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I have pink hair. I've had pink hair for, like, 8 years. I'm not a 1L anymore, so I know it's time to ditch it and accept the Big Girl world where everything is less fun. Gotta dye it back to something normal before OCI-type-things start happening.

I didn't start dyeing it pink just because I wanted to be all edgy and punklike - mostly, I just think my natural hair is really, really, mousey and unattractive. So I don't really want to just slap something close to my natural hair on and call it a day when my roots start growing back out. I want to go natural-hue red (which was what I did from 10 on until my parents just let me go pink), but I think my eyebrows are dark enough that if you look close you can tell I dyed it. Is this something interviewers will notice and/or care about? I've never really paid any attention to non-outrageous hair color norms as far as dying goes.

I know it sounds petty, but it's the thing that's stressing me out most about upcoming OCIs.

Anonymous User wrote:I have pink hair. I've had pink hair for, like, 8 years.

haha what?

Grazzhoppa wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I have pink hair. I've had pink hair for, like, 8 years.

haha what?

I wanted to keep my identity secret, but...

There is a point at which obviously dyed hair is unprofessional, yes. You already know that your pink hair is way beyond that point. Without seeing your eyebrows and the color you want to dye your hair, it's impossible to tell whether some particular shade of red is also beyond that point. Seems like it'd be better to ask someone who has seen you IRL, like your stylist.

FWIW, I have mousy medium brown hair. When I get bored of it, I get highlights. It makes it much more interesting, but still matches my eyebrows.

So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

I don't think it's terrible if people who look closely can tell you dyed it as long as 1) the color suits you and 2) it's a color that could occur in nature. I think most women who color their hair can tell if someone else colors their hair, so if that's the kind of thing you mean, I wouldn't worry. If it's obvious, I think it's a problem. But most of the time when a dye job is obvious I think it's because the color doesn't suit the person.

You're probably really used to doing your own hair but especially for red, for OCI I would shell out the money to have a good pro do it. I just think they can get a nicer range of colors and should be able to do something that will look pretty natural.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

I don't think it's terrible if people who look closely can tell you dyed it as long as 1) the color suits you and 2) it's a color that could occur in nature. I think most women who color their hair can tell if someone else colors their hair, so if that's the kind of thing you mean, I wouldn't worry. If it's obvious, I think it's a problem. But most of the time when a dye job is obvious I think it's because the color doesn't suit the person.

You're probably really used to doing your own hair but especially for red, for OCI I would shell out the money to have a good pro do it. I just think they can get a nicer range of colors and should be able to do something that will look pretty natural.

Also, keep in mind that red dye fades like a motherfucker. Maybe after being dyed pink for years your hair is damaged enough to hold red dye better than mine, but it literally lasts 3-4 weeks in my hair before it fades out. (Yes, pro dye job.) So you may be setting yourself up for a lot of maintenance.

Thanks for the serious advice - I think I just needed a bit of reassurance that my view wasn't totally skewed and red is probably okay. I ask my friends and most of them go, "you have to dye your hair back? dude, just don't be a lawyer." Which isn't super helpful.

I'm fine with shelling out for the regular dye jobs, and if I get tired of paying for it I can always brown it.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

You pretty much just don't want to appear unprofessional in your appearance to a partner. Imagine a fairly conservative 50 year-old man and what he'd consider "unprofessional." Your hair's only one factor. No one's going to care if you dye your hair to a different hue that occurs naturally and you have your shit together. They care a lot more about your interactions and how you present yourself overall.

Do you have older siblings/parents/friends you've worked with who could give you a better assessment? It's damn near impossible for us to tell you over the interwebz, but going with a natural red doesn't sound facially unreasonable.

Grazzhoppa wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

Depends where you are and what you're doing.

A natural red is probably a solid choice. I have a friend with dyed red hair (but it's not bright red and it looks normal on her) and Career Services told her it would be fine for interviews.

BeenDidThat wrote:You pretty much just don't want to appear unprofessional in your appearance to a partner. Imagine a fairly conservative 50 year-old man and what he'd consider "unprofessional." Your hair's only one factor. No one's going to care if you dye your hair to a different hue that occurs naturally and you have your shit together. They care a lot more about your interactions and how you present yourself overall.

Thanks.

Grazzhoppa wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

I was in the sciences. If you've ever met a programmer or visited SF or SV, you'd probably know that actually, having pink hair for 8 years is pretty acceptable within industry.

Grazzhoppa wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

Sorry you like boring women, bro.

Samara wrote:

Grazzhoppa wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

Sorry you like boring women, bro.

Pink is a legit choice if it looks good. But not for OCI or practicing law.

NYstate wrote:

Samara wrote:

Grazzhoppa wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:So the earlier poster has never seen pink hair? okay...

no I was just making fun of her. a period of rebellion when you are 16 I can understand, but having pink hair for 8 years seems a bit absurd.

Sorry you like boring women, bro.

Pink is a legit choice if it looks good. But not for OCI or practicing law.

You know what, you're right. Now that I think about it, I have read several cases where a party lost because their attorney had pink hair.

Pink is a legit choice if it looks good. But not for OCI or practicing law.[/quote]
You know what, you're right. Now that I think about it, I have read several cases where a party lost because their attorney had pink hair.[/quote]

Are you actually debating whether it is a good idea to have pink hair for OCI or practicing law and lol at your reasoning. Yea I read about some cases where the party lost because one attorney had tear drop tattoos, a Mohawk and a nose ring while showing up to court in jeans......see how that works

Also girls with red hair who are day walkers can be very attractive, see Isla Fisher.

Regardless of what you do for OCI, you should go pink again once you secure an offer. Girls who dye their hair unnatural colors make me hnnnnnnng so hard.

lawhopeful10 wrote:

Pink is a legit choice if it looks good. But not for OCI or practicing law.

You know what, you're right. Now that I think about it, I have read several cases where a party lost because their attorney had pink hair.

Are you actually debating whether it is a good idea to have pink hair for OCI or practicing law and lol at your reasoning. Yea I read about some cases where the party lost because one attorney had tear drop tattoos, a Mohawk and a nose ring while showing up to court in jeans......see how that works

Also girls with red hair who are day walkers can be very attractive, see Isla Fisher.

1. Pretty sure he wasn't saying pink hair was a good idea for getting a job.

2. The Legal Employment forum isn't for 0Ls.

Kikero wrote:

lawhopeful10 wrote:

Pink is a legit choice if it looks good. But not for OCI or practicing law.

You know what, you're right. Now that I think about it, I have read several cases where a party lost because their attorney had pink hair.

Are you actually debating whether it is a good idea to have pink hair for OCI or practicing law and lol at your reasoning. Yea I read about some cases where the party lost because one attorney had tear drop tattoos, a Mohawk and a nose ring while showing up to court in jeans......see how that works

Also girls with red hair who are day walkers can be very attractive, see Isla Fisher.

1. Pretty sure he wasn't saying pink hair was a good idea for getting a job.

2. The Legal Employment forum isn't for 0Ls.

1. Samaras quote was in direct response to the statement "pink is not a good color for OCI or practicing law" so it would appear that's exactly what was being referenced.

2. I start 1L in a little over a month however I don't think whether I have officially started school or not yet has any bearing on the discussion at hand. My statements would remain the same if this discussion took place in August once classes begin.