3 Women On What Their Hair Colour Means To Them
The autobiography of your life can be written in chapters by year, location and even romantic partner; but often, what can truly distinguish your eras is more subtle. Your angsty side bangs, rebellious blue streaks or bouncy curl perm can attest to it, each painting a vivid picture of that brief wink in time that felt so different from the rest.
Hair can represent periods of your life in the same way that it can stand for moments in your day, which is why caring for it means more than simply managing its oils. It means choosing products that help you feel your truest, whether it’s starting the day with a glossy blonde or going out with a fiery copper.
It’s all achievable at home with Schwarzkopf Keratin Color, a permanent hair colour with anti-breakage technology, demonstrating up to 80 percent less breakage versus untreated hair. Over 20 salon-quality shades, crafted for complete coverage of grey, are suitable for every hair texture, helping you usher in a new era of hair.
Here, three women share their stories. These are just a few women who use at-home hair colour to own their hair story—each speaking not only about their colour, but volumes about their journeys of self-discovery.
When I was about 18, I was at a picnic with Kev, who’s now my husband, and his family. His grandmother approached me and said, “Your hair is such a beautiful shade of auburn.” No one had ever said that to me before, and what stuck with me was the word auburn—not brown, but auburn.
It’s been the same shade since. Although it’s been highlighted, lowlighted, lightened by the sun and now mixed with grey, it’s always been close to my natural colour. I started colouring my hair in my late 30s, not to change the colour, but to cover the grey. Because those hairs don’t absorb pigment as well, they take the colour differently from the rest, giving me more dimension, as if I have natural highlights.
My family in India is in the hair business, making wigs, so I grew up admiring beautiful hair. I knew I always wanted mine to be smooth, shiny and dark, and that’s the way it’s been. It makes me feel clean and healthy from the inside, so even on my sickest days, I’ll shower and wash my hair, and I’ll feel better.
Hair is the first thing I notice in the mirror, and when I’m having a good hair day, I feel good. More than makeup, more than anything, hair has been important to me my whole life.
Rita’s shade: Keratin Color 1.9 Rich Caviar
Nella Di Santo, 42, Montreal
All my life I’ve had natural brown wavy hair, and even though I’ve played it up with highlights and ombre, it wasn’t until I took a chance and truly went unconventional that I started feeling confident in my own skin.
I like spooky things, rock music and horror, and I’m the kind of girl who likes bright colours. My go-to was a deep forest green shade seamlessly fading into an electric cool, bluish-green jewel tone. Among all the shades I’ve experimented with—lavender, deep purple, periwinkle, baby blue and even silver—the green stood out as a favourite.
It made me feel unique, more confident and more the type of person who likes to take chances with her style. It says I’m bold and fearless—and that feeling is quite new to me.
My hair colour helped me grow out of a stage in life when I was more muted, even when it came to my clothing choices. But ever since I switched up my hair, everything else just got elevated. It helped bring out who I truly am at a time when I couldn’t find the right way to let it out.
It was as if I was finally me, like I was finally showing the world this is who I am, head to toe.
Now, having discovered that cooler and richer colour tones suit my complexion best, I find myself craving a return to my natural brown colour—but amped up slightly. I’m looking forward to seeing myself in cool dark browns with my new-found confidence to change it up as I please.
Nella’s shade: Keratin Color 4.1 Dark Ash Brown
Meaghan Yuen, 31, Toronto
My mom and I couldn’t be more different. She lets things slide when I ruminate. She draws crowds with her storytelling, while I’m much comfier one-on-one. Her shoes are often sparkly (think: bejewelled flip-flops), and she’ll hate that my sneakers are worn in.
We don’t share many physical features either. Besides our lower lip and short Asian lashes, hair is where our looks overlap, but only as of recently.
After a lifetime of pin-straight jet-black hair, I went all in on the bleach for a full head of pink. Blame it on pandemic complacency or lockdown weariness, but this at-home colour job became my full identity, and soon I started looking to the vibrancy of the day’s pink shade (at the mercy of sunlight, heat and wash cycles) to steer my mood: freshly coloured fuchsia meant I was ready to take on the day, whereas washed-out peach meant I was losing steam.
Pink defined the final years of my 20s, as well as a period of big life changes, so switching back to dark hair felt like welcoming less turbulence and more contentedness. My mom has always represented those grounded traits, so when I looked for the new hair colour that would shape my 30s, I chose hers.
Our now-matching shade of golden brown feels as though it’s brought on a chapter that’s more centred, self-assured and, most of all, connected.
Meaghan’s shade: Keratin Color 7.5 Caramel Blonde
This collection of stories of self-expression through hair extends beyond individual experiences; it encapsulates the universal journey of women in defining and embracing their uniqueness. Inspired by these moments of empowerment, Schwarzkopf Keratin Color stands as a partner, inviting every woman to authentically tell her own story and revel in the artistry of self-expression, one strand at a time. When embarking on a personal hair journey, there are endless possibilities that resonate with each person’s unique narrative—and it can be fun to go on that journey to find the perfect match.
Shop Schwarzkopf Keratin Color across Canada at Walmart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and Jean Coutu Pharmacy. To learn more about Schwarzkopf and how you can kick-start a new hair era, visit schwarzkopf.ca.