We tend to associate old(er) people with grey hair and while many of them are rocking the wise wizard look, others opt for something a little more... colorful.
Patti Smeed had been a redhead since 1988 but got bored of it and decided she needed changes. Her son, a master colorist cosmetologist, agreed to help.
Now, there are 6 different colors in her hair: blue, dark blue, magenta, purple-slash-green, green and pink, and some of her original bleached blond color.
To celebrate the result, on August 12, Smeed tweeted a few pics of her newly dyed hair saying, "I am 74 years young and had this done to my hair today, I love it! What do you all think and be honest! In my profession, I had to be conservative and never could have had anything like this!" Her tweet instantly went viral, generating nearly 370K likes, and that's pretty much the best response she could've received. It has also inspired other old folks to share pictures of their brave hairstyles, reminding everyone to never to stop experimenting.
Image credits: PattiSmeed
Image credits: PattiSmeed
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I was thinking the same thing. She looks really good. You go girl!
Load More Replies...Wow, she doesn't look 52! Those are some good genes there!
52??? Hecc??? Missy, you don't look a day over 27. I want to look this good when I get old.
Excuhze me MA'AM> 52?! You look soooooo young, around late twenties to mid thirties. Wowwwwww
Grrrl I'm 39 and look at least a decade older than you. Keep up whatever you're doing!
The editors of The Right Hairstyles blog said that women over 50 should keep in mind a few things when choosing the right hairstyle. According to them, the general go-to should be looking stately and elegant. "It's recommended to comb your locks back, opening your face," the beauty bloggers recommended. "Excessively shaggy hairstyles may appear sloppy and awkward. Bangs are ok, they make you look younger, but try to keep them neat and thin or styled to one side so that your forehead is not completely covered. Consider lighter hair hues, and you will easily take years off your face. Some older women look extremely flattering with silver hair. If you are not the lucky one, think of brown to blonde solutions or highlights."
They added that sticking to general recommendations on the choice of hairstyle, i.e. bear in mind your face shape and hair texture, is always a good idea. "Fine hair looks cuter when cut short and layered, while thick coarse tresses feel better in elongated cuts. They don’t have to be long. Lisa Rinna’s type of short-to-medium hairstyle is a very good option for thick hair."
However, just like with most beauty tips, recommendations aren't strict rules. They're there to give direction but aren't enforced on anyone. And the people who contributed to this thread certainly prove that. Just look at their confidence!
There is an express in her eyes that could carry off almost anything!
I've been dying my hair for years (naturally light brown so I can do a lot of shades without having to bleach) but I honestly can't wait to go grey or white so I can rock the full spectrum of neon and pastel shades.
I'm 55 with long curly hair..I'm slowly going grey and l cant wait to go full grey so l can play with colours..l really don't want to bleach it..when l was dying my hair I'd go deep purple or deep reds because l have brown hair..one day I'll say 'to hell with it' and do it..
Load More Replies...I am proudly 46 years old and while I rocked a dark purple over light blond for a couple of years, I am now platinum with rose gold highlights. I don't have to conform to anything.
I had a undercut with a pink chunk for a few years & I super miss it! I'm letting it grow now because the pandemic seemed to be a good opportunity not to have to worry about fuzzy phase... but I really miss my pink!
Load More Replies...47 and I dyed my hair pink, purple, and blue last year. I'm never going back to plain old blonde again.
I couple of years back I did my hair in a rainbow of colors and I loved it! The only reason I don't keep on changing it up is that the bleaching and coloring is really damaging to my hair. If I were one of those ladies with short hair, I might keep doing it. They can just keep cutting it off so the damage doesn't matter.
I honestly think these fabulous radical hair colors works best on people of these age group. It's way more fun and I love how they all look so happy.
I'm 57 and have been doing colored hair for 5 years now. I started with cobalt blue all over. I've had black with red streaks, blue and purple, galaxy (shades of blue, purple, pink, and yellow, inspired by the galaxy in "Futurama"), bright orange, green, teal, red and blue, and my favorite, a gorgeous purple on my head then gradient to bright orange at the bottom. The best thing about that last one is that as it faded, it kinda looked like a bonfire. I will never stop coloring my hair. I work for the County and they don't care. Right now, due to the pandemic, I grabbed something off the shelf but I usually pay to have someone else do it for me since I usually get multi colors. In the cupboard right now is a Splat brand blue/purple kit for when my hair grows out again.
That's awesome! Good on you for having the confidence to do it! Your hair in your profile of is amazing!!!
Load More Replies...The funny thing is that when I was a kid (70s) it was old ladies that put colour in their hair. It was a very boring, conventional thing to do. There weren't the bright colours available now, just 'rinses', but saying someone was a member of the 'blue rinse club' was a way of saying that they becoming both dull and small 'c' conservative (possibly large 'C' too) in the way an old person can do.
My mother is 70 and has been dying her hair pink for decades. It's not that uncommon; in fact little old ladies with purple hair was extremely common when I first started working in the late 80s/early 90s. But...well...good on them I guess.
Just giving a 'this' to Sonka's post below (since I can't reply due to it being modded below the reply threshold). There is a point to it. Explicitly pointing out that a person is black/gay/jew/over50/under15/female is a tad rude. Its like their achievement doesn't matter on its own, but it is remarkable only in the context of being performed by somebody who shouldn't have done it.
I have been dying mine non traditional colors for the past 8-9 years. A few months ago I shaved most of my hair off but I'm still rocking the non trad colors. I keep trying to convince my older coworkers to even just try a few strands. No go. Btw, I'm 51 years young
I have thought it's depressing to think of getting older, but they gave me good models... really cool!
It's bananas how something as simple as a haircut/colour can make them look so much younger than they are.
I'm 41 and can I just point something out here. When we (my generation) wanted to do this as teens, or actually did this as teens we were punks, the scum of the earth, deamed devil worshipers etc... now our parents are the ones doing it and it's "SOOOOOO CUTE!!!" WTF?!
Hey, BoredPanda's filter! Can you at LEAST let me type words like gla*sses without going absolutely censorship crazy and hiding my post automatically because a swear word was detected in that word apparently? Seriously!
Ikr!! I wanted to write cucumber on a post that contained that word and it wouldn't let me!
Load More Replies...I am 61- 6 years ago, my 28-year-old daughter died. Her hair at the time was blue, red, and purple. Since then, My hair is Blue, red, and purple and will stay that way. It is my homage to her memory. It is my way of keeping her alive. When I look in the mirror I think of her.
very beautiful and full of colour. I made an appointment with my barbers but he said comb over now and i will do it for you
I don't have color - I have the absence of color. I had colored my hair a dark auburn for EVER. When my ex I divorced in 2004, my daughter asked, "Mama - what color IS your hair". It was almost shoulder length, so I let the roots grow out for a bit and then had a "Jamie Lee Curtis" short cut. Hot damn - I've got some gorgeous streaks of platinum! I just spent week with my Mom in Davenport, WA & was FINALLY able to get it cut short again (I had a CoronaVirus shag). Feels so much more like me! IMG_202008...a41f6b.jpg
fabulous I am 69 and about to redo my colours pink and purple but adding blue and green this time
I love all the great looks for these people. The greatest thing about it is they get a chance to discover how a change can make you happy and get your mind off all the sad and serious things that are happening in our world right now.
I'm 57. Right now my hair is a smokey purple. Kind of dark grey in some lights. My husband hates it ;) I don't care! I have dyed it blue and bright purple before. It's my damn hair, damn it!
Except for a few, these women look ridiculous. Rejects from the circus.
People act like we weren't doing this in the 80's and 90's. Oh wait...mainstream.
They all have in common that their hairstyle makes them look years, if not decades younger.
I am going to have to share this article with my 57 year old mom who has cut her hair and I told her that she would look awesome with some color, but she doesn't believe me.
Lol, I'm 49 and my hair has been every color of the rainbow. Last week I decided to be ~sassy~ and had her color it blonde. That's actually my natural color and now I feel like a rebel. Oh, wait. It's also got bright blue balayage. Never mind, guess I did stay in my primary color comfort zone.
I'm 44 with a shaved undercut, asymmetrical style and I went magenta. I absolutely love it!
It's a little weird there are no males. Do older males not like dieng their hair or does it have to do with them going bald?
I just ordered a shampoo that's suppose to dye your hair. I got the purple, hopefully my boss will let me keep it.
It's the best time to experiment with wild colors! No one's the boss of me, and the older I get, the less I care what others think. I'm still dyeing mine a somewhat normal color, but when I retire, I'm going gray with colors.
I can't wait to get grey/white so i can dye it as many times as i want as many colors as i wish! I love colored hairs, but there is no way i would damage my hair by bleaching just to get some blue hair.
Go carefully, and don't bleach often, but you can do it OK. I've had mine bleached before now, in order to colour (mine's naturally dark brown). My hairdresser uses good permanent colours and they last for months. If you're willing to let the colours change naturally/grow out, or dye over for a new effect, rather than keep bleaching and colouring, your hair will be fine.
Load More Replies...She looks like she wants to speak to the manager and file a complaint.
I've been dying my hair for years (naturally light brown so I can do a lot of shades without having to bleach) but I honestly can't wait to go grey or white so I can rock the full spectrum of neon and pastel shades.
I'm 55 with long curly hair..I'm slowly going grey and l cant wait to go full grey so l can play with colours..l really don't want to bleach it..when l was dying my hair I'd go deep purple or deep reds because l have brown hair..one day I'll say 'to hell with it' and do it..
Load More Replies...I am proudly 46 years old and while I rocked a dark purple over light blond for a couple of years, I am now platinum with rose gold highlights. I don't have to conform to anything.
I had a undercut with a pink chunk for a few years & I super miss it! I'm letting it grow now because the pandemic seemed to be a good opportunity not to have to worry about fuzzy phase... but I really miss my pink!
Load More Replies...47 and I dyed my hair pink, purple, and blue last year. I'm never going back to plain old blonde again.
I couple of years back I did my hair in a rainbow of colors and I loved it! The only reason I don't keep on changing it up is that the bleaching and coloring is really damaging to my hair. If I were one of those ladies with short hair, I might keep doing it. They can just keep cutting it off so the damage doesn't matter.
I honestly think these fabulous radical hair colors works best on people of these age group. It's way more fun and I love how they all look so happy.
I'm 57 and have been doing colored hair for 5 years now. I started with cobalt blue all over. I've had black with red streaks, blue and purple, galaxy (shades of blue, purple, pink, and yellow, inspired by the galaxy in "Futurama"), bright orange, green, teal, red and blue, and my favorite, a gorgeous purple on my head then gradient to bright orange at the bottom. The best thing about that last one is that as it faded, it kinda looked like a bonfire. I will never stop coloring my hair. I work for the County and they don't care. Right now, due to the pandemic, I grabbed something off the shelf but I usually pay to have someone else do it for me since I usually get multi colors. In the cupboard right now is a Splat brand blue/purple kit for when my hair grows out again.
That's awesome! Good on you for having the confidence to do it! Your hair in your profile of is amazing!!!
Load More Replies...The funny thing is that when I was a kid (70s) it was old ladies that put colour in their hair. It was a very boring, conventional thing to do. There weren't the bright colours available now, just 'rinses', but saying someone was a member of the 'blue rinse club' was a way of saying that they becoming both dull and small 'c' conservative (possibly large 'C' too) in the way an old person can do.
My mother is 70 and has been dying her hair pink for decades. It's not that uncommon; in fact little old ladies with purple hair was extremely common when I first started working in the late 80s/early 90s. But...well...good on them I guess.
Just giving a 'this' to Sonka's post below (since I can't reply due to it being modded below the reply threshold). There is a point to it. Explicitly pointing out that a person is black/gay/jew/over50/under15/female is a tad rude. Its like their achievement doesn't matter on its own, but it is remarkable only in the context of being performed by somebody who shouldn't have done it.
I have been dying mine non traditional colors for the past 8-9 years. A few months ago I shaved most of my hair off but I'm still rocking the non trad colors. I keep trying to convince my older coworkers to even just try a few strands. No go. Btw, I'm 51 years young
I have thought it's depressing to think of getting older, but they gave me good models... really cool!
It's bananas how something as simple as a haircut/colour can make them look so much younger than they are.
I'm 41 and can I just point something out here. When we (my generation) wanted to do this as teens, or actually did this as teens we were punks, the scum of the earth, deamed devil worshipers etc... now our parents are the ones doing it and it's "SOOOOOO CUTE!!!" WTF?!
Hey, BoredPanda's filter! Can you at LEAST let me type words like gla*sses without going absolutely censorship crazy and hiding my post automatically because a swear word was detected in that word apparently? Seriously!
Ikr!! I wanted to write cucumber on a post that contained that word and it wouldn't let me!
Load More Replies...I am 61- 6 years ago, my 28-year-old daughter died. Her hair at the time was blue, red, and purple. Since then, My hair is Blue, red, and purple and will stay that way. It is my homage to her memory. It is my way of keeping her alive. When I look in the mirror I think of her.
very beautiful and full of colour. I made an appointment with my barbers but he said comb over now and i will do it for you
I don't have color - I have the absence of color. I had colored my hair a dark auburn for EVER. When my ex I divorced in 2004, my daughter asked, "Mama - what color IS your hair". It was almost shoulder length, so I let the roots grow out for a bit and then had a "Jamie Lee Curtis" short cut. Hot damn - I've got some gorgeous streaks of platinum! I just spent week with my Mom in Davenport, WA & was FINALLY able to get it cut short again (I had a CoronaVirus shag). Feels so much more like me! IMG_202008...a41f6b.jpg
fabulous I am 69 and about to redo my colours pink and purple but adding blue and green this time
I love all the great looks for these people. The greatest thing about it is they get a chance to discover how a change can make you happy and get your mind off all the sad and serious things that are happening in our world right now.
I'm 57. Right now my hair is a smokey purple. Kind of dark grey in some lights. My husband hates it ;) I don't care! I have dyed it blue and bright purple before. It's my damn hair, damn it!
Except for a few, these women look ridiculous. Rejects from the circus.
People act like we weren't doing this in the 80's and 90's. Oh wait...mainstream.
They all have in common that their hairstyle makes them look years, if not decades younger.
I am going to have to share this article with my 57 year old mom who has cut her hair and I told her that she would look awesome with some color, but she doesn't believe me.
Lol, I'm 49 and my hair has been every color of the rainbow. Last week I decided to be ~sassy~ and had her color it blonde. That's actually my natural color and now I feel like a rebel. Oh, wait. It's also got bright blue balayage. Never mind, guess I did stay in my primary color comfort zone.
I'm 44 with a shaved undercut, asymmetrical style and I went magenta. I absolutely love it!
It's a little weird there are no males. Do older males not like dieng their hair or does it have to do with them going bald?
I just ordered a shampoo that's suppose to dye your hair. I got the purple, hopefully my boss will let me keep it.
It's the best time to experiment with wild colors! No one's the boss of me, and the older I get, the less I care what others think. I'm still dyeing mine a somewhat normal color, but when I retire, I'm going gray with colors.
I can't wait to get grey/white so i can dye it as many times as i want as many colors as i wish! I love colored hairs, but there is no way i would damage my hair by bleaching just to get some blue hair.
Go carefully, and don't bleach often, but you can do it OK. I've had mine bleached before now, in order to colour (mine's naturally dark brown). My hairdresser uses good permanent colours and they last for months. If you're willing to let the colours change naturally/grow out, or dye over for a new effect, rather than keep bleaching and colouring, your hair will be fine.
Load More Replies...She looks like she wants to speak to the manager and file a complaint.