I have naturally brown hair, but I really want to dye it blue or purple. My only concern is that this could have some impact on my college auditions, which start in a few weeks. I don’t want negative attention or to create a bad first impression. I am auditioning for vocal performance only so I’ll just be singing. Do you think having an unnatural color could be considered unprofessional, distracting, etc.? Would it hurt my chances?
If you think it will, don’t do it. You can never be sure, but why not do everything in the light most favorable to being accepted.
If you think there is any chance it could hurt then wait until after auditions to dye your hair.
A deep purple might work. I think you should be yourself. If you were auditioning for a performance it might be different though you could always redye it. That said, I have in the past commented on this issue with one of mine relating to employability. She still seems to get the jobs
Why not simply wait until auditions are over? At the very least, the worry is a burden you don’t need to place on your shoulders; auditioning is hard enough without it.
You can successfully audition in any hair color. However I would only do it if you feel it’s really your style/authentic to you; and you can wear it neatly and confidently. Also you should only do it if you can afford to go to a good, professional salon. If it’s from a bottle, I would suggest waiting until after the auditions unless it’s true to your style to stand out with blue blue hair; and you want the faculty to know this.
It is time to be a bit conservative but an addition of blue or purple tint done at a professional salon is really not a big deal…if done well. Also if you don’t like it, it typically can be washed out professionally and brought back to your natural color. My D looks Asian and has audition in platinum blond, pink, purple and gray hair. When she went pink first, she bought a brown wig to wear to sing at a gala (yes I was rolling my eyes but she’s an adult and she has modeled hair styles for money so it’s her business not mine). The women organizing the event told her not to wear the wig bc she loved her pink hair. That was the end of the wig. STILL my D’s hair is always done stylish and professionally. Regardless of color, it should look nice and neat at the audition.
Edit: if you were applying to business school my answer would be different. But you are applying for the arts where style, expression, creativity are accepted…I doubt you’d be the only one…just know there’s a line bx cheap and cool…and stay on the authentic cool side. A professional stylist will help with that.
Best advice from an accepted student when my D was auditioning: show a little personality.
You get 5 - 10 minutes. They see student after student. Many will toe the conservative little black dress line. That’s perfectly fine if comfortable (and would be my gut instinct). However my D, who follows fashion (unlike her mother), does like to express herself “through fashion”. So she found a cool ivory designer dress at an outlet store and auditioned in that. She loved “her look”. It was very authentic to her. I don’t think the dress is a make it or break it for an audition as long as you look neat but if you have a kid wanting to “express themselves” during auditions in any way but cheap…it really is OK.
I second @bridgenail 's opinions on this. Whatever you do, it should be well done (professional) and appropriate, especially if it’s a little edgy. But, yes! I’d say show your personality! If you are showing “you” and they don’t like it, it’s likely not a good fit.
I don’t know–my first reaction was that if a school (especially something like a music school–as @bridgenail says, it might be different with something like B-school) would be likely to make my hair color part of their criteria for admission, it wouldn’t be a school I’d want to attend! I agree that it should be something authentic to you, however, and preferably nicely done. Sing beautifully, and best of luck with the auditions!
If you were going for MT or Jazz Voice, I’d say go right ahead, but for VP my advice is to wait until after auditions. Dress for VP is more conservative all the way down the line so why take the chance on tipping the scale the other direction?
It could be really positive or really negative… all depends on your audition. If you were my kid, I’d say wait on the hair, but I tend towards the conservative side on these things. Good luck, whatever the hair color!
Since this thread has gotten a few reads I just want to clarify:
If you use a bottle to color your hair blue or purple or green at home and it looks like you could join the muppets and fit right in…probably not a good move. It becomes a questions of “taste” (bad taste) and you don’t want that hanging over you.
If you go to a good salon and work with a professional stylist/color artist to “tint” your hair purple or blue (or a color recommended by the color artist - they will do that), it can come out quite attractive…and will not damage your hair so you look like a muppet. I doubt a good salon would make your hair blue, blue. And if it does, I wouldn’t recommend it. It should be tasteful and attractive.
Some kids are comfortable following the conservative path. It would be my initial recommendation. Why not? It’s easy and assured. But the issue is that not all kids are the same. Some are not comfortable in a conservative manner and feel a need to express themselves (which can be most annoying to a parent at audition time). So, for parents and students that would feel foolish or a fraud in the conservative manner and more themselves and confident with a bit of self-expression…it’s OK. Just be sure your self expression is truly in GOOD TASTE…and keep it tame…you do need to learn to be “professional” too as it’s not all about you. I still feel that if you look tasteful and thus confident and you demonstrate you know the etiquette of walking into an audition prepared and singing well, your hair color will not matter (unless you look like a muppet…and then yes it could be a distraction).
I think it’s mostly about how comfortable YOU feel in the hair.
And the fact that you’re asking leads me to suggest again that you wait. I don’t think that a professional hair coloring, no matter what the color, will be a problem. My concern is that you’ll be uncertain and that it will erode your confidence in the audition.
What I tell me daughter is that even though it shouldn’t matter it could matter. Why take a chance for something that important. Express yourself musically and don’t let your appearance potentially distract them. My daughter’s argument is that musicians are expected to be creative and individualism is valued and celebrated in the music community. I believe that to be true but you cannot count on every educator and Admissions professional to have that same opinion. Once your are admitted, go nuts, but until then I’d let your music be the element that stands out.
Lots of good advice here. My daughter, now a sophomore in VP, thought you should wait until after auditions. Could be a nice way to celebrate a successful audition season.
I am smiling at this post as my daughter likes to wear black nail polish, which is much less noticeable than purple hair except that she is a clarinet player and her nails are then obvious!!! My thoughts are twofold. Firstly I would consider the schools you are applying to and the reputation/type of professor you are auditioning for. If it’s an Uber conservative old school type situation, they might not appreciate it. However a liberal artsy contemporary school may love it. My second thought is, it can make you memorable… and that goes both ways. If you are amazing, they are going to say “wow, who was that awesome girl with the purple hair”, if not, you can fill in the blanks 
Good luck, and if your talent is phenomenal, I don’t think they will care what you look like!
I think I know your kid…lol. The nails on a clarinet player…of course…that just makes so much sense. Every time I tried to moderate my D’s expression in one place, it just came out in another unexpected way…which I would notice when she took her coat off at the audition. And honestly I don’t think she was trying to drive me nuts…I think it was just her. And by being herself, she still got acceptances and contracts so…what do I know…