Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

I had purple hair for a little while. Not in my teens--I was around 35--and not for any particularly rebellious reason. I was working as a counselor in a high school and one day accidentally (don't ask) dyed my hair blue and found that the kids, most of whom had multiple tattoos, piercings, etc., seemed much readier to talk to me. So I experimented and when the blue wore off I went purple (intentionally this time).

What was interesting was, yeah, that purple seems to be generally perceived as non-threatening, and more so than blue or green or other colors. True, I didn't get the next job I applied for (in a Catholic residential-therapy program), but I got more smiles than usual, esp. when the sun suddenly hit my hair (it was almost-black when less illuminated), and for the first time in my life strangers were coming up to me on the street to tell me I looked great. I'm far from conventionally attractive, and nothing but the hair had changed...but people really liked the purple hair.

I've thought about going back to that, but I'm in a different part of the country now and probably couldn't get away with it in my professional life. Oh well.