Whether it’s just a way to express yourself that goes beyond your clothes, a way to rebel, or an identity, dyeing your hair is always fun to do. With as many options as your imagination allows, the possibilities are endless as to what you can do, and that’s not even taking the length or cut into account. As someone who hasn’t had my natural brunette hair color in a year now, I encourage anyone who is considering dyeing their hair to just do it. If you like it, that’s great, but if you don’t, you can just dye over it again to have your natural hair color back. If that isn’t enough for you, here’s some additional reasons why it’s a plunge that will be well worth your time and energy.

1. People compliment you all the time!

When your hair is colored, everywhere you go you’ll meet someone who loves it, and they’ll tell you so. I don’t know about you, but a simple “I love your hair!” goes a long way to make me feel happier and more confident in my day.

2. There are a million possibilities in shades alone.

As previously mentioned, your hair is only limited by your imagination. You like purple? There are hypothetically a million shades of purple alone that you could dye your hair. Dark, bright, or pastel purple? Warm or cool purple?

3. You can have more than one color!

You like cotton candy? Get some pink and blue! You’re a fan of Melanie Martinez? Dye half your head a fun color! Rainbows, fades, patches- there’s no way you can run out of ideas if you put your mind to it.

4. Kids look at you like you’re a fairy….

If you like kids as much as I do, there’s nothing in the world you’ll like better than catching a little kid staring unashamedly at you in a restaurant, their eyes flickering back between your hair and your face. If you give them a little wave, usually their eyes will light up and they’ll give you a smile, happy to be acknowledged with someone with as many magical powers as you.

5. ...And old people look at you like you’re the antichrist.

This isn’t so much an ‘awesome’ thing as it is just an amusing one. Just as you’ll catch babies staring at you, you’ll also catch people much older and supposedly much more mature than you staring and whispering to one another when you walk in a room. It’s always fun to look at them to see them look away quickly and pretend like they weren’t just gossiping about you.

6. It’s a fun way to express yourself.

Other people have clothes, or their accessories, but you have your hair, which you always have on you. People get that you’re fun and creative well before they look at what you’re wearing, and depending on the color and the way you choose to dye it says a lot about your personality.

7. You can match your hair and clothes!

One of my personal favorite things about having colored hair is planning an outfit entirely around what color I’m currently sporting. Using colored accents in your outfit that compliment your hair go a long way to pull your look together, even if you didn’t spend that much time on the outfit itself.

8. You’re easy to find in a crowd.

This is more for your friends than for you, but it’s surprising how helpful it when you’re out in a crowd and you’re looking for your colored-hair friend. In a much more metaphorical sense, it creates a kind of identity that makes your life much more interesting. I can’t even count how many nicknames I’ve gotten since I’ve been at school with my hair a different color every month.

9. If you dye your hair properly, it really can be good for your hair.

A common misconception is that dyeing your hair repeatedly fries your hair. This is very wrong. Bleaching the hell out of your hair repeatedly is bad for your hair, but the dyeing itself is harmless. Most semi-permanent dyes, in fact, work wonders to condition your hair. If you plan ahead, you can go a few dyes before bleaching, thereby giving your hair some time to heal before another bleaching. Think of color wheel- if you dye your hair blue, and it fades to a very light blondish-blue, no bleaching is required to dye it purple, as it would to dye it back a warmer color like orange.

10. Different colors really can make you look better.

Now, this isn’t to say that you aren’t beautiful already. But certain colors really can work wonders to bring out your features. For example, my Light/Color/Design professor (shoutout to Iona) told me early in the semester that, while she loved my hair, she really wanted me to find a color that worked with my skin tone. I kept this in mind, since I respected her opinion very much, I began dyeing my hair colors that I think accented my skin tone. Eventually, I dyed it a dark red that she told me she loved, and my friends and family agreed- I got more compliments with red hair than most of the other colors I’ve done. The same goes for other features- for instance, dye your hair colors that make your eye color pop.

All in all, there are a ton of reasons to dye your hair colors that will make you stand out from everyone else, and even more that you'll find for yourself after you're rocking a new look. It's incredible how much of a confidence boost I've gotten in the past year, and I hope you get to experience that as well! Have fun with it!