For anyone who doesn't know, I'm a natural blonde. My mother is blonde and some of my closest friends are blondes. Any time the subject of it comes up, we all seem to be sharing the same struggles with our hair color. I'm sure anyone who strawberry blonde, dishwasher blonde, golden blonde, bleach blonde, or even dyed blonde will know exactly what I mean when I say "struggles."
1. Black Clothing
Oh, the glorious black leggings every girl has a least one pair of, or the outworn simple black tee, or even the beloved black jeans that can make any outfit just a little more edgy. No matter what type of clothing it is, if it's black and you're blonde you're gonna want to bring a lint roller. I specifically remember a time when I was young and naive and tried brushing a few knots out of my hair on the bus while wearing black leggings and ending up completely covering my legs with blonde hair highlighted by my black clothes. With no lint roller in sight I resorted to picking the strands of hair off my black ensemble for the rest of the day.
2. Grease Says Hello
No, I'm not talking about the musical masterpiece (although Sandy did have sandy blonde hair.) I'm talking about the gross dirt and oil that accumulates overtime in unwashed hair. Some hair is able to withstand this and not show it even after days of going without a shower; however, if you're blonde you're most likely not one of those people. While my brunette friend is infamous for going days without showering and still having flawless hair, the grease in my hair is more noticeable than Rihanna wearing nothing but Swarovski crystals.
3. Eyebrows, Say Goodbye
"Naturally full, one-toned, thick blonde brows? What're those?" Every blonde person ever, probably. In a society that values good brows over money, having naturally blonde brows is an everyday battle. How am I even supposed to shape hairs I can barely even see? Obviously a temporary cure to this would be make up, but finding the exact shade to match your hair when most companies only sell one umbrella shade is another battle within itself.
4. Fading
Most hair colors tend to change over time as we grow older. For most it's not a problem even for some blondes this isn't a concern, but for other blondes it can be a sad experience. As someone who grew up having practically white hair, it's difficult to watch my hair fade into a darker shade than it once was. Then there's always the internal conflict of, "Should I dye it back to its original color or leave it be so I can still say it's my natural hair?" Either way I'll forever look at photos of my hair as a child and cry a little inside.
5. Stereotypes
Everybody and their mother knows the dumb blonde stereotype, and trust me I've heard all the jokes. Of course everyone also knows this isn't true, but despite this there's nothing more annoying than accidentally saying or doing something less than intelligent and hearing, "Well you are blonde." I recall once when I was in middle school we were playing some sort of brain game and I beat another student. She whined for the next 10 minutes about being outsmarted by a blonde. *Initiate eye roll.*
All in all being blonde is definitely not the worst thing to happen in the world. Even if there are some minor inconveniences being blonde can be really awesome at the end of the day. You stand out in a crowd, your body hair isn't as noticeable, and there's the completely unfounded notion that we have more fun. So why not own it and at least act like we have more fun?
