer. I'm usually strawberry blonde, but in sustained sunlight my hair goes almost white. (Until I get in the swimming pool, and then it goes green.) I'm from a family of blondes and redheads.

I don't assume light blondes are dyed, because I can usually tell when someone has used bleach.

[Calanthe]

I'd assume it's not natural in most cases. Somehow you can see if a person's hair is as nature planned it or if there was help from a bottle, I find. You can see that I'm not a natural Snow White :D.

That said, I know several folks with real platinum blonde hair. My dad for one. When he was young people thought he had some kind of defect, because he looked so odd (at least to other people's eyes) with his almost white skin and platinum hair. My brother startet out as platinum but it's darkened over the years, so today it's a rather nice ashy dark-silver blonde.

It seems to run in our family as two of one of my cousin's kids have the same hair-eye-skin combination my dad had.

[Chamy]

Well i live in scandinavia, and over here it's not so rare. The really blond girls often have blonde eyebrows, you can of course fake that too, but i look at the eyebrows to se if they match the hair.
I had platinumblonde hair when i was a kid, but now my hair is darkblonde.

[rhubarbarin]

I can always tell when it's dyed - and it almost always is. The only true 'towhead' adults I've seen have had super-fair skin, pale blue eyes and (usually sparse), white eyelashes and eyebrows. Probably of Scandinavian descent.

ETA: Of course in summer many people go very light-blonde.

[joyfulmom4]

I admit I never really thought about it, but yes, I do assume it's artificial. I know there are a few adults who have that color naturally, but the overwhelming majority are from a bottle, so that is my usual expectation.

[Alia]

DH, back in the days he had hair ;), had platinum curly hair--DS2 has the same color, only straight. And there was this girl in high school with blue eyes and a pink and white complexion. Plus, one lady in my daylily club has straight white-blonde hair and green eyes. You usually can kind of tell if the hair matches the human.

[Norai]

My cousin has beautiful, long, straight, thick white-blonde hair. I think it's partially sun-bleached - she spends SO much time in the sun doing tennis and swimming that she's almost brown-tan with white hair. Kind of scary bad for your skin, but y'know.

Only 20 yrs old though, might still darken. ;)

[Wanderlust]

I think you can usually tell when someone dyes their hair either from the condition of their hair (natural blonde hair is extremely shiny and sleek, bleached hair is not), or from the color change from scalp to ends. Most natural blondes I've seen have somewhat darker roots than ends because of sun bleaching. If the hair is all one color, I wouldn't believe it was natural unless the person was very fair, like they didn't get in the sun much.

I can usually tell after looking for a few seconds whether it's natural or dyed. But if it looks good, it gets my admiration. I love blonde hair, natural or not. :)

[Igor]

Seconding that it depends on the persons colouring. I actually went to college with a girl who had hair so platinum blonde it was practically white! It looked pretty awesome on her, but she was a little annoyed that her natural eyebrows were impossible to see

[spidermom]

My son has curly, platinum blonde hair. I think it will get darker when he is older though, it looks like mine used to when I was a kid. I have had a few people ask me if I bleached his hair, who bleaches a little kid's hair?!

My ex-DIL. Her daughter got lice at school and the treatment shampoo didn't get rid of them, so ex-DIL bought a light blonde box dye - which did get rid of them. So now I have a 7-year-old granddaughter with sort of brassy khaki colored hair and dark roots. Lovely (not). Well, she's pretty cute anyway.

[ravenreed]

My son has strawberry blond hair but his eyebrows are platinum blond and his facial hair is coming in platinum blond as well! He just turned 17, so his hair color could change, but I doubt it. Mine hasn't really changed much over the years.

[BranwenWolf]

I'd say 90% of the platinum blonde hair is bleached.
I do know one girl who must be natural because her eyebrows and eyelashes are also very, very fair.

[jojo]

My daughter is 21 and yes is still very blond, her hair is also unusual as it is naturally curly and is very thick. The only thing she dyes is her eyelashes and eye brows as they are naturally white! She is also olive skinned, yet my eldest has dark hair (hers is dyed on this picture) but really pale skin, she takes after the Irish in my family, they are known as the 'negative' sisters!
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l283/joanna_eglin/n549665782_465755_8419-3.jpg

[Cantabile]

It's rather rare, but I've known a few people with platinum hair. One was a swimmer, actually, so he had incredibly tanned skin, but white blond hair. It looked rather odd, especially since his hair curled, creating this interesting halo effect. :laugh: It worked well on him though, very cherubic!