by June Jeong, assistant editor
The Roar talked to junior Grace Manuel, known for her frequent change in hair color, and her experiences with and reasons behind all the colors.
When was the first time you dyed your hair?
It was 5th grade, I got blonde highlights.
How many times have you changed your hair color?
Too many to count! I’ve been dying my hair different colors since freshman year.
How often do you change it usually?
Well during the year it’s different because I have to theatre, so I don’t change it when I have to perform. With debate tournaments too. But during the summer, I change it probably like every two to three months.
What’s your favorite color of hair dye?
When I had a pixie cut, I had this interwoven hair of blue, and green and purple. But if it’s just one solid color, I’d definitely say that purple is my favorite.
How do you choose which color you’re going to go with?
I usually do blues and purples just because those are my favorite colors. They’re also bright and they go with my closet, which is pretty much made of blues and purples, dark colors. When I have to do a natural for theater, I’ll either go for my natural color brown or I’ll do blonde or auburn.
What was your worst experience dyeing your hair? Do you dye it yourself or with a professional?
I dye my hair myself most of the time. My hair color just turns out [the way it does] and I like it. I enjoy it. I think the worst was when I was trying to get a purple-fuschia color and it turned out bright pink. I kept that for like a day and changed it, put more color over it. Now, I think that bright pink works for me. I’d totally do bright pink.
How do you dye your hair?
I normally get dye at Sally’s. I use the Ion Color Brilliance for my unnatural colors. I’ve started using Argan Oil hair color. I mix it and sometimes I use developer, sometimes I don’t. It depends on the dye and on how damaged my hair is. I put it in my hair. If I don’t use developer, I’ll leave [the hair color] in overnight and wash it the next morning. If I do use developer, I’ll put it up in a bun. Sometimes if it’s runny or really wet, I’ll put a plastic bag over it.
What brands do you like to use?
If it’s cheap and the reviews are alright, [then I use it]. Like I said, I use Ion Color Brilliance or Argan Oil dye.
What’s the best reaction that you’ve gotten to your hair? Do you think people react less because you change it up pretty often?
I’ve had random people come up to me and be like “I love your hair,” and that always makes me really happy. And the people that I see a lot, they’ll be like “I like this new color, it really works for you,” or they’ll make comments like “wow, your color is really fading [and] it’s fading well,” or “you should re-dye your hair.” But I mean, if I had never dyed my hair before and I suddenly went bright purple, they’d be a lot more reactive.
What’s your advice for first time hair-dyers?
Look up stuff online. Watch YouTube tutorials and read reviews. Also, the color that turns out depends on the color you started with, how many times you’ve dyed your hair, how much developer you use. There are a lot of factors that contribute to it. And that goes along with just doing online research, especially because if you have thinner hair it might be lighter and if you have thicker hair, you should buy extra dye.
How do you match your clothes to you hair color?
When I first dye my hair and it’s a new color, I try to wear clothes that match it well, but after a week, it’s whatever. But the colors I normally dye my hair, blues and purples, since they’re my favorite colors, I have clothes that match that. So I don’t really have clothes that clash with the colors I dye my hair.
What do you think is the best thing about dyeing your hair?
I think that it’s something you can do when you’re young and you don’t have a job and you have more freedom to experiment with your body image and how to present yourself without permanent consequences. It’s a lot different than getting a tattoo and it’s a fun thing to experiment with. And it’s a way to, (if you like a look, really like a color, if you think it would be fun or you just want to try it out), try something new. And if you don’t like it you can dye over it or you can cut it off.
Since you act, do you ever dye your hair to accommodate your role in a play?
Sort of. In the one-act we’re doing right now, I’m one of the two women that are fighting over a guy. And they’re polar opposites, so Mr. Williamson was like “I think it would be a good contrast if one of you had lighter hair and one of you had darker hair.” So I decided to do darker and my friend went lighter. But other than that, I just dye it something natural, nothing really specific to the character.
Do you have any hair inspirations?
Just the Internet in general. Like there are so many videos online, like [on] Instagram, Vine or Twitter. Anything really, where [there are] videos of the hair-dyeing process of crazy colors. It’s really pretty.
Why do you dye your hair?
I think the best answer to the questions is, because I can. Because I’m a very loud person and my personality is really loud, so why not have my hair be loud. I also do really like standing out and being different. Not the whole quirky “I’m different than other girls,” but I’m not afraid to show my crazy hair color. I’m pretty proud of my hair colors.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’ve dyed my hair so much that my hair is dead. I’ve gone from blonde to blue to purple to purple-pink, so many different colors. Taking care of your hair is definitely one of the most important things to remember when dyeing your hair. I use deep conditioners constantly; I have a leave-in conditioner that I try to use.There’s the cost of buying the dye but then you also should buy deep conditioners and hair treatments. If you want to dye your hair fun and crazy colors, you have to also be aware that there is a lot of hair maintenance [involved].
