Shave or Dye

Since I arrived in Ireland at the end of January, I’ve had a handful of people ask me if my hair was for “Shave or Dye,” and I had no idea what they were talking about. Last weekend a woman approached me in Aldi and asked how I dyed my hair. She and her family were going to do Shave or Dye, she said, and she didn’t know how to get the best dye results. I told her my basic tips: bleach your hair to white, wait a day or two, leave the dye in for 2-10 hours (I’ve been leaving mine in overnight lately), and only wash your hair in cold water.

So when I got home I finally looked it up. Shave or Dye is a campaign by the Irish Cancer Society to raise money for cancer research. People volunteer to participate and collect pledges to either shave their head or dye their hair a bright, unnatural color. The campaign started in 2010 and has raised over €6.1 million (source)! I think it’s awesome that simply dying your hair or shaving it off has raised that much money in three years—the figure doesn’t include any funds raised in 2014 yet.

I like this campaign not only because it’s for cancer research, but it’s helping to alleviate the old stereotypes of colored hair. You wouldn’t believe the number of times people have assumed I’m a troublemaker or that I’m into some bad things. When that happens I just laugh because that’s totally not me at all. If I end up dying my hair while I’m still here in Ireland, I plan on participating in Shave or Dye—and I might try to convince some of my classmates to join me.