Is it unprofessional? In most cases yes. Will it negatively affect a college interview? Likely not.
And, by the way, I loved the 80’s too!
Hair color is temporary, unlike tattoos. Go for it while you can. Only consider it when it matters for employment- years from now. btw- saw son recently and was surprised by his very short hair, I think it looks better when the curls can show. His work badge has shoulder length hair (too long to best show his best hair features for me, but it is his choice)and a longer beard- they hired him to do CS work in a hip town (software engineer/developer- title depends on the company).
I also remember a pediatrics male resident back in the late 1970’s who wore his long hair in a ponytail.
Your hair color makes a statement about who you are. You are aiming for colleges that suit people who are like you. Later on you can choose to change your appearance in accordance with any jobs you desire. Enjoy being young - there is plenty of time to conform to stodgy dress codes.
Oh, btw, I think bleached blonde hair should be banned. It is just as unnatural appearing for those with dark hair for eyebrows and arms as other colors. I guess if a state attorney general can go with that artificial look hair colors aren’t the leading factor in appearing “professional”.
When I worked for the City of Chicago Water Bureau I had fuschia hair. It was fine (and a long, long time ago haha).
thank you everyone for your answers!!
Colleges, in general, won’t care. However, it is possible that you might be interviewed by an alumnus who will care. Now, alumni interviews probably don’t matter very much. But they might matter somewhat, and some alumni (particular older ones) might notice your appearance, including your hair and clothing, and might have some doubts about your seriousness. It’s still probably not a big deal, but if you want to leave no stone unturned in getting into your college of choice, you may want to try to make the best possible impression in your interview. Note: encountering an interviewer who doesn’t like blue hair doesn’t mean that the college in question is not for you. He may have graduated 30 years ago, and his views were established back then.
Hunt makes a good point, as usual, and I can largely agree about the “no stone unturned”, but not 100%.
Someone that formed an opinion 30 yrs ago would be very familiar with unusual hair colors, as it was a music and fashion model influence back then. To them, blue hair would be nothing new, nothing original, nothing clever, nothing daring, nothing permanent, and imo perhaps passe’ to someone that lived in 80’s music era and saw that style 30 yrs ago.
Although I suppose that opinion 30 yrs ago might have been unfavorable, but I think it likely one with the opinion would have softened the opinion as he/she matured. I just find it hard to imagine a strike against a potential student now based on Dale Bozzio’s hair 30 or 35 years ago.
I’m going to provide an honest answer, and I will note that I am from the Deep South. Some people don’t want honesty, of course.
To say that I find blue or green hair to be offensive would be an understatement. Should one of my children bring home someone with such hair, I would not kick them out immediately, but I would make clear to my children that I did not want such people in my house. I would never hire such a person for a job. With this said, I don’t work for a university, and the university in my town is pretty much auto-admit. Just letting the OP know that not everyone thinks blue hair is wonderful. Why? Why?? Why???
What’s so offensive about blue or green hair?
@simba9 It’s kind of like wearing white after Labor Day. It’s not done.
Never heard of that rule before, and I see plenty of people wearing white after Labor Day.
Offensive is a pretty extreme word for white before Labor Day. Or for anything involving someone else’s hair.
I also live in the Deep South. I’m fine with blue hair. I’m sure that there are more people around here who don’t like it than in many places. But I’ve never known anyone who was actually offended by it.
How generous of you.
“Never heard of that rule before, and I see plenty of people wearing white after Labor Day.”
Of course you wouldn’t have, ucbalumnus. A) You’re not a woman. B) You’re from California, a warm weather climate where that “rule” was rarely observed anyway. C) You’ve demonstrated through your posts that you’re not remotely up on anything that involved fashion and style. So why are you surprised it’s not something you’ve ever heard of?
But I have bad news for you, EVD. Coco Chanel wore white year-round. That’s good enough for me 
“To say that I find blue or green hair to be offensive would be an understatement. Should one of my children bring home someone with such hair, I would not kick them out immediately, but I would make clear to my children that I did not want such people in my house.”
From a person who, in previous threads, actually defended displaying an Confederate flag of all things, and claimed it wasn’t viewed as a racist symbol til very recently (ha!).
On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 = only a teeny bit offensive and 10 = offensive beyond belief, I might humbly suggest that it isn’t blue hair you need to worry about.
D and a number of her friends dyed their hair various colors of the rainbow during their first semester at college. (I bought the bleach and the dye for some of them.) And virtually all of them have gone back to close-to-natural colors of brown, black, and blonde in the past six months or so. The idea of viewing such a harmless fashion statement “offensive” and judging a person’s character based on their hair color is…well…sort of offensive.
I would take a person with ACT 30 and blue hair over somebody with ACT 20 and natural hair any day.
If you worry about college admission interview, you may color your hair black with colored shampoo. It will give you a temporary color. Once interview is over, you can wash it away.
Colleges won’t care about your hair color.
With any luck a parent who is so very rigid won’t have a rebellious child dying their hair out of defiance. Or perhaps the parent will be lucky enough to have a child her thinks for him/herself and questions arbitrary rules and other things parents are brainwashed with.
I saw no less than two older adults (at least 30’s-40’s looking) with blue hair at a Florida Target today. One (I talked to her because of her logo Tshirt from my region) told me (without it seeming relevant to me) she is a conservative Christian. I did not comment on her hair at all. I like blue, but for clothes and not hair.
Relevancy? None, perhaps.
Repeat- any college you would want to attend will not care about your hair color.
Actually, Earl, “it’s not done” isn’t really “done” anymore. Maybe in your own little corner. I agree we can’t generalize about even the Deep South. (And remember how many older ladies may have “blue hair,” ha.)
When I moved here, I was surprised by all the jewel hair colors. Local art school. I happen to love an electric-y blue. (I’m a parent.) OP just needs to be sure her sort of people are at the college she chooses and that she’s open to going a tad more conservative if an internship/job interview needs it.
Fuchsia? Go, Marvin!
That’s a good way to make sure you alienate your child and their future families.
It’s ok. My in-laws aren’t very accepting either. But they know to bite their tongues because they know their son will choose me every time and I won’t allow such a judgmental attitude around our family.
Oh and I have zero relationship with my dad’s bio mom because she was such a judgmental **** about my mom. I have met her probably 5 times in my 25 years and not anytime in the last ten. Her loss.