This Hair Color Graced the Roots of Everyone From Zendaya to SZA, so I Tried It

For over two years, I made biweekly trips to the nail salon to put a shiny coat of red on each of my fingertips. I thought to myself that I wouldn’t be caught dead without this part of my signature style. Then one day, completely out of the blue, pink suddenly appealed to me. My friends were shocked, “who is she?” they joked. Shortly after changing my signature nail color, I unexpectedly entered a new (and thrilling) chapter of my life. It felt like I went through a personality change. Similar to my dedication to red nails, I often told myself I would never stray away from my classic dark roots. I’ve always been in love with natural beauty and I felt my natural hair color was a token of that. However, when I saw the red hair color trend pop up, I felt naturally drawn to it.

In the past year, celebrities who have never strayed from their natural brown or black roots are standing out in hair colors that range from fire hydrant to Aperol spritz. From runway models to grungy city kids, this color seems to find its way to every sort of person. And I, the woman who is normally clutching her pearls over the thought of straying away from the old money aesthetic I’ve always loved so dearly, wanted in.

Seconds before Adrian Wallace, the colorist who eased me into the transition, set his brush atop my head, I nearly changed my mind but an iconic Paris Hilton quote rang through my head, “life’s short take risks.” She was talking about mini skirts but hair color is almost the same thing, right? Strikingly similar to the change I experienced when I said goodbye to my red nails, I noticed a positive shift, and shortly after dying my hair red said goodbye to some old habits, people, and personality traits and hello to yet another new chapter of my life.

If you’ve been on the fence about trying something new or taking a risk, this is your sign. I recently saw a TikTok that said, “Now as soon as I see a b— dye her hair red I already know what is going on, you’re entering your villain era aren’t you?” In my case, the answer to that question is a definitive yes.