Thursday, June 4, 2009

to dye for

A very aidel friend of mine went for a job interview at a very yeshivish school. The principal gave her an employee handbook to read before they met.

"Did you see the part about our dress code", the principal asked.

"Yes, of course. I read through the entire booklet", Sarala said.

"Will there be any problems with that?", asked the principal.

"Of course not, I always dress tzniusly", said Sarala.

"Well, let me be honest with you. Your hair stands out."

"What's wrong with my hair??"

"It's dyed".

Ok - now some background - Sarala does dye her hair. She gets really natural highlights put in by an amazing colorist every 3 months. I had no idea she did anything until she told me this story. It's that natural. (and I'd like to think that after years of playing 'Guess the sheitel', I know hair)

But apparently, this principal knows hair better than I do. Maybe highlights stand out more in a sea of bais yacov mousy brown.

Is there anything wrong with coloring your hair? Is there anything not tznius about it (provided the color isn't pink)?

I remember learning some gemara that said that men can't dye their hair - because it's considered something that women do - proof that women dyed their hair back in the days of Rabbi Akiva. So it must have been ok back then right? So why isn't it now?

10 comments:

Jessica said...

Chumras are the shiz!
(... in opposite world.)

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

It's just not that common among Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, ...nothing wrong halachically, but it is a sign that one is kind of obsessed with their hair..

harry-er than them all said...

there is a reason why its only assur for men, because its assur ONLY for men. if she is a women, then why can't she do it??? arghhhh!

on a humorous note: i was once at a show which had entertainers walking through the crowd, and the entertainers were miked-up, and were conversing with each other making jokes, etc... then one of them came up to two girls and said

"I have these two beautiful women right here, with wonderful blond hair. I'm just wondering why they dye their roots brown"

ng said...

it amazes me how intrusive "frum" people can be. it is one thing to request covering up a bit more than usual, at a stretch. but seriously, hair?

Anonymous said...

People "accuse" me of dying my hair when it is in fact NATURAL.

Anonymous said...

What about older men dying their hair black/brown?

Ookamikun said...

It was assur back then too, only OTDs did it. ;-)

%Shocked% said...

It's a sign of caring too much about looks. It's one thing to dress well and look put-together, it's something else when you start highlighting, dousing yourself in perfume, and loading up on the makeup. I always find it weird to see frum, 'yeshivish' girls who have 3 different colors in their hair. Do they look awesome? Definitely. Is it a little bit too much? Apparently. I think it looks great, but then again, I stopped caring what yeshivish people had to say about dress codes and whatnot. I think the point is, that the teachers and other faculty members are supposed to be models (no pun intended) for these girls. Dying one's hair is still considered very unyeshivish, and most probably, inappropriate, by many.

Maidel said...

isn't a weekly mani more indulgent than a dye job that only gets done every few months?

Maidel said...

and aren't most sheitels highlighted these days?