Bold Hair Hues; From Gutter Punks to Mainstream Moms
Neon Red. Saturated Lavender. Blue-Purple. Peachy Pink. No, these aren’t new Crayola colors. These are some of the hottest hair colors for Spring 2021 according to Seventeen Magazine. They can be seen on the likes of Dua Lipa, Kylie Jenner, Katy Perry, and more. But wild, colorful hair is certainly not a new phenomenon, though who sports it most definitely is.
To understand the history of this hair trend, and how it has come so far (and to some, so far off the rails), we have to travel back in time to the 1970s. Something that is most definitely certain, besides death and taxes, is that with every cultural movement, a counter-movement will follow. In the mid-1970s as a reaction to both the hippie culture and the mainstream disco-pop culture, underground punk found its footing. Bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The New York Dolls created not only a new musical sound but a new means of self-expression through clothes, body modification, and hairstyles. Liberty spikes, under-cuts, and mohawks were colored and created in true DIY fashion, with household solvents like Elmer’s glue. In 1977, sisters Tish and Snooky Bellomo opened a small, punk shop in New York’s East Village selling clothes, accessories, and most notably, their proprietary vegan hair dye in colors like Electric Lizard and Vampire Red. Their hair dye, which bears the same name as their boutique, Manic Panic, remains today as the foremost associated brand with bold colored hair, and ironically, the catalyst of the punk-look going from the underground to the runways to the pop-culture zeitgeist.
Starting in the early 2010s, the wild hair color look began trickling into the mainstream, through high-fashion brands having models with wild hair walk their runways and face their campaigns. Then, as it goes with the cultural power they wield, a Kardashian dyed her hair and the punk-look officially skyrocketed to the mainstream. Since then, it seems like you can’t scroll through social media without seeing a celebrity with bold hair color — and the trend is not limited to celebrities who are perceived as “edgy” or even work in the music industry. From TV host Kelly Ripa to actresses Hillary Duff and January Jones to world-champion athletes like Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe, hair that once represented anti-beauty consumerist culture has now been normalized, commodified, and rebirthed as a hot trend by major beauty magazines and retailers.
The irony is deep in this beauty revolution. One cannot help but view it cynically like another case of mainstream capitalism selling the revolution back to us. But of course, there is another side to it. It also represents the evolution of what a “serious woman” looks like. While it may have been the case many years ago that expressing yourself in an “unconventional” way meant a loss of credibility in some capacity, that doesn’t seem to be the case today, as no one could doubt the seriousness nor credibility of the aforementioned women. It is also representative of the push for inclusivity in beauty, that women, however they choose to express themselves, can see themselves reflected back to them in mainstream culture. Additionally, it’s a truly inclusive beauty trend, in that anyone, with any hair type, skin color, socioeconomic status can participate- though, I’m sure certain employers may still have restrictions.
Even though there does seem to be a disconnect between the origins of unnatural hair color and where it is seen today, there is a commonality. Despite mainstream celebrities partaking in it, dyeing your hair blue is still in all actuality a rejection of a beauty standard. It remains a challenge to society to see the woman beyond her appearance. Just as it was in the punk era of the 1970s and 80s, it’s a rejection of the historical
pretense of femininity. This is an opportunity for women to play, to try something bold, to feel fun and a little whimsical in a world that seems to want to limit those very things at every turn. The punk movement and its symbols of expression were meant to undermine the status quo. But culture today doesn’t fit within neat boxes as it did in the past, where there were clearly defined cultures, subcultures, and countercultures. In today’s society, all of those groups are so intertwined mostly in the name of celebratory inclusivity, which is a major tenet of social progress. So, one can either scoff at celebrities and companies turning an anti-capitalist symbol into a major marketing cash grab or choose to see it as a signal that the notion of the ideal woman is fastly becoming an anachronism. At the very least, the basis of the ideal woman is rapidly changing, that it is becoming less about what she looks like and more about who she actually is.
