Have you ever dreamt about hair dye?
What I mean is, have you imagined what it would be like to dye your hair a bright color — something beyond the usual blonde, brunette, or red? How about purple, pink, or blue? Maybe a fun ombre or a pastel shade? Do you feel like you’re on the fence about such a big change, but somewhere deep inside, you’ve always wondered how it would feel, how it would look, what it would be like… how it would heal your inner child that always admired the girls with brightly colored hair?
Then this is your sign to book the hair appointment — coming from someone who looks back on it as one of the best things I ever did for myself!
At the end of the summer almost two years ago, I dyed my hair purple. The decision was inspired by a conversation with my best friend, who had bright red hair at the time. I expressed that I had never dyed my hair before but had always thought about it, and she asked, “Why not now?” Why not now? I thought to myself. The end of the summer right before heading back to college for my junior year seemed like a fun time to spice things up with my hair and make a choice I’d dreamed about but never imagined I’d actually do. I went home, researched hair stylists in Connecticut who specialized in fashion colors, and before I knew it I had a hair appointment lined up for later that month!
Admittedly, I was nervous to make such a significant change to my virgin hair, but all my doubts flew out the window when my hair stylist spun me around to look in the mirror and I saw myself with purple hair. It was such an amazing feeling to know that I did that! I can honestly say that my purple hair era was one of the best years of my life. And so now I’m asking you: if you’ve been thinking about dying your hair a unique color, why not now?
You only live once
This 2012 cliche was popular for a reason! Dying your hair while you’re in college is the best time to make the change, in my opinion. You’re not in high school, so you’re old enough that you don’t need to get your parents’ permission to book an appointment, but you haven’t entered the workforce yet, so you don’t need to care too much about professionalism. It’s the perfect era of your life to try something different and new! If there was ever a perfect time to dye your hair, this would be it.
Plus, when you’re older, you’ll be able to look back at all the photos with your amazing colored hair and say, I’m so glad I did that.
It’s the best confidence booster
I have never gotten as many compliments from random girls on the street as I did when I had bright purple hair. Strangers were constantly stopping to tell me in the hallways or at the store to say how much they loved the color. I’m not someone who loves being the center of attention, but even I can admit it feels pretty great to have people you don’t even know admire your hair to the extent that they need to go out of their way to tell you.
After a while, the compliments start to sink in. As someone who struggles with self-image, it was such a cool feeling to look at myself in the mirror and recognize that I looked good!
You’ll automatically become the coolest person in the room
I mean, let’s be real, these blondes won’t even compare to you. Having fun-colored hair automatically elevates you to icon status. Even if you’re wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and haven’t done your makeup, having colored hair means you’re still going to look incredible. Not to mention all the possibilities for color-coordinating outfits or coordinating accessories to match your new hair color.
I’ll confess: I loved having purple hair so much that after a year of having dyed hair, I wasn’t ready to go back to normal. I asked my hairdresser to help me go pink next!
Though I’m now back to normal and have boring brown hair, I can confidently say that dying my hair purple was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It made me more comfortable with my appearance, more confident in public spaces, and reminded me — as silly as this sounds — of how cool I am! Even with my natural hair color back, these feelings remain with me.
Anytime I’m feeling down about myself, I can just blast my favorite music and remind myself that I was cool enough to dye my hair purple! And that’s gotta count for something.
So are you convinced yet? So, if any part of this resonates with you, I think it might be time for you to book that hair appointment! Your next step is to find someone who can accomplish the color you’re going for. I highly recommend booking an appointment with a professional stylist if you can— while the capabilities of box dye are amazing, I was so happy at how healthy my hair still felt after dying it at a salon. This is the best way to ensure your hair will come out just how you’re dreaming it! I know it can be a big step to trust someone with your hair, so I’ll share some advice on how I found my incredible stylist.
Utilize Instagram hashtags
It’s 2023 and social media is the new search engine. Rather than heading to Google, try some location-specific hashtags to find your new stylist. Combining your location and “hair stylist” or “fashion color” can be a great way to use Instagram to your advantage and find someone who’s both social media savvy and talented with hair!
Check their Instagram feed or portfolio
One of the reasons I felt secure when booking my stylist is that she had plenty of posted examples of clients with hair that was dyed purple, blue, and pink. Seeing how amazing her past clients’ hair came out made me feel confident that she would do a great job with my hair. If you want to dye your hair blue, but the stylist you’re looking at has only shared photos or shown their work with blondes, you might want to consider someone else who specializes in fashion colors. Sometimes there will even be a helpful note in their bio saying so!
Read customer reviews
When in doubt, check the reviews! You definitely want to focus on the quality of the hair, but it’s also important to find someone who you mesh with personality-wise. If you’re going to be sitting in the salon chair for six hours while your hair gets dyed, you’re going to want to spend that time with someone fun!
So, now you have all the information you need to book your hair appointment, and I think it’s time for you to make it happen — I promise you won’t regret it!