Hair Color Trends in The United States Hello there, my color-obsessed darlings! hair color trends in the United States Hold onto your locks because we are about to embark on a journey through time – tracing the evolution of hair color trends in the good ol’ United States. Don’t worry; we’ll keep the dull historical facts to a minimum and max out the fun facts, so stick around! Ah, those color-full times! From flappers to free spirits, hair dye has been at the forefront of fashion for centuries (hello, it has). How our tresses are tinted often influences how others see us – remember middle school when the girl with pink highlights was deemed “edgy”? Hair dye helps us fit in, stand out, or rebel, depending on our mood and the trends of the time. Our story begins with one fundamental principle: throughout history, society has been strangely obsessed with applying value judgment to our hair (totally fair, right?). So, whether it was blonde bombshells in the ’50s or red manes in the last season of Game of Thrones, what dye job we picked often determined how the world saw us – or at least how much attention we stole. Are you ready to dive deeper into hair dye history? Let’s go, my hue-loving comrades! The ancient era of hair coloring Journey with me, dear reader, to a time when hashtags were not even a twinkle in the virtual realm, and leeches were for more than just medicinal purposes; welcome to the ancient era of hair coloring. This was when the only ‘app’ you needed was Apicius – the famed Roman gourmand, serving up tasty tonics of leek ooze and charred eggs. Yes, tress paint has been in vogue since the old times, when flipping pages on a stone tablet was humanity’s only ‘swipe right.’ You might be wondering, aside from their chic togas and perfect pyramid-building capabilities, what were our ancestors using to dye their locks? We have clay tablets and cave paintings revealing that their beauty regimen was, let’s say, ‘all-natural.’ Trips to the salon involved strolling to the nearest forest to fetch cassia bark and leeks. Please be seated for this one: leeches. Some even opted for gold dust, probably the ancient version of ‘bling’ on Boulevard. And boy, did societal norms play a significant role in this hair-raising situation! While you’re etching lyrics from Taylor’s ‘Love Story’ onto your lover’s scroll, golden and red-gold hues in ancient Greece were a rage, thanks to Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. Well, that and high-class prostitutes wore blonde hues, too. Talk about two extremes and still nailing that sultry look! On the other hand, high society Roman matrons would have thrown a fit worse than Caesar’s death scene if they were mistaken for blondes! I guess societal standards and hair color are a complicated saga right from the start. Fast-forward to us battling algorithms instead of lions, and you’ll see we’ve since swapped leeches for synthetic dyes – a small mercy! But don’t rush towards that box of hair dye just yet. Sit tight as we unravel more sneaky tidbits about hair dyes and societal norms right after this imaginary commercial break! Oh, and do flip that stone tablet, won’t you? Our ancestors wouldn’t want us missing out on any juicy details. The hair dyeing evolution in the Middle Ages Slamming straight into the Middle Ages, not so subtly, hair dye enters a new ball game. No more unisex beauty parties; applying hair dye became a ladies-only show. Now don’t feel too left out guys, maybe the love for grooming just blossomed a bit early for the fairer sex, you aren’t late, it’s just they are super early. While apologizing to men for being sidelined, let’s add a sniff of bleach to our beauty tale. Trust me, it wasn’t for cleaning. In their quest for beauty innovation, women began using bleaches with ingredients so quirky you’d think twice before setting foot in a salon. Blended flowers, certainly romantic, saffron for a dash of luxury, and calf kidneys? Talk about hardcore commitment to glamour! The medieval lady’s hair dyeing experience was indeed an aromatic jaunt. This shift sadly marked the beginning of unfair burdens on women concerning physical attributes. Men could grow old gracefully with silver strands, while women were expected to hide those grays and look mysteriously youthful. How? Refer to the mouthwatering list of bleach ingredients above. So, remember, every time you step into the salon now, you are continuing a legacy. A legacy started when men preferred holding swords and ladies held dye brushes (or calf kidneys). Trust me, nobody saw it coming. The changing landscape in the Modern Age Well, welcome to the wonderful world of synthetic dyes! What daily doses of bizarre hair colors do we see today? Thank all those science nerds back in the day who made the unnatural natural! No more grinding leeks or squishing bugs. A more straightforward (and less smelly) method was heralded in with synthetic dyes in the late 19th century. By the 1930s, hair dye went mainstream, with hordes of women subscribing to the gospel of “Clairol.” But here’s the fun twist – society still stamped its approval (or disapproval) on these vibrant color choices. Walk into an office with green hair in the 80s? You’d be passed over faster than the Brussels sprouts at a child’s dinner table. Hair coloring became more than a personal choice. It evolved into an emblem of identity, a silent scream of rebelliousness, or, sometimes, merely a misguided outcome of a drunken dare. Now, let’s fast forward to our era. Enter “Pop Culture,” the ultimate trend dictator. Who didn’t want “The Rachel” cut after being hooked on Friends? Without this influence, we wouldn’t have millions still asking their colorists for “Beyonce Blonde” or “Rihanna’s Fire Engine Red.” But hold on; pop culture has not just made people run behind color crazes. They have also managed to turn the tables around!...