I’ve been called a lot of things in my day, but the one thing that stands out is “ginger.” I’ve always had very pale skin and freckles, and while they were endearing as a child, they were more of a curse when I was older. Many people would stare at me, often asking if I had an evil twin or if I dyed my hair because naturally I’d be blond. People are cruel.

I’ve been called a lot of things in my day, but the one thing that stands out is “ginger.” I’ve always had very pale skin and freckles, and while they were endearing as a child, they were more of a curse when I was older. Many people would stare at me, often asking if I had an evil twin or if I dyed my hair because naturally I’d be blond. People are cruel.

• my friends call me “ginger” all the time because their moms tell them to stay away from gingers*

In high school, I wanted to be like everybody else. My friends were brunettes or blondes. They were tanning in their backyards every day after school and heading to the beach on the weekends while I was sitting at home pining over my pasty skin and ginger hair.

In high school, I wanted to be like everybody else. My friends were brunettes or blondes. They were tanning in their backyards every day after school and heading to the beach on the weekends while I was sitting at home pining over my pasty skin and ginger hair.

My hair color is a huge part of my identity. It’s who I am! But when it comes down to it, if you don’t fit in with your peers at school, it can be difficult to feel confident about yourself. In fact, I even had a friend who dyed her hair red when she was younger because she thought it would make her more popular among her peers (spoiler alert: It didn’t).

But what does this have to do with having red hair? Well…

One day, after begging my mom for years to let me dye my hair, she finally gave up and agreed it would probably be the best thing ever for me to get rid of the red hair.

One day, after begging my mom for years to let me dye my hair, she finally gave up and agreed it would probably be the best thing ever for me to get rid of the red hair. She drove me to a salon in a nearby town that wasn’t too far but still far enough away from home so that she wouldn’t see me for a few weeks. I remember sitting in that chair as the stylist put on gloves and began mixing up some concoction in her bowl. It looked like mud with pieces of brown zucchini in it!

I sat there watching as she slathered this mixture all over my head (and face). When she was done mixing it together, she took out an orange flat iron from under her sink and started going at my roots with gusto! To say I was nervous is an understatement; I had never had someone use an actual tool on me before! But somehow, someway…it worked wonders! The color turned out better than expected…and before long I was given permission by my mom to go back home with darker brown hair instead of red again.”

I dyed it brown with blonde streaks, but quickly found this was not for me. While it was nice not to have people ask me why my hair was so red, being called a “fake” ginger made it all worth it.

I dyed my hair brown with blonde streaks. It was just after I graduated high school and I wanted to look more mature. I figured this would be a good way to do that without having to dye my entire head red again.

I didn’t feel like myself with the brown hair at all, but I ignored that feeling because it looked so much better than my natural color! Quickly though, I realized that people were treating me differently because of it—they seemed unsure about what they could say in front of me without being rude or offending me somehow. It made me uneasy and shy around others, so when my friends told me how much they disliked the color on me as well as how happy they were for our reunion back at our next hangout session (which happened right after work!), I decided right then and there: no longer will anyone tell me who or what type of person I should be; instead, let’s go back to the roots!

I went back to being natural after that and didn’t try to dye my hair again until just a few years ago when a friend of mine suggested that we try red again.

If you want to dye your hair red, here are some tips for how to do it:

• First, make sure that you have the money. If not, start saving now. You will need to buy a semi-permanent dye and shampoo from a beauty supply store or online. The color will last until you wash it out, but if you want more time between washes, try using dry shampoo instead of regular shampoo (or just use dry shampoo on top of regular shampoo).
• Second, find someone who has dyed their hair with this particular brand before and ask them what they recommend doing before applying the dye. This way you can know what kind of results to expect as well as get advice on how best to apply it without causing damage or harshness in your hairline and scalp area!