Hair dying

[rainy_day]

Hey guys! I'm a current JET, thinking about dying my hair. Not like, a crazy color like pink or blue (unfortunately.... that's guaranteed to get me fired, boo), I'm just thinking of a shade that could be naturally occuring for a change of pace

Comments

[mymichelle]

I have light brown hair as well, and I dyed my hair darkish red over one of the winter breaks when I was on JET. None of the teachers or principals or BOE people said a word about it. Only my students commented, and that was only to say they liked it.

[rainy_day]

Sweet, that's totally what I want to hear. Thanks!

[lydilia]

The upcoming spring break would probably be a good time to do it. You might get less attention if you come to school with red hair at the start of the school year when lots of things are changing than if you had brown hair on a regular Monday morning and red hair on Tuesday.

[rainy_day]

I hadn't even thought of that, but I bet you're totally right. Good plan!!

[azuki_pie]

1. I did the same thing with a subtle change and I had wanted people to notice and no one did. I also cut 6 inches off my hair and no one said anything for almost a week!! I think it's a cultural thing not to notice that stuff, or at least to not make a point of it.

2. I did once use hair dye that was Japanese in Japan and even though the color was a darker shade it contained peroxide to bleach the hair a bit (I would imagine going from black to any color would require some bleach).  I don't know if all the dyes have bleach but if you don't want to go lighter I would read the box carefully first.

[rainy_day]

That's crazy... maybe that's why I've been getting funny looks when I ask people if they cut their hair...

I don't mind going lighter (I think I'll have to bleach a shade or two to get anything to set over my mousey-brown), but since Japanese hair tends to be so much darker, I figured it might be a lot stronger than what I need.

[nymphti]

I'd be careful with Japanese hair dyes if your hair is light (that is to say, not black). Usually their dyes are intended for dark hair that's been slightly lightened, and this can do strange things to brown or blonde hair (e.g. too deep a color or even the wrong color).

That said, I have very brassy blonde hair that I got sick of over winter break. I dyed my hair dark burgundy with a temporary dye that a friend shipped to me from back home. That way, I figured, if everyone hated it or if someone said something then it wasn't permanent. Like people said above, no one really noticed at first, but when they did it was the students who said it looked good whereas the adults just sort of took it in stride. I think as long as you stick to natural colors it's not a big deal, but keep in mind, too, that the students aren't allowed to bleach or dye their hair at all so this is why most teachers don't either. =D (Although personally I've never let that stop me from doing anything such as wearing jewelry or walking to school with my

[rainy_day]

I've had similar experiences at school... I wear lots of jewelry, use my mp3 player to/from school, and bust on my keitai now and then in the staff room... not excessively, but when I need to use it, I do. I don't think the same rules that teachers adhere to really apply to ALTs... at least, not at my school.

The way I figure it, my hair/race make it impossible for me to fit the norm, so if I color my hair with another natural-looking color, it won't make me stick out any more than I already do.

Thanks for the warning about the dyes, too. I think I may just have something shipped over, I don't want to risk a terrible looking dye job.

[peanutxpeanut]

Most dyes do have peroxide, but on the lower shelves you'll see some that say "turn color" タ-ン カ-ラ- which are meant to go darker (the sample pictures will help you.)

[rainy_day]

Excellent, thank you!