Gentleman may prefer blondes — but not Gen Z.
From denouncing side-parting your hair and skinny jeans to eschewing a two-party political system and, most recently, AirPods, Gen Z has struck again, now declaring that blond hair is outdated and darker shades are in.
TikTokers have taken to the platform to proclaim that the bright-colored hue is “cheugy” and being an “expensive brunette” is now the only way to go. The term “cheugy,” mainly used by the younger generation, has been described as something that is untrendy or unstylish.
Model Alyssa Lorraine shared a video showing her blond locks twisted into soft braids and explained she dyed her hair back to its original color. However, now her real honey hue isn’t trendy.
“Went back to blonde after hiding my natural color [and] dying it crazy colors for 17 years. Now blonde is cheugy,” she wrote in her clip.
A user who goes by The Digital Fairy asked her viewers in a video, “Is blonde cheugy?,” noting that A-listers such as Gigi Hadid, Florence Pugh and Hailey Bieber have ditched their straw-colored ‘dos and gone brunette in recent weeks.
“Being blond can get pretty expensive and [roots] became a big trend after the financial crisis of 2008,” she added, citing additional evidence in an i-D magazine article about the “recession roots” style craze. The fad began when women were running low on cash at the time and couldn’t go to the salon every week for their root touch-ups, she explained, so they started to grow out their natural hair blended into the blond locks.
She also noted the i-D article suggested that diversity and inclusion could play a part, wondering if “the trend away from blond may also be a trend towards more diverse beauty ideals.”
The Digital Fairy also spoke about the term “expensive brunette,” a trend favoring dark tresses — or as celebrity hairstylist Liam Curran put it, “all about a luxurious feel to the hair, focusing on dimension, shine and hair health.”
“Hair color techniques have changed in recent years with the rise of balayage and clients, now more than ever post-lockdown, want low-maintenance styles with an expensive feel,” Curran explained to Stylist UK earlier this month.
“For years, blonds have experienced beautiful blends of light tones, and now brunettes want the same experience. Mixing numerous different shades and finishing with luxe toners not only injects beautiful colors but adds beautiful shine, too,” Curran added.
In a separate viral TikTok, user @GirlBossTown also wondered about the golden question: “IS BEING BLONDE [CHEUGY]???” She remarked how models such as Hadid, 26, and Bieber, 24, and “every celebrity, cool girl [and] model are going dark with their hair.”
However, she plans on dyeing her hair platinum blond “like I do every time” when she visits the hair salon and is worried that her hairstyle will look outdated.
“Am I cheugy for being blond?” she earnestly asks. “Let me know.”