Emily Heunsch: a University of South Carolina alum, flaunts her red hair. Some students believe red hair affects personality. JD Schein / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
When thinking of redheads, one word comes up over and over again: fiery.
Stars like Lucille Ball, Reba McIntire, Julia Roberts and Lindsay Lohan epitomize the redhead stereotype.
“I think for sure red heads are more spunky and more fun,” Streak Hair Studio stylist Stephenie Wilson said.
Auburn has its fair share of feisty redheads.
“My red hair influences my personality, and I think my personality makes my hair stand out more,” Cait Haygood a sophomore in political science and public relations said. “Since I was a kid, I have loved my red hair because it made me different.”
Redheads stand out on the concourse and in the fashion world too.
“Redheads have to be daring because it takes a certain level of confidence to pull it off,” said “daring” Dimensions Studio stylist Amanda Bolin said about redheads.
Many who are not natural redheads will pay to be red.
According to www.purgatory.com, 60 percent of women who dye their hair, dye it themselves at home: 26 percent go blonde, 27 percent go brunette and 30 percent choose to become redheads.
Dyeing at home saves the money and time of going to a salon, but it can be risky.
Some tips for do-it-yourself hair coloring are: buy a conditioning dye kit, use protective equipment like gloves, try a strand test first, bleach before going a lighter shade, wash hair without conditioning before dyeing hair, divide hair into quadrants for even coverage, follow package instructions precisely, rinse hair with dye in cold or lukewarm water and manage hair with shampoo formulated for color-treated hair according to www.lifescript.com.
“We probably get at least one person a month that comes in and wants to be a redhead. We have lots of people that come in and want red highlights.” Vogue and Vanity stylist Gina Fulghum said.
According to the hair company Clairol’s survey, 51% of women would prefer to have red hair.
Surprisingly, about one and a half to 2 percent of the world is redheaded according to freewebs.com and www.stylezandfashion.com.
“Redheads are suppose to be fiery,” Fulghum said.
Guys are not excluded from this “fiery” description.
“Guys with red hair have to be more comfortable and confident with themselves because their hair is something they’ve grown up with,” Bolin said.
Redheads seem to be a universal favorite.
“Redheads usually have freckles too, and their hair and skin matches their spunky personalities,” Wilson said.
Red hair and a fun personality are thought by many people to be a dynamic duo.
“Personality is classified by what people perceive of you and people perceive a redhead as a fiery, outgoing, spunky kind of person. All the redheads I know are all those things,” Fulghum said.
