Maddie Walters

Staff Writer

A colorful sensation is sweeping the nation – well – it’s sweeping Coppell High School at the least. This year, CHS’s hallways have been beset by several teenage girls who are exercising their right to express themselves through the color of their hair.

“I didn’t like my hair blonde,” junior Erin Evans said. “I just got tired of it. I thought it would look awesome brown, and then I thought it would look awesome auburn, then black. The red and blue that I’ve added before was just because I thought it was different and cool.”

As a contributor to the growing numbers of men and women who enjoy the privilege of being able to dye our hair pretty colors, I have to say that there is something special about a girl with purple hair, or, if you’re senior Brittany White, a girl with purple, teal and pink hair.

“This is the first time I’ve put color in my hair,” White said. “I guess you could say that it was just an experiment that turned out good. I am definitely going to continue it though.”

The reason for this trend is simply this: it looks cool.

Throughout history, women have expressed themselves through their outward appearance in mediums such as fashion, makeup and, yes, even hair color. While traditionally women changed their hair styles and colors through the use of wigs, the ancient Greek women often dyed their hair red with henna and sprinkled it with gold powder for special occasions. Beginning in the late 1960s, the punk movement inspired women to initiate trends such as spiked hair, tattooed scalps, outrageous Mohawks and most importantly, hair dyed vivid primary or fluorescent colors.

This is the reasoning behind taking a chance and watching your hair morph from brown, to bleached blonde, to a fantastic shade of magenta, like me. The feeling of defying your genes and therefore making a statement about yourself by dying your hair is one of the most freeing experiences I’ve ever felt. In an age where “fitting in” is what’s overemphasized, it’s exciting to stand out from the crowd and just be yourself.

I know that, for me, this is not the first or the last time that my hair will proudly gleam fuchsia. I began dying my hair shades of purple starting my sophomore year when I saw an advertisement in one of my favorite magazines, Elle Girl, for plum colored hair dye. The thought of dying my hair such a subtle yet rebellious color greatly thrilled me and within the week, I had exchanged my boring chocolate locks for plum ringlets.

Since then, my purples have varied from the glaring neon purple of last summer to its current mix of several different hues. Every time I die my hair, I feel as if I’m doing my part in the “Stick it to The Man” movement – as juvenile as that sounds.

And just as a preliminary word of caution, although the liberation of dying your hair is one that I encourage anyone to enjoy, I must make mention of the fact that there is such thing as too much of a good thing – especially when it comes to hair dye. The hair dying process is pretty rough on your hair, so when or if you dye it, take special care to make sure that your hair stays properly conditioned, and if your hair is thin, over processing your hair can lead to sad results.

Nevertheless, the ability to change your appearance is one that people have seized over the years, and while some would argue that today’s society has taken it to a level bordering extreme (i.e. plastic surgery), it still remains that the option to express your individuality is one that teenagers are clamoring to take part in, no matter what school rules are set in place.