Pink Hair, Don’t Care

The trend for bold hues has crossed over from catwalks, models and fashion editors to the mainstream, and it’s not just millennials who are having all the fun. From Helen Mirren to Madonna, including Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez, many stars have had their crazy-coloured hair moment and so do many other mature women.

Nothing to do with a divorce, a job loss or a midlife crisis. Most of the time, for many of us, adding improbable colour to our hair is more about taking control of our looks, experimenting with new trends, being more adventurous, and making a statement at any age. Why be boring when you can be edgy? 

Apart from being a mood lifter, brightly coloured hair also seems to be a sign of confidence, bringing a wonderful sense of liberation, especially in midlife, when women don’t care so much about what partners, friends and colleagues think and then give themselves permission to try out things that they’d have felt inhibited about when they were younger.

“I’m one of those older women who have candy-floss hair colours – says Catherine, 55 years old, a beautician from Chester (UK)-. In my case, I have a beautiful spectrum of pink and lilac. Quite honestly, I could not care less what anyone else’s opinion is about my choice of hair colour. I embrace my uniqueness and encourage others to do the same“.

Of course, the lockdown might have accelerated the trend which is obviously still going from strength to strength. There may be psychological reasons why pink is particularly appealing to midlife women.  Psychotherapist Hilda Burke says to the Daily Mail that, for women in midlife, going bright can be mainly about control: “As we get older, a lot of changes happen to our faces and bodies that we might not be happy about. But with this, we’re taking back control of our looks and actively choosing to make that change“.

Marcia Kester Doyle, a 50-something writer who blogs at Menopausal Mom couldn’t agree more. “I coloured my hair these unique shades because it sends a clear message, that a woman my age is still allowed to be fun – she said to the Huffington Post-. I spent too much of my life trying to fit the mould and please others. Now that I’m older, I do whatever I want and worry less about what others think. My new hair colour makes me feel younger, confident and sexy. At our age, we shouldn’t have to worry about what others think. Life is short, enjoy the ride.“

Basically, dyeing your hair pink is fun and a little punk, but it also offers an easy out because it doesn’t usually last very long. The perfect way for being safely rebellious. 

Have you recently dyed your hair pink? Please share your thoughts with our CrunchyTales Midlife Rebooting Facebook group.

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