Hair dyes can have a very wide variety of brands and colors. Photo courtesy of sophomore Lina Arnold.
Dying hair has always been a form of expression. San Luis Obispo High School students often will dye their hair and be very enthusiastic about their new hair as it is a way for students to feel more comfortable about their look.
Dying hair has ultimately become very popular, as many students at SLOHS have dyed their hair in the past or plan to in the future. Of course there are options that allow you to temporarily dye your hair instead of permanently dying hair that one might not like when they get older.
Temporary dye allows a student to have dyed hair without a worry about not liking it when they grow older. Dying hair can be very damaging to students’ hair, as it can make hair fall out and strip the hair of its natural oils.
“Dying your hair often depends on what type of brand you’re using. Some brands can further damage your hair and using the wrong volume of bleach will really damage it,” said sophomore Finn Howland.
Hair is very unique as everyone has different genes affecting their hair whether it be curly, straight or wavy and in between all versions of this. Dying hair is a chance to make yourself feel like a new person. This can be why people fresh off a breakup will cope with it by dying their hair, but there are many reasons so dying hair will not always be linked to certain meanings.
Dye changes your hair in a self expression way meaning that if you ask a person the meaning behind their hair they will either tell you a detailed version of why or it will just be that it appealed to them as an interesting thing to try and they got hooked on it.
“If the student wants a more permanent hair dye I’d say arctic fox,“ said Howland.
Temporary hair dye can be hard to find, but oftentimes you can ask store workers if they dye their hair and if so what brands they would recommend or go online for brands and see the reviews on them and then find what stores near you sell that hair dye.
Hair dye is often done by a hair stylist but if you are doing it yourself.
“I’d recommend people dying their hair that you can wear gloves but it’s not needed,” said senior Joshua Ellis.
While yes, you can choose to not wear gloves, it is your preference as to if you want smurf hands or not. For example if you’re dying your hair blue or a shade of blue you enjoy it will be difficult to have blue on your hands however some companies will make it easy for the dye to come off.
Dying hair can have very bad consequences as well so be careful.
“I’d say that dying your hair is bad if you are not educated and use the wrong tone of bleach or don’t look at how that shade will look towards your hair,” said freshman Sofia Rodriguez Pierson.
Looking at how the dye will affect your hair will greatly benefit your dying experience. Making sure to educate yourself will also help if your friends ask you things about your experience with dye and advice for it.
Dying hair is often viewed as a cool trend sparked by the media. People try it out because it looks cool, but dying your hair can represent a deeper meaning of getting away from their past self, embracing the effort to be a new person.
Dying hair can be easy to take care of, as you just need to make sure the application of the dye on your hair goes well.
“I haven’t dyed my hair but I know from friends that you need to have the dye on for a certain amount of time before it starts to damage your hair, instead of having the color be more prominent,” said senior Sloan Robbins.
The process of dying your hair requires you to put the dye on your hair with a brush designed for dying hair and then wrapping the pieces of hair dyes in tinfoil. Following the box and reviews online on what worked the best for your shade of hair will significantly help in the process.
If you are considering dying your hair, make sure to check out the facts and educate yourself so you don’t accidentally damage your hair too badly, Tigers!