How to Work Out Your “True” Hair Colour

What if we told you that your true hair colour could be determined by your essence? That Naomi Campbell and Asap Rocky are blondes? If you ignore race and natural hair colour, would you categorise yourself as a blonde, brunette or red head? Back in April, pop culture observer Alegría shared a completely new perspective on hair colour theory that set social media, particularly tiktok, ablaze. I sat down with her recently to find out how and why she came up with the hair colour theory, and how to use it to decide what hair colour everyone is.

Jade Rozana (JR): How, why, when? Talk us through the genesis of this theory?

Alegría (A): I was talking to my best friend, and we were saying how often black women are bunched into one monolith. I started wondering what it would be like to categorise black women according to hair colour, like how white women can be redhead, brunette or blonde. 

JR: You posted two videos on TikTok, one explaining the theory and the other a guide to working out your hair colour. Can you give us a quick overview?

A: So I basically created a spectrum. I explained what the concept of blonde is, and the concepts of red headedness and black hair. I also did a breakdown video about why Britney Spears is a brunette and Angelina Jolie is a blonde.

JR: And you said Pamela Anderson was a brunette as well.

A: Yeah. So that basically illustrates how it’s more about essence than hair colour. I used hair colour because hair is a universal thing, but really the point I was getting at is that every person has an essence. And if you’re attracted to a kind of essence, you like that, regardless of the race of the person, because racism is so boring. It means that people never push past the concept of race to be like, actually, I’m attracted to conventionally attractive women. If I’m attracted to muscular, intense women, regardless of race, that’s kind of the women I should be looking at. However, because race really decides a lot of people’s dating habits, whether positive or negative, it means that people limit the ability to do some self exploration and see who they’re actually sexually attracted to, and why. If we actually went on who we find attractive, I really do think a lot of people would be surprised by what their dating pool looks like.

JR: How about online dating? How do you tell someone’s essence without meeting them in real life?

A: I think you can tell based on aesthetics. It’s very obvious. I can tell you [Jade] are a redhead even though we just met. I don’t need to speak with you. So that’s what I’m saying – black women aren’t gifted the privilege of being looked at as someone who possesses an essence beyond just being black. This means you have a dating pool where things like colourism have become incredibly prevalent, because, people are like “Oh, well I don’t date black girls because X, Y, Z”. So if you say your type is black women, what do you mean by that, because it’s just a descriptor of both their gender and their skin colour. That doesn’t mean anything in the same way that white women aren’t all the same. 

JR: So I guess it’s more dating focused?

A: Yes and no. I mean, I used dating because people like to use dating as a vehicle to understand the world. But it goes beyond dating. It’s style. It’s fashion. It’s like if you look at someone, and you don’t understand why they dress that way, if you step back, and you look at their essence, and you’re like, oh, wait, that makes sense. Also, sometimes when you look at someone, and you’re like, I don’t really like this outfit on them, what you’re actually picking up on is that the clothes don’t match their essence. Dating is just a really easy vehicle to describe that. If Lori Harvey started wearing grungy clothing, she wouldn’t look weird because grungy clothing is bad. It’s just that it’s the opposite of her essence.

JR: Ok so now I’ve discovered my essence. I’ve watched your TikTok, followed the guide and realised I’m a redhead. In my opinion self discovery leads to leading a better life with more clarity. How do I dive in, fully accept and reap the benefits of what this means?

A: In my spectrum, I included some examples of people. So, the best thing to do would be to start looking at those people and the way in which they really lean into the authenticity of their essence. For example, two prime redheads would be Angelina Jolie and Rihanna. Angelina Jolie is blonde and conventionally attractive, but she leans away from this, defying societal norms, instead of leaning into her beauty like a blonde would. Then you have someone like Rihanna, who’s like, I know I’m conventionally attractive, so I’m going to wear cool and interesting things. That way you don’t just think of me as a pretty girl. We even forget that Rihanna has green eyes. She doesn’t rely on obvious markers of beauty. She wears unconventional clothing. She’s daring.

JR: Whoa. That’s crazy. I know what her [Rihanna’s] eyes looked like. She has a very distinct mouth as well. She’s a very beautiful face and we all know she’s beautiful. But unlike Jada Pinkett Smith for example, I know she has green eyes. Wow, this is so interesting.

A: Essentially, I think that’s a matter of living in your essence where you just don’t rely on things that are stereotypical. Beyonce to me would be a prime example of a blonde black woman. She definitely understands that she’s conventionally beautiful because she’s marketed herself in such a way where her beauty is a massive part of what her appeal is. That isn’t a bad thing. It’s just she’s blonde. And so she’s living her most authentic blonde life. And Beyonce is always best when she leads into her blondness, which is why we’re getting a fantastic album. You know, being hot and dancing.

Getting to grips with what your essence is means you have to change how you dress, how you carry yourself, how you think about yourself. And the best result in this is if you want to be deemed attractive, and that’s something that’s very, very important to you. If you find out what your essence is, and you lean into that, everyone will find you attractive, because it just suits what you’re exuding.

JR: So everything aligns and makes sense.

A: Yeah, and a good way to get that is to ask your friends. You can show your friends the scale I created and ask them, which of these seem like me? You can get some kind of consensus. But I also feel that if you’re honest with yourself, you know what vibe you give off already.

JR: Since this isn’t only about hair and can be applied to every part of ourselves, why use hair as the vehicle for this theory? 

A: Hair colour is a universal thing. But also I think, hair is the one thing where with black women, it’s a very big, obvious difference. So the reason I chose hair is because I was like push past the idea of you being a black woman with black hair. But let’s talk about your essence. I think a lot of black women watered down their personage into just being “I’m a black girl” but it’s like, yeah, sure you’re a black girl. But what else? 

JR: So, I’ve been ginger for over a year now. Looking back I remember distinctly waking up with ginger hair and how much my life has changed. I think I’m quite a friendly person, but I’m also extremely anxious. And I think the ginger hair is like the first step for someone else to be able to tell that I’m friendly. As we’ve been talking I realised in the last year, I’ve made so many more friends. The ginger hair is a conversation starter.

A: I think you’ve got something that matches your essence perfectly. It all just flows. I think people treat being a black woman as a limiting thing. “Oh I’m a black woman so there are rules to how I live in this body” but I don’t think so whatsoever.

JR: I completely agree – as a tall woman, I’m 6 ft. So people say wow tall is beautiful, tall is this, tall is that. No, it’s just genetics.

A: I’m the same. People say, “Oh my gosh, you’re dark skinned. It means X, Y, Z” no, I’m just dark. Like there’s nothing special. It’s not divine. It’s not interesting. I’m just dark guys. Like it’s not that serious? Yeah, push past it. There’s other things. More interesting things.

JR: Like a personality. Who would have thought?

So, there’s the theory. What do you think? What hair colour represents your essence? Let us know by tweeting us @guapmag @helloalegria.

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