According to the National Institute of Health, roughly only 2% of the world’s population is a redhead.
Woah. I guess I never really noticed how such a select few are actually are born with these fiery treads, myself being included. (OK, I bleach my tips blonde but I swear I’m a natural redhead!).
Yesterday happened to be National Love Your Red Hair Day, and while this isn’t a holiday I could bake a cake for, or unwrap presents or even celebrate with anyone (well, except my mom), it was still a significant day for my hair and I.
So I thought I’d take this time to write about why I love my red hair.
Back in high school, I would always get called “ginger” along with all the jokes. I don’t know where this word came from. Maybe from the character Ginger on Gilligan’s Island or maybe it was South Park that started all this negative commotion about redheads. The root of it all is honestly ambiguous.
Anyways, I would never go as far to say I was bullied, or “kicked” (was that actually a thing?), but it’s annoying when you’re in the hallway grabbing a book from your locker and someone would shout out “Hey Ginger”. Like excuse me, I have a name.
So I got a little irked, and sometimes wished my hair was brown or blonde, or purple – just not this tone of orange. Like the silly little fifteen year old teeny bopper I was, I experimented with dying my hair a really dark burgundy. Let’s call it the “punk phase” or maybe just a dumb decision.
“Do you know how many people wish they had red hair?” said my mom, almost every time I complained about my hair.
I just hated standing out so much and garnering so much attention because my head looked like it was on fire. I hated looking different.
But what I failed to realize, is it’s exactly what makes me, me. I’m a redhead, I’m unique and I don’t want to look like everyone else. As I grew up and left high school, I realized it’s time to be my own person and stop trying to be like every other girl, and that involves embracing my hair.
Some people pierce up their whole face to show they’re different, and while I might not do that, accepting my hair color and who I am is how I can be my own person. Everyone’s trying to be novel at this age, by the way they dress, by tattoos, heck, man buns are a thing now! And my thing is my red hair – that’s what makes me stand out!
Now looking back, I really do like the color of my hair. It’s pretty. It looks like honey and I love honey! It honestly fits my skin tone other than any other color (go figure, huh), and I hope every other redhead out there loves their red hair too! Shake off the ginger stigma.