Who started the current trend of dyeing human hair in Easter colors? Purple, magenta, orange, and robin’s egg blue aren’t really good colors for hair. People under 40 can probably appreciate Goth hair. Though incredibly, unnaturally black, it is a hair color.

Hair as decoration has many adherents throughout the world. Throughout history, some people have applied mud or clay to achieve a rich brown or red hair color. Others beautify their hair with natural vegetable powders and products like henna. We’ve all seen the tresses of senior citizens dyed that silver blue color that seems to be reserved for people 60 and older.

Human hair colors range from blonde to black, not including albinos. There are really only a few colors in between. If the Easter hair folks just wanted to change their hair color, they could choose a color of hair that really exists in nature. Unfortunately, cosmetics manufacturers are happy to oblige us with an unlimited choice of hair dye colors. Consumers now blithely pursue the joy of hair as decoration, without stopping to consider the risks associated with today’s modern hair dyes.

The Food and Drug Administration refuses to state categorically that hair dye is bad for your hair. However, they have supported some studies to find out if hair dye is bad for your body, skin, and scalp. Perhaps, their latest recommendation that people delay dyeing their hair until it turns gray is the most revealing. They also advise consumers that hair dye should never be applied to eyebrows and eyelashes. Review a lengthy list of precautions that consumers should take when applying hair dyes at 4women.gov.

A few researchers “think” that hair dye can cause cancer and might seep into your brain. These hypotheses haven’t been proven yet, but people who dye their hair frequently are the unwitting guinea pigs who will eventually give us a definitive answer. How many women and men would prefer a little gray hair to the potential loss of gray matter that might result from overuse of hair dye? How does this decorative treatment affect your hair and your body?

Do the people with Easter hair have any idea about the ingredients in hair dyes? It’s certainly not the same stuff that we use to dye Easter eggs! Just how many treatments does it take (and how many harmful chemicals) to change naturally black or brown hair to purple? Besides, exactly where do people with magenta hair work?