In the 60’s and 70’s, many women found “hair dye” in their beauty cabinets. In those days, when Dior introduced the first fashion-forward red wine ombré on British television and clothes were a little more daring than today, hair dye was a way for women to experiment with color in their otherwise natural hair or half and half dyed curly hair. That is until commercial brands began to settle on one color that would be “easy-to-use” for all of their customers: an off-black shade that could be applied to nearly any complexion or hair type.
1. The 60’s
So how old is “old school”? Well, let’s go all the way back to the 60’s. That was around the time that “french black” started to gain popularity. Women would use a lightener like Clairol Natural Born Ash Blonde and apply it to their hair before they would dye it black with something like Clairol Nice n Easy #101. They would leave it on for an hour and, voila! you have yourself some black hair!
2. The 70’s
By the 1970’s, women began to experiment with different and more vibrant hues. Clairol introduced a new box in 1972 called Miss Clairol Natural Instincts that came with three separate dyes: blonde, brunette, and redhead. So if you wanted to be brunette, you could choose the dark brown dye; if you wanted to be blonde, you could choose the light brown dye; and if you wanted reddish hair color, you could choose the auburn brown dye. By the mid-1970’s, this box was one of the most popular brands for women who needed a variety of colors. According to some women interviewed by the New York Times , “The boxes are better than their old advice, because they show what looks good on their faces.”
3. The 80’s
In the 1980’s, Clairol introduced a box that could be used at home. This was more unusual back in those days because hair dye was generally applied in salons and beauty parlors by beauticians or professionals who had been trained to do so. It was also commonplace in hair departments of department stores and drug stores. These heads of hair would be placed in your hair after the color was applied and you would need to sit with them for half an hour to an hour before washing the color out.
4. The 90’s
By the 1990’s, hair dye was much more popular because it had become less damaging to apply at home. As technology improved, hair dye manufacturers began to offer more colors, resulting in bold and vibrant shades of red, blonde, or brunette. This made hair coloring easier to use on a daily basis. Before the 20th century, dye was applied to the head in stringy strands by hand, while now it is sprayed into hair by machines.
5. The Present
In the year 2000, Clairol introduced a new generation of hair color that did not require a professional to apply it to your hair. It was called Ready Color and it was made by Clairol Professional which has since merged with the Procter & Gamble Company. In 2001, Remington entered the market with their Easy Bake Red Reds which came in three shades: Copper (light ash brown), Chestnut Brown (light chocolate brown) and Black (darkest black). Other brands soon followed suit and offered similar shades for consumers at home. Before this time, professionals were trained in how to work with dye, but now anyone could use it.
6. The New Age Of Hair Dye
Nowadays, there are many shades to choose from and they can be found at the drugstore. Since Clairol is now owned by Procter and Gamble, it is found in just about every drug store, grocery store and beauty supply chain in the United States. As of 2014, brands like L’Oreal Professional have released a new line called Feria that comes with a variety of shades for people who don’t want to stick with “natural blondes” or “natural brunettes.”
7. Hair color
A large part of your image is determined by hair color. In general, colors such as red and blonde tend to convey an energetic and fun personality, while dark colors like black and brown sum up more professional attitudes. However, these are only stereotypes so don’t assume that everyone who is blonde is outgoing or that brunettes are not as fun-loving.
8. Lightening your hair
If you find that your hair is darker than you would like it to be, then you may think about lightening it up. There are many products on the market to help you. One of the most common that you may find is Sun-In (also known as Sun-In Classic or Sun In Extra Body). Others include Clairol Natural Instincts Lightening Kit, Olia by L’Oreal, or even Design Essentials Get It Blonde. All of these products can actually help lighten up your hair so that it looks more natural and allows for a brighter and more youthful appearance for women getting older into their 40’s and 50’s.
