Growing up a brunette in South Florida, I always wondered what it would be like to change my hair color. You see, my friends were all gorgeous blonde beach babes, and I struggled with the idea of being unique. I always wondered, “Are the stereotypes true? Do blondes have more fun?” But I never really looked into it until the beginning of this past semester. When I first pitched the idea of going blonde to my friends, they said, “Caro, don’t do it. You’re going to be on the cover of Tuft’s Most Ridiculous.” But, I didn’t care about the warnings. I set up my hair appointment at Dellaria’s Hair Salon and hoped for the best. I was ready to go blonde, and try a new look. Finally, after two hair appointments and countless foils (I chose to change my hair color through foils rather than pure bleaching because I wished to keep my hair healthy and soft), I was blonde. Truth be told, my experience as a blonde didn’t change me. I didn’t feel dumber or feel like guys saw me as “more attractive”, I just had fun with a new look and learned to embrace it. Although I recently went back to my natural brunette color; I will always remember my brief experience as a blonde. Here are the stereotypes behind being blonde vs. being brunette and my experience with them.
Blondes Have More Fun, Brunettes are Boring:
My experience with this stereotype is that it is completely false. It is not your hair color that determines whether you know how to have a good time or not, but your personality and charisma. I was fun as a brunette, and I was fun as a blonde. My hair color sure as hell did not change my personality.
Blondes are Dumb, Brunettes are Smart:
This one always made me feel good about myself back in Florida when I was the only brunette in my friend group, but I never truly believed it. Truth be told, my best friend, who was blonde, was class salutatorian and now goes to Brown, so there’s no way that this can be true. Intelligence like personality is specific to each person. No hair color can change that.
Blondes Are Sluttier, Brunettes are Prudes:
This was one of the more amusing stereotypes to play around with when I went blonde. Truth be told, my hair color did not make a difference, but the guys around me made assumptions. I was hit on twice as much as a blonde, and people assumed that I was easy before they got to know me. Stereotypes can be tough to deal with at times, and now I have so much more respect for my friends who have to deal with them from day to day.
Ultimately, being blonde did not change me at all. It may have changed the colors I wore (wearing yellow as a blonde is not a good idea) and how I did my make-up (being blonde softens facial features quite a lot), but other wise, I remained the same Carolina.
If you want to change your hair color, go for it. But just remember that while you may look different in the mirror, no type of hair dye or bleach in this world can change who you are. Just embrace yourself, and blonde or brunette, you’ll have a good time.