From electric reds to jet blacks, students are transforming their hair into vibrant statements of self-expression, turning the school into a canvas of creativity. Behind the bold colors lies a deeper story of the differing reasons and motivations students and staff have for dying their hair.

Instagram influenced sophomore Tatsuya Ware to dye his hair a new color. He found that social media has become a source of inspiration for people wanting to change their looks.

“I definitely wanted to do something appearance-wise wise, and there was a guy I found. I was just scrolling Instagram and he had really cool dyed hair, so I was like, ‘Maybe I could do that,’” Ware said. “It’s also not very committal. It’s not permanent or like a body piercing.”

Substitute teacher Jackie Chirico agreed that dyed hair can act as a fashion statement. Chirico has dyed their hair several times, usually sticking with shades of blue since it fits with how they dress.

“It (hair) becomes a way to make a style choice. Not everybody makes their style choices with their shoes and with their clothes. Mine has always been my hair for a long time,” Chirico said.

Ware agrees that hair can be used to better an outfit and appreciates that hair color is not a permanent change. He had previously dyed his hair twice, blue being the first and purple as the second time.

“It’s just another accessory you can have instead of clothing, things like that,” Ware said. “It’s another aesthetic that you can customize as it adds to you like a personality in a way.”

Natural hair is common among the crowd, but junior Andrea Zyrene Paliso found that she was not content with her natural hair color. Dyeing her hair in different colors made Paliso feel unique and better about herself.

“When I had full black hair, it made me feel restricted in some kind of way. It felt like I was the same as other people,” Paliso said. “With my dyed hair, I felt like I was kind of distinct from other people. There was a fine line that separated me from other people.”

When Paliso changed her hair, she felt that she had changed herself internally as well. She believes that hair holds memories, and cutting it would be leaving them in the past – a new era starts with a change in physical appearance.

“Every time I dyed my hair, it was like a new me and a new version of myself,” Paliso said. “There’s a thing with hair, cut it dye it, it’s like you’ve moved on from a part of your life.”

Chirico mentioned how hair can play a big part in identity, with different colors being a form of self-expression. Changing it, whether through dying or cutting, can make students and staff feel happier with themselves. They also addressed the concern of dyed hair going wrong since it grows out back to its original color.

“You can always change it. You can always adjust it, and for me, it became also a badge of both self-expression and queerness, and I felt more me with blue hair,” Chirico said.