why i'll always dye my hair - and why you should too

why should brightly coloured hair be more wildly accepted?
this is my coloured hair history, as featured above.

Just because sometimes it’s so nice to appreciate the girls around the world that represent us coloured hair tribe, and because I’m a huge advocate in personal style and self-expression I wanted to share some thoughts and tips on colouring your hair bright colours. It’s become almost second nature to me now to have coloured hair, and while in my day job in Shoreditch it’s not really even second glanced at, I still am the target of mild prejudice out and about in the UK and even more so around the world.

People think it’s quite alright to just stare and point and also sometimes make funny remarks – although most of the time I do get nice remarks, they still come in fired at me – and I’ve always wanted my site to be a place where people feel at ease reading it and also inspired and perhaps a place where they can get that last min push to do something they’ve always wanted to. Luckily, we live in a world that is becoming more tolerant of unique looks and styles but it still sometimes ends in heartbreak and tragedy. In 2007, Sophie Lancaster was killed to death forbeing a goth, and this is something that has never been able to leave my thoughts. Growing up as a young girl in Cambridge I was pretty much the only punk/goth in the school. Luckily for me, my school was fantastic in accepting all different styles and personal tastes and I never fell victim to bullying or prejudice. But I know it could have been a completely different story.

I always aim to push forward that makeup and hair is temporary and also that there is never anything wrong at all in being unique, and never should there be. Celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Jessie J and Lady Gaga fly the flag all over the world for pop coloured hair, and it’s so easy to do yourself at home. Of course you can and if its your first time you should pop to a salon to ensure it’s bleached properly, but once that’s over you can really get experimenting. Think of your hair as a blank canvas and your tools as your paint kit. If you want to try rainbow hair, try rainbow hair. Or why not try a bright block colour all over? People always tell me that my turquoise suits me, and well I wouldn’t really go that far, but I think because I’ve sailed the coloured hair ship for over 13 years of my life now it’s something that people have become used to when looking at me. And really that is half the battle, getting acceptance by people getting “used” to your look. Only a few years ago it was rare to have bright red hair, and now it’s so wildly accepted that I see red haired vixens all over the street all the time. I’m a bit of a rarity being turquoise, but colours like red and orange and pink are far more accepted than they’ve ever been. I think the more we embrace different styles – as it’s not even a culture thing any more, it’s all about style – the richer our countries will become. 

It’s never been easier to get dying at home, and it’s even come to the high street now. I saw a great product a few weeks ago from Schwarzkopf and it’s got me thinking how great it is that it exists. When I was a kid (we’re talking about 13-17 here) I always dyed my hair pillarbox red using Schwarzkopf and I could only imagine how excited I’d be if I was still that age now and I saw these new Ultra Brights range. I think the key message I always want to promote and trust me if I could stand up in government and sing about it I would – is that colour washes out. It washes. You suit bright colours more than you think you do, and it’s all just an aid to helping express your personality. I know if you’re young your school might have rules on this, but and without wanting to get any of you in trouble (take my advice with a pinch of salt if you are a young bub) I always got around it, and I did it by proving I can work hard and the colour of my hair does nothing to my personality or my school work. I had some jobs when I was 15 where they made me cover my bright orange hair with a heinous hair net, but it never once put me off standing up for what I believed in, and I’d take it off the minute their backs were turned. The customers never didn’t want to be served by me, and infact I did a better job than some of the other employees, and I was memorable.

I will for as long as I live spread the word about the S.O.P.H.I.E charity, and forever be me however I want to be me. This involves coloured hair then so be it. If you've always been thinking about dying your hair but never felt like you quite had the push, then hopefully my extensive hair colour history as pictured above should help you get inspired that coloured hair is the new blonde and as individuals we can all shape the world uniquely.

What do you think about coloured hair? Do you think there’s still a mild prejudice against it? Do you think that the Sophie Lancaster charity helps to raise awareness of it? Will you be picking up a box of Ultra Brights to give it a go at home? It’s only £4 and you can find it here. What do you think of my many hairstyles over the years?

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: Last year I visited the Schwarzkopf Academy in conjunction with the Ultra Brights launch. This post is a follow up from that. Some of the weird watermarks on my pictures above (xARREST ME, IM BANKSYx) are from my old MySpace page! (I know, I know. don't rip me too hard in the comments.)