Sara Donaldson | Copyeditor | Copywriter
I’ve had green hair now for about three and a half years.
Before that I had most colours under the sun – apart from blonde, I could never ‘do’ blonde as I’m pale with a slightly ginger tinge, and it just makes me look ill.
To be honest I just got bored with the usual violet, red, brown, and purple dyes that I’d used for the past LOTS of years.
I. WAS. BORED.
But I was always worried what people thought of me.
Why do we worry? Honestly? People have too much going on in their own worlds.
I could go into a long psychological thesis about inner conflict, societal norms and the visual perceptions of others, but for your sake I won’t.
One day I just decided that life is too short, so I bought an aqua hair dye (we live in the sticks, the green hadn’t reached us yet). I also had a purple dye in the bathroom, so I decided to start off slowly and test the waters. I did a peacock streak type thing. A bit of purple and a bit of aqua. It was nice.
But I was still BORED.
The great thing was, apart from a few complimentary comments, the world didn’t stop, no-one stared and I didn’t shame the family (my husband is in a profession where you must not bring the profession into disrepute). All well and good.
One night, with a glass of wine I decided to just do it. Out came the aqua. My head (and bathroom) has never been the same since.
When I first went out with a shock of bluey-greeny hair I was, let’s be honest, a bit scared. We live in a small town on the edge of northern Scotland. I was in my mid 40s. I spend my time at the theatre with a huge bunch of kids.
Would people still speak to me? Would they laugh? Would they tell me to grow up and act my age?
Nope.
The world still turned. A few people loved it. A few people hated it. But it made no difference whatsoever, except that when I looked in the mirror I didn’t cringe. I loved my new hair.
One reason I always resisted dying my hair an unconventional colour was a comment I’d heard a few years before I took the plunge. I can’t remember where I was, but someone was talking about professionalism, and how, in order to remain professional, you had to look the part.
Now, I’ve never really been the conventional type. I’m not ‘way out there’ – I have no tattoos (yet, but only because I’m fickle and would change my mind) and no piercings – but I do tend to just wear what I like. I’ve never been the suited professional, but I was lucky in that my academic librarian background meant I could still dress how I preferred as long as it wasn’t too extreme. Once I went freelance, I rarely saw anyone in a professional capacity from one year to the next, so I could wear what I liked.
But does it really matter what you look like? Does an unconventional look really make you unprofessional?
I don’t think so.
Last year I used Peek User Testing to check out my website, and the tester mentioned that they thought green hair was unprofessional, that I should get a more professional, conventional picture for my website, and that they would not feel comfortable using my services as I had green hair. Hmmm.
But do you know what? When I sat down and thought about it, I realised that if a potential client goes by hair colour, rather than my qualifications and experience, they aren’t the client for me anyway.
But before you take the plunge there are some things you should take into account:
Pros of being ‘unconventional’:
Cons of being ‘unconventional’:
So, you see, since I left the brown hair behind, life has changed for the better. I’m more confident, more comfortable in my skin and feel more like myself.
How about you? Are you an ‘unconventional’ professional? How has it changed your life? Do you work in an environment that stifles your creativity or are you able to be yourself? Or do you agree that being unconventional is unprofessional? Let me know, I’d love to hear your experiences.
I’m totally with you on this. I’ve been colouring my hair for about 30 years because I absolutely hate its natural colour. I like it and I enjoy it. It doesn’t affect my brain or my work. In the past, I’ve held positions of responsibility in a large company – albeit in the creative industry – with some very bold hair colours, simply because I was very good at my job.
I will admit, though, I do still get slightly irritated by the people who raise an eyebrow and are clearly not very approving. I don’t generally give two hoots about a person’s choice of appearance as long as they can do the job that they’re paid to do.
Exactly! And wouldn’t the world be boring if we were all beige?
Cheers to you for embracing the green — and for letting go of any naysayers who can’t see past it. Although I lack your moxie and self-confidence (I’m still sporting my mousy-brown, bland-blonde locks) I do admire you for bucking the pressure to conform. As E. E. Cummings wrote, “To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.” Not only are you winning that fight, but you’re doing it with style and panache.
Aaaw thanks Heide 😊
Green is good (as Gordon Gecko didn’t quite say). I love the fact that your hair colour helps you filter out dodgy potential clients who care more about how you look than what you can do. Life’s far too short to be boringly ‘professional’.