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Think Twice Before You Dye Your Hair Dark For Fall

think twice before dying your hair dark for fall

Fall is a time of change. There’s the obvious — the weather turns cold, the leaves change to red and gold and girls change into boots and scarves. It’s a magical time of year when you don’t have to suck in for bikini pictures anymore and shorts can be traded in for cozy sweaters. All you want to do is curl up in a blanket and convince that guy who’s really good at going down on you to be your boyfriend so that you can force him to go to the pumpkin patch. There’s no shame in carving a pumpkin just for the Insta. We’ve all been there.

For whatever reason, a change in season always brings with it a desire for individual change to match it. Generally, I wish that I had six-pack abs or a fat engagement ring on my finger when fall rolls around. Since the chances of either of those things happening to me are about as likely as me winning the lottery, I have to compromise. I could start working out and stop treating churros as a food group, but that involves a lot of dedication, and I don’t have that. What I do have is enough money (barely) to make a different kind of change. Fall is the best time of year to go to the salon and get a brand new hair color for the new season.

Red can be the most tempting color. It’s flashy, it brightens your face, and it’s unique. You’ll also look like a stoplight if you go that route, but at least your head will match the leaves, right? Red also fades the fastest out of any other color. Natural redheads and movie stars are really the only ones who can get away with matching fall perfectly. The other option, one of the most common, is to go dark. This one, I have some personal experience with.

Dark hair is mysterious and sultry, and it goes perfectly with the blustery days of autumn. A flannel and a beanie somehow manage to look flawless when dark hair is peeking underneath. Don’t ask me why, I don’t make the seasonal rules. Now, the thing with going dark is that if you stick to just a few shades darker than your natural color, you’ll probably be fine. But what fun is that? What’s much more fun is a drastic change, one that everyone will notice and comment on, and one that makes you look like someone entirely different. Preferably like a supermodel.

However, going dramatically darker than your natural color can only lead to bad things. Take it from a girl who’s been there. It’s all fun and games the first few days when the color is shiny and new and it’s fun to try new makeup that looks good with your new look. But then the color fades a little, from rich to sort of dull, and your face gets super pale because of the lack of sun in fall. What happens then is that your pasty face starts to contrast with your unnaturally dark hair, and when you roll out of bed and catch a glimpse of your face before makeup it’s like seeing a zombie.

Going way darker is a recipe for disaster. I would really stick to a few shades difference and let everyone enjoy your subtle new look. It’s more mysterious to be a little understated occasionally, right? And when your roots start to grow out, it’ll be a much easier transition. Trust a sister who’s been there. Worst case scenario, if you decide to go crazy with the color anyway and you wind up looking like a clown, don’t freak out too much. Knit beanies are still in this year.

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Shannon Layne

My favorite things are tiaras, compliments, and free drinks, which are becoming harder to come by the more I tend to show up at the bar in sweat pants. The proudest moment of my life so far has been landing an actual, paying job that allows me to Facebook stalk people for a living. I tweet about my mom way too often, who is constantly trying to remind me that I'm not nearly as cool as I think I am. Please send me funny stories to read at work here: [email protected]

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