how did it come about that old ladies dyed their hair blue

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or violet or ever pink! what effect were they trying to go for there?

i suppose it's dying out now but i remember being confused by it as a nipper.

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 7 July 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

they are trying to attract teh viagra punx

― Tigerstyle Shamanic Vision Quester (sexyDancer), Thursday, 7 July 2005 18:59 (twenty years ago)

i'm not sure it's on purpose. i think it's because they've got no pigment left in their hair and so cheap dyes don't bind very well and leave odd tints.
but i could be totally wrong. they could just be style mavens...

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:03 (twenty years ago)

is this an honest question?

easy answer-- hair without any color tends to go yellow (compared to the color of the inside of a banana peel, usually) because of the color of the core of the hair and pollution.

young people's hair has natural color to cover this up, old ladies that have gone white don't. the easiest way to correct back from yellow is to use a blue or purple rinse. if done improperly (ie my grandma's cheap hairdresser), it can leave a blue or purple tint. this is compounded by the often less good vision that goes along with age, meaning they might not notice the way you can.

now that i'm white blonde, i use a dark purple shampoo and conditioner to keep it from getting yellow. if i leave the conditioner in for the recommended amount of time (3 mins), it has a slight purple tint, because my hair is so damaged/pale.

― colette (a2lette), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

i thought it had to do with swimming.

― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:05 (twenty years ago)

yeah, what she said

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

that turns your hair green, cutty

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:08 (twenty years ago)

*opens telescoping pointer and folds down diagram, sighing loudly*

Old ladies love church, churches love Easter, Easter is represented by a bunny, said bunny likes pastel eggs.

*closes telescoping pointer and walks forward slowly while saying the following*

Thus, old ladies love having hair that resembles said eggs in color.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

yes it's a serious question! thanks for the answer colette - but is it not possible that what started as an accident became a trend? some of those blue rinses were quite vibrant looking.

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:10 (twenty years ago)

my mag ran a feature on a tremendous old famous pottery lady who died her hair bright green from since ages

sadly she died v.recently

also sadly i totally can't recall her name at the moment :(

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:12 (twenty years ago)

they are trying to attract teh viagra punx

http://www.news-press.com/multimedia/galleries/dmac4/images/Blue%20Hair.jpg

― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

Dean Stockwell to thread!

http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/images/lowrez/greenhair212.jpg

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:22 (twenty years ago)

i think there's something like a 'when i'm an old woman, i shall wear purple' school that accounts for some of the ladies with very vibrant (not accidental) colors, but i think most of it is just that it's hard to get it right on hair that light and fragile. like i said, i've got young eyes and steady hands and i still have purple hair once in a while!

― colette (a2lette), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:31 (twenty years ago)

old ladies love to swim!

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

It's all the prunes they eat.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

"young eyes and steady hands" !!

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

(That's right up there with Rainy's "I am young and lithe and windswept" classic.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 7 July 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

uerghggh 'when i'm an old woman, i shall wear purple' that Red Hat shit is everywhere YUCK

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

I TELL YA WHAT RITE,ME GRAN AS GOT HELL OF A BLUE RINS ON THE GO,SHES A FOOKIN BOBBLY DAZZELER THAT LASS AND I G

― GARU G, Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

Colette is right. I dye my fringe grey and if i do it too much it goes a steely blue colour.

― The New and Improved / Kate (papa november), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

Why do the elderly wear pastels?

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

Can someone find me a picture of an old lady with blue hair because I am convinced I have never experienced this phenomenon. A quick google image search draw a blank.

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/features/cats/images/mollie_sugden_270.jpg

― winterland, Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

But that's not real! I could prove that there are 10 feet tall green men if I use pictures from the teevee.

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

there arent? ILLUSIONS SHATTERED

― latebloomer: the Clonus Horror (latebloomer), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

awww bless

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

good ole dot

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

That elderly woman's hair isn't blue, it's grey.

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

I was trying to get a good photo of Phyllis off Coronation Street, except I can only find one where her hair looks grey.

Perhaps it's just something old women in soaps do.

― ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

yeah sorry. i failed. but i did sift through 15 highly amusing pages of search results for 'mildred.'
side note: do all old ladies go to their hairdressers for their weekly/biweekly hair wash and set? and not bathe in the interim?

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

Exactly. It's a collective hallucination brought about by WATCHING TOO MUCH TV.

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:05 (twenty years ago)

kinda pink?

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:14 (twenty years ago)

pink != blue

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

no, it's definitely real! i think the tints are too subtle to be captured on camera... or something
btw, there are a disturbing amount of tombstone photos online

― dahlin (dahlin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

I suppose you're going to tell me that ghosts are real now aren't you?

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Thursday, 7 July 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

nah...
casper is dead, man

― dahlin (dahlin), Friday, 8 July 2005 08:16 (twenty years ago)

It is true you can get blue tinted rinses for offsetting blonde/grey hair. There used to be this stuff called Magic Silver White that did it, I think its really hard to find now but friends of mine with megawhite bleached hair always loved the stuff, it keeps you pure platinum instead of going all horrid and yellow.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 8 July 2005 09:04 (twenty years ago)

I once saw a guy with his dog in Japan. Both had pink hair. Quite funny.

― nathalie's body's designed for two (stevie nixed), Friday, 8 July 2005 09:23 (twenty years ago)

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