Does hair colour effect how people treat you?

Kazobel

Bit of a long one and hope this is ok to post here but I want some serious replies and if I posted it in AH or BGRH it'd just be open to "Dumb Blonde" comments and I don't think it's been asked before.

So I've been thinking about this for a while, I've had my hair a fair few colours and styles and have noticed people interact really differently to me depending on which I was. So far it's been Long blonde, Long Black, Long bright brown and short bright brown and how people behaved has varied alot (I'll post pics of the different styles if you's want but they're floating around here somewhere anyway).

Long Blonde:
I found this to have the least positive reactions but saying that it didn't really suit me but I found people were dismissive of me, the only guys that approached me were leaches and everybody talked down to me like they were pandering to the dumb blonde idea, needless to say I changed it quickly

Long black: (My natural colour)
This is my favorite but others disagree, I get approached by guys alot and people talk to me like I have a brain so all in all it's a positive look but I got the impression people were talking to me like I was a wee bit boring or stuck up, sort of like the way they'd talk to a teacher or something. It tends to cover my face at times to so it may be that people subconciously see that as a barrier too if that makes sense?

Long bright brown:
Really good reaction, people will have a real conversation, getting dates was never hard nobody ever suspected anything about my gender but still it was long so covered my face a bit (I think that's why I like long hair because it gives me a way to hide because I'm always worried I might get caught). I really liked this one because people were much more open and chatty to me.

Short Bright Brown:
By far the best reaction, which suprised me tbh, the colour wasn't even anything special but seriously I was hit on constantly, men were like puppydogs falling over themselves trying to please me on nights out and I think all the attention sort of made me nervous but it was fun while it lasted I also found random people (male and female) would just chat openly to me in lifts or waiting for a bus, it was like I was more approachable.

I know all my examples there are examples of the reactions of men but that's where most of the different reactions came from as you'd expect but women I worked with did react in different ways too, with the blonde they were really, really dismissive and rude and did look down on me like I was beneath them and with the short bright brown it was the same but I think for different reason, women mostly respond best and will be friendly and chatty when it's long black so that seems to be the neutral colour for both genders in my case but again maybe thats just because it's my natural colour anyway.

So girls have you ever changed you hair colour or style and seen a noticable change in the way people treated you and was it good/bad? Men too, does a hair colour make you view a girl differently? Guys and gals, Do you believe Blondes are more sought after as sexual partners or is the view that they are mearly bimbos who are easy still alive and well?

Now don't turn this into a "So do you only change your hair to impress guys?" debate, simple answer no, I do it because I like change and let's not get to serious either people

Edit: Changed the title to be more clear what I was asking

Dragan

I wouldn't ever worry about someone hair colour to be honest. I have known quite a few girls of all hair colours that you couldn't pull a bit of fun out of with a M1Abraham Tank.

About the only effect i can see it having is probably placebo. Someone feels that the new hair colour makes a "new them" so they liven up and loosen up somewhat?

LadyJ

Kazobel, maybe it wasn't the hair, maybe it was how you felt about it and the vibes you were giving out. I don't know, I've changed my hair a lot. Just after I dye it (usually burgandy) I always get men staring at me and beeping from cars etc but maybe it's just because there's a nice shine to it and it looks well.

When I get my hair done I always feel great about myself so I probably come across more vibrant and ehthusiastic, thus more approachable I guess.

JustCoz

Kazobel are you male or female? I'm a natural blonde and when I was a kid people used to go mad over my hair coz it was so long and so blonde. I tried dying it brown (light brown) I thought that it made a huge difference to my appearance even though it wasn't a dark brown. Definitely didn't get as much attention from the lads I don't think but that wouldn't stop me giving it another try Think blonde suits me better though coz it's my natural colour and I have light eyebrows

gingerhousewife

I am, and have always been a redhead (big surprise eh?). I have never wanted to have any other colour hair as I like to stand out from the crowd. The only colour I have ever put in was a few highlights (red) recently because as I'm getting older (30) the colour is dulling down and is not as fiery as it used to be.

I know this doesn't answer your question as to whether Blondes have more fun or not. I wouldn't know, never having been blonde, but if I had any more fun than I have always had, I would probably be arrested LOL.

Lola123

LadyJ wrote: »

Kazobel, maybe it wasn't the hair, maybe it was how you felt about it and the vibes you were giving out. I don't know, I've changed my hair a lot. Just after I dye it (usually burgandy) I always get men staring at me and beeping from cars etc but maybe it's just because there's a nice shine to it and it looks well.

When I get my hair done I always feel great about myself so I probably come across more vibrant and ehthusiastic, thus more approachable I guess.

V. good point!

I'm currently a brunette but have been blond before. I think there is a slight difference in the way men in a nightclub approach you but thats about it. When I was blond I noticed the chat up lines were a lil more on the sleazy side.
To answer your question though op...... One can have fun either way!

Kazobel

JustCoz wrote: »

Kazobel are you male or female? I'm a natural blonde and when I was a kid people used to go mad over my hair coz it was so long and so blonde. I tried dying it brown (light brown) I thought that it made a huge difference to my appearance even though it wasn't a dark brown. Definitely didn't get as much attention from the lads I don't think but that wouldn't stop me giving it another try Think blonde suits me better though coz it's my natural colour and I have light eyebrows

I'm male to female pre-op Transsexual but I identify and live as female JustCoz, It was the total opposite for me, when I went light brown I got alot more attention but I think the problem was it was a really bright blonde and I was just to pale to pull it off and the style didn't really suit me either. Did people treat you differently in just normal interactions (work etc) when you went brown?

Kazobel

LadyJ wrote: »

Kazobel, maybe it wasn't the hair, maybe it was how you felt about it and the vibes you were giving out. I don't know, I've changed my hair a lot. Just after I dye it (usually burgandy) I always get men staring at me and beeping from cars etc but maybe it's just because there's a nice shine to it and it looks well.

When I get my hair done I always feel great about myself so I probably come across more vibrant and ehthusiastic, thus more approachable I guess.

That is possible but as I said I feel more comfortable with long black hair than short brown hair but the short brown got better reactions

Kazobel

gingerhousewife wrote: »

I am, and have always been a redhead (big surprise eh?). I have never wanted to have any other colour hair as I like to stand out from the crowd. The only colour I have ever put in was a few highlights (red) recently because as I'm getting older (30) the colour is dulling down and is not as fiery as it used to be.

I know this doesn't answer your question as to whether Blondes have more fun or not. I wouldn't know, never having been blonde, but if I had any more fun than I have always had, I would probably be arrested LOL.

I've always wanted to try red, you know that deep red? but I think my hair needs a break

I think as I was writing the OP the question I was trying to ask evolved to more than just "Do blondes have more fun?" I was curious if people changed their hair and then seen a noticeable change in how people perceived them or even if people of a certain hair colour think they are treated differently (better or worse) than people of a different hair colour.

Kazobel

Lola123 wrote: »

V. good point!

I'm currently a brunette but have been blond before. I think there is a slight difference in the way men in a nightclub approach you but thats about it. When I was blond I noticed the chat up lines were a lil more on the sleazy side.
To answer your question though op...... One can have fun either way!

I noticed that too, did you feel they were dumbing down talking to you and being kind of patronizing and also I felt they though I was a sure thing.

metaoblivia

I naturally have very very dark brown hair. Most people mistake it for black, but it's not - I have red undertones, not blue. Anyway, my skin tone is yellow/olive, so I can't really do any drastic color changes, like going bright blonde or bright red. But when I lighten my hair just a few shades and put in some golden/caramel highlight, it gets a really good response. Most people think I'm very pale, but when my hair's like this, they suddenly think I'm tan.

Growing up, I used to want to be blonde. All of my classmates were. But I came to appreciate my hair color/skin tone.

Rozabeez

According to the mother, I look more approachable with blonde hair... saying that, my style/attitude has changed too since my brunette/red-head days.

misslt

I've went from light brown (natural) to brown, blonde and copper, to blonde, to brown and im now only half a shade up from black. I definitly prefer it dark, the darker the better (in brown that is, I'm not sure if im ready to go black), i feel a lot more confient and people take me a lot more seriously. I feel a lot more mature when its dark.

Kazobel

misslt wrote: »

I've went from light brown (natural) to brown, blonde and copper, to blonde, to brown and im now only half a shade up from black. I definitly prefer it dark, the darker the better (in brown that is, I'm not sure if im ready to go black), i feel a lot more confient and people take me a lot more seriously. I feel a lot more mature when its dark.

I change my colour like that too, I've even done Black with bright blue streaks and blonde with pink streaks and both of them got lots of good reactions although the blonde and pink still got the assumption I was a bit dumb type of interaction but it'd still be in an attentive way, it seems colours that aren't the norm are also an attraction for some men.

misslt

Kazobel wrote: »

I change my colour like that too, I've even done Black with bright blue streaks and blonde with pink streaks and both of them got lots of good reactions although the blonde and pink still got the assumption I was a bit dumb type of interaction but it'd still be in an attentive way, it seems colours that aren't the norm are also an attraction for some men.

I'd love to try pink at the bottom of my hair, my under layers. I thought about getting pink extensions so I could take them out when i needed to, but then I got my hair cut fairly short so that ruled that out.

It also sucks coz i cant have mad colours at school, so I have to be generally conservative! lol!

Def think i might try pink when it gets a bit longer, is it hard to keep?

ztoical

Having been pretty much every colour there is [and sometimes several colours at the one time] and having had everything done to my hair [from dreads, to shaving it all off, its currently red and half way down to my back] I can say I never noticed a major difference in peoples treatment. I mostly found it was how I felt about my appearance that effected how people treated me. Had a few bad hair style choices and I'm pretty sure it came across to people. Not ever cut, style or colour suits every face/body type so it sometimes its trail and error.

Kazobel - don't take this the wrong way but you say your pre-op and living as a female but how passing are you/confident with your appearance? I've a post-op friend who lost some weight but found that the weight lost from her face made her look more male and it shattered her confidence for a while.

The times you felt people had a good reaction to you do you think it might have been down to being more confident in your overall appearance rather then just the hair colour?

LivingDeadGirl

I had purple hair one summer and got horrible stares off various strangers and 'Watch now she's going to slit her wrists!!' shouted at me. :rolleyes:

Crumble Froo

got that a bit when i had my hair black/ blueblack.

Kazobel

misslt wrote: »

I'd love to try pink at the bottom of my hair, my under layers. I thought about getting pink extensions so I could take them out when i needed to, but then I got my hair cut fairly short so that ruled that out.

It also sucks coz i cant have mad colours at school, so I have to be generally conservative! lol!

Def think i might try pink when it gets a bit longer, is it hard to keep?

It's not at all hard, for it to really look good you need to get it done in a hairdressers because all those home dyes never work but you really need to be getting it toped up every 4 weeks to keep it vibrant, another alternative is extentions but I'd get the clip on ones in wigwam and then you can take them out or put them in as you like.

Kazobel

ztoical wrote: »

Kazobel - don't take this the wrong way but you say your pre-op and living as a female but how passing are you/confident with your appearance? I've a post-op friend who lost some weight but found that the weight lost from her face made her look more male and it shattered her confidence for a while.

Don't worry hon I get asked that all the time, I totally pass no one can ever tell

This is me now:



And this is with the short brown hair:





So I don't think it's the TS thing. I honestly believe it's the hair colour.

Kazobel

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

I had purple hair one summer and got horrible stares off various strangers and 'Watch now she's going to slit her wrists!!' shouted at me. :rolleyes:

That happened to me too, I went through a bit of a Goth/Emo phase but at the time goth and emo weren't words so it was more considered a Cure phase but it was a safe place for transsexuals to hide like Goth and Emo are now because for transsexuals it's easy to be androgenous without attracting to much attention. Alot of my friends probably wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for the Goth/emo community because they accept it so easily.

bronte

Really interesting post Kaz!
Been platinium blonde since I was 15/16 , I'm 23 now,and you would not believe the amount of sleazy come-ons guys will give.
Girls sometimes get the wrong idea and think I'm stuck up, but when they get to know me, they're like "you're nothing like I thought you'd be!"
I have very close girl mates and very close guy mates, so hopefully I'm not doing too badly!
Way too stubborn to change the aul hair though!!

Kazobel

bronte wrote: »

Really interesting post Kaz!
Been platinium blonde since I was 15/16 , I'm 23 now,and you would not believe the amount of sleazy come-ons guys will give.
Girls sometimes get the wrong idea and think I'm stuck up, but when they get to know me, they're like "you're nothing like I thought you'd be!"
I have very close girl mates and very close guy mates, so hopefully I'm not doing too badly!
Way too stubborn to change the aul hair though!!

I'd love to have platinium blonde hair but I'd never be able to pull it off (that's blonde that looks almost silver isn't it?) but there is that automatic opinion of you isn't there? I only asked all this because I thought I might have been imagining it but I don't think so now***

***a few posts here have actually given me ideas for a few more threads that are girl specific too, we're so complex

bronte

Yeah Kaz.. it's white blonde ya know?!
Ah, there are a few assumptions, but you learn to ignore them.
Guys who are surprised that I'm a bookworm for example!
It's usually more to do with the person making the assumption.
I'm at home with this colour!

Kazobel

bronte wrote: »

Yeah Kaz.. it's white blonde ya know?!
Ah, there are a few assumptions, but you learn to ignore them.
Guys who are surprised that I'm a bookworm for example!
It's usually more to do with the person making the assumption.
I'm at home with this colour!

You're right to be, I think if I could chose a colour I'd choose platinium, it's brilliant looking when it's natural. and I've seen some natural platinium's with their fringe jet black and that looks so good too, it's really the hair you can do anything with and it'd look great

Bottle_of_Smoke

Kazobel wrote: »

Long bright brown:
Really good reaction, people will have a real conversation, getting dates was never hard nobody ever suspected anything about my gender but still it was long so covered my face a bit (I think that's why I like long hair because it gives me a way to hide because I'm always worried I might get caught). I really liked this one because people were much more open and chatty to me.

Ehhh.... Have I got it wrong or do you date people without being honest about your gender?

bronte

Aw thanks! It's a cool colour! you really can do anything with it.
Maybe the experiences with guys have made me a bit wary, but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing!

Robbo

Surely the way to go about this is to have a blind trial where the subject has no idea what colour their hair is, so as not to influence results?

Science on LL? I'm getting the ducking chair, amn't I.

Silverfish

Bottle_of_Smoke, stay on topic.


Robbo, good point. Was wondering this myself.

Kazobel

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Ehhh.... Have I got it wrong or do you date people without being honest about your gender?

I've answered that question on numerious threads on here and most people on here already know the answer to that, my personal life is nothing to do with this thread, stay on topic or don't post please.

Kazobel

Robbo wrote: »

Surely the way to go about this is to have a blind trial where the subject has no idea what colour their hair is, so as not to influence results?

Science on LL? I'm getting the ducking chair, amn't I.

Aww for god sakes hon, thats a male opinion (not that I'm saying it's bad) but you wouldn't see it from my point of view, this is really a girl type question because most girls would be able to relate to it in some way. I didn't dye my hair as an experiment and my question was if other girls have dyed theirs to a different colour and noticed a change in how people interact with them but that change would be noticed over a period of days/weeks and that would involve a controled experiment to log results. This was just a question, don't be so pedantic, I don't think like that. stats are just that, stats, but alot of girls would have real life experience.

embee

Ooh, my tongue hurts because I'm biting it so hard

Hair colour doesn't matter. I've had two hair colours - blonde and brown, and haven't been treated in any way differently with either.

Kazobel

bronte wrote: »

Aw thanks! It's a cool colour! you really can do anything with it.
Maybe the experiences with guys have made me a bit wary, but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing!

It's probably lucky I don't have your colour hair, I'd end up a different colour every week just because I could :D

Peared

Kazobel perhaps it was an oversight but maybe less of the "we", unless its the royal we and theres something you havent told us. I for one dont like being spoken for.

I have blonde hair and I dont think I have ever been beeped at by a passing car with a hat on but I dunno if thats enough to draw conclusions from. My old boss constantly referred to me as "the blonde". Dunno if she would have called me "the brunette" if that was my hair colour.

embee

Peared wrote: »

Kazobel perhaps it was an oversight but maybe less of the "we", unless its the royal we and theres something you havent told us. I for one dont like being spoken for.

+1

I don't like this "we" business, either.

Kazobel

OK sorry girls, guys generally talk in a "we" capacity as in most men in general so I was just saying "we" as in most girls in general. Won't do it again. The "we" part has been edited out.

as an aside I don't (and probably never will) know either of you in real life, the "we" was a generalisation, I think it's really pedantic of you to take something so general and assume it applies specifically to me talking about or for you but as I said in my OP I'm not getting into this crap and having a thread ruined, I made a fau pas and fixed it.

Kazobel

Kazobel wrote: »

we don't think like that.

Judging from the what you do thread most Ladies in the Lounge are science heads in one way or another.

I'm naturally a foxy shade of red. So as my most prominent feature, my hair colour has a big impact on peoples impression of me. I had a short dalliance as a convincing brunette. It didn't change peoples attitude towards me but alot of gingerist people I had known for a long time suddenly noticed my face had features! and I got alot more attention from men.
It wasn't as useful though, you have a certain license to put yourself in troublesome situations and get away with it as a redhead. You are also always remembered.

Peared

Kazobel wrote: »

OK sorry girls, guys generally talk in a "we" capacity as in most men in general so I was just saying "we" as in most girls in general. Won't do it again. The "we" part has been edited out.

as an aside I don't (and probably never will) know either of you in real life, the "we" was a generalisation, I think it's really pedantic of you to take something so general and assume it applies specifically to me talking about or for you but as I said in my OP I'm not getting into this crap and having a thread ruined, I made a fau pas and fixed it.

I was in no way trying to ruin a thread. I made a short comment with a minor suggestion.

The original version of that post implied that you were speaking for girls in general or the LL. Using the word "we" suggests this. I cannot think of another meaning for the word we. I, therefore am part of we and do not wish to be spoken for.

Its quite simple. There was no malice or argument in my post, just a suggestion. I can live with being called pedantic.

On topic, am I the only blonde that would love black hair but would look like a witch with it?

Kazobel

Peared wrote: »

I was in no way trying to ruin a thread. I made a short comment with a minor suggestion.

The original version of that post implied that you were speaking for girls in general or the LL. Using the word "we" suggests this. I cannot think of another meaning for the word we. I, therefore am part of we and do not wish to be spoken for.

Its quite simple. There was no malice or argument in my post, just a suggestion. I can live with being called pedantic.

Whatever, I don't care, I'm not getting into it, it's not on topic so start a feedback thread about it, I don't look there so won't really give a toss.

Peared wrote: »

On topic, am I the only blonde that would love black hair but would look like a witch with it?

how do you know you'll look like a witch?

Peared

Kazobel seriously, you're looking for a row where there isnt one. You are seeing an attack where there is none. No need for being defensive with all the "couldnt give a toss stuff". Im not the enemy.

Re the gruaig.. I had a black wig for Halloween and I looked like a witch. I kinda liked it actually but wouldnt commit to it full time. My skin looked whiter than white. Its a very definite "look". I did the goth thing years ago, although with white hair, not black.

Anybody see the pics of Lily Allen last week with really dark lipstick? She can really carry off the black hair thing, I thought she looked stunning.

Blush_01

I've never found my hair colour has had much impact on public perception of me - except maybe the pink/magenta days. I did find myself more prone to silly comments when I had very light brown hair with blonde highlights, but that could also have been due to my diet at the time - yes, I know how stupid that sounds!

Kazobel

Peared wrote: »

Kazobel seriously, you're looking for a row where there isnt one. You are seeing an attack where there is none. No need for being defensive with all the "couldnt give a toss stuff". Im not the enemy.

Look I just said I don't care, you's took the thread off topic not me so I dismissed you just accept it and move on because this "getting in the last word" crap is getting really old.

Silverfish

Everyone, back on topic.


Robbo raised an interesting point earlier.

Does the colour of our hair affect our behaviour? I'd be interested to see if my hair was dyed a certain colour, and I didn't know what colour it was dyed, would people treat me differently? Or are they only responding to a change in our behaviour due to a different hair colour.

Kazobel

Blush_01 wrote: »

I've never found my hair colour has had much impact on public perception of me - except maybe the pink/magenta days. I did find myself more prone to silly comments when I had very light brown hair with blonde highlights, but that could also have been due to my diet at the time - yes, I know how stupid that sounds!

Was that making silly comments yourself or recieving them from others?

Blush_01

Oh making them myself. Maybe it was a subconscious thing?

I have cousins to "advise" me on whether my hair colour suits me or not though, whether the advice is invited or not. Who needs confidence when you have family, eh?

Reku

In honesty I tend to find girls with hair colour which is not possible naturally (e.g. pink, green, blue, purple, highighter red/orange etc...) more attractive than normal. I know why this is the case, but to go into it would just be a disturbing insight to a FUBAR mind.:(

Kazobel

Blush_01 wrote: »

Oh making them myself. Maybe it was a subconscious thing?

I have cousins to "advise" me on whether my hair colour suits me or not though, whether the advice is invited or not. Who needs confidence when you have family, eh?

Oh don't worry about them, all my relatives tell me I still look male even though I know I don't, they do crap like that to boost their egos and one way is to put down the person they are jealous of, if anything yours are the same, families are like that, they need to feel superiour and need to know their son/daughter is doing better than their sisters'/brothers' son/daughter, it's not ego it just family things

Kazobel

farohar wrote: »

In honesty I tend to find girls with hair colour which is not possible naturally (e.g. pink, green, blue, purple, highighter red/orange etc...) more attractive than normal. I know why this is the case, but to go into it would just be a disturbing insight to a FUBAR mind.:(

It's not abnormal, any girl that has gone for a not normal colour will tell you that, guy's go wild for it, personally I blame the original Star Trek, every guy wanted to be kirk banging all the girls with blue skin and blue hair.

Am I close to why?

Crumble Froo

Peared wrote: »

Kazobel seriously, you're looking for a row where there isnt one. You are seeing an attack where there is none. No need for being defensive with all the "couldnt give a toss stuff". Im not the enemy.

Re the gruaig.. I had a black wig for Halloween and I looked like a witch. I kinda liked it actually but wouldnt commit to it full time. My skin looked whiter than white. Its a very definite "look". I did the goth thing years ago, although with white hair, not black.

Anybody see the pics of Lily Allen last week with really dark lipstick? She can really carry off the black hair thing, I thought she looked stunning.

i love black hair - mine's black at the moment (with a slight violet shine in the sun), but it took me years to get the balls to dye it, cos i used to get bullied a lot in school for being a 'goth', cos i didnt listen to mainstream music, so i'd alwyas feel really self conscious when i wore black clothes, convinced everyone was judging me, so there was no way in hell i'd have dyed my hair black back then. was terrified i'd look like a complete goth/witch, particularly due to the fact i've very pale skin.

i say go for it.

Kazobel

Silverfish wrote: »

Everyone, back on topic.


Robbo raised an interesting point earlier.

Does the colour of our hair affect our behaviour? I'd be interested to see if my hair was dyed a certain colour, and I didn't know what colour it was dyed, would people treat me differently? Or are they only responding to a change in our behaviour due to a different hair colour.

Thats a good point, when my hair was all those different colours I'd like to think I still acted like me but I suppose it is possible I displayed traits that would fit in with the stereotype of any given hair colour. I don't think I did change how I acted other than maybe on a sub-concious level because passing is important to me and any big change will, for a time, effect my behaviour but only in a way where for a while I'll be quiet and shy I suppose but thats just until I adapt myself. I'm probably not the best person to answer that question because my behavour is subject to alot of outside influences, I don't think hair colour would be at the top of that list because no matter the hair colour I'm constantly assessing how I look (my face), how I speak, how I move so I wouldn't have the time to add "how does my hair look" to the list maybe some of the girls posting have a different opinion. As an aside it's begining to seem from reading some of the replies that going darker gives girls more confidence, I might be wrong but so far everyone that went darker seems to see it as a positive move so there must be something in it.

JustCoz

Kazobel wrote:

I'm male to female pre-op Transsexual but I identify and live as female JustCoz, It was the total opposite for me, when I went light brown I got alot more attention but I think the problem was it was a really bright blonde and I was just to pale to pull it off and the style didn't really suit me either. Did people treat you differently in just normal interactions (work etc) when you went brown?

I was in college at the time and I think alot of people who'd known be for a long time thought it didn't suit me because I'd always had blonde hair, but then again it could have made me feel less confident and maybe that effected my judgment too. I went to UCD and I suppose I was sick of being another blonde in a sea of blonde heads, even though my hair was natural