Do you want to make a statement with your hair?

We’ve been discussing hair a lot lately at our house. Dad has a very bold hair style choice, but what happens when Daughter wants to make a bold statement with her hair?

On making bold statements with your hair.

Daughter Says:

Now, this topic came up because I’ve wanted to dye my hair blue for about 1 1/2 years. Long story short, it never happened. However, I would like my hair blue and not just because I like the color. I want to have my hair help differentiate me from other people. This is because (and no disrespect to anyone who has relatively “normal” hair) it’s boring. And I’m not boring. Nor am I normal. So why try to fool people? Now some of this may come from my dad (yes, I’m playing the genetics card), because he has abnormally long hair. And I will have memories specific to my dad’s hair when I’m old BECAUSE he has different hair.

Imagine this in blue.

For example, when I was much younger my dad had such long hair that he would put it in pigtails. I still remember his security card thingy, where he had his hair in 2 high pigtails, a sassy expression on his face, with his bristly beard highlighting his puckered lips. That’s a picture I will remember forever because it was so unique. I want that for me. The only problem is, being a girl there isn’t a big shock to having a specific length of hair. I do like the thought of having blue hair though. I guess in a way, I’m trying to find my own pigtails.

This is how I will always see my Dad.

Dad Says:

I think a child should be able to do whatever they want with their hair. Long, short, shaved, permed, spiked, burnt, light-socketed, whatever. Hair gives you a chance to explore different looks in a temporary way. The hair always grows back. And the color changes are temporary. Except when it turns gray.

My parents told me I could do anything I wanted with my hair. They didn’t try to stop me from growing a mullet or shaving my head. Today I have longer than average hair for a dude. I grew it out originally to celebrate the fact that I wasn’t going bald, which I thought was my fate based on family reunion data. As a result of growing out my hair I did become much more memorable amongst the soft scrabble suburban crowds I run with. But truth be told, I prefer it bald. So instead of going blue, maybe Ava should just go bald. You know, like Eleven #strangerthings.

For years I shaved my head and saved a fortune on conditioner.

My opposition to Ava getting blue hair is not about the blue hair itself. I simply don’t want to pay to have her hair colored. So she would have to use her babysitting money. If she does spending that money to get blue hair it would likely ensure that she would never get asked to babysit again. #downwardspiralatanearlyage

You Says:

Please let us know if you’ve ever done something drastic to your hair, or if you want to. Tell us your thoughts on dyeing hair and if I should go through with it. Is there any sort of home dye brand you suggest? Thanks for reading. And if we didn’t waste your time, consider subscribing to this blog to see what Dad and Daughter discuss next.

Originally published at dadsaysdaughtersays.wordpress.com on May 6, 2018.