Our “Roots” Come From Madonna

Oh Madonna,  look what you started in 1984. It is a hair mess that now have a very exotic name and in 2010, became a hair movement. In 1984, they were called “roots” and you badly needed a dye job; now it is called “Ombre” hair. “Ombre” hair; sounds so exotic but it literally means “shaded” and to go from light to dark, yet this style turns that upside down. Celebs and everyday people are putting down a decent  amount of cash to look like they have very dark roots to about their chin then it  gradually gets lighter. The most noticeable  celebs who have taken to this trend are Drew Barrymore, who has gone full on ombre and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who went ombre and stringy with multi-faceted extensions. This look needs to stop and I am taking a stand against it.

Madonna to beachy girls should be credited with this look and in a strange way, it suited them. Madonna looked punky and rockin’ with her bleach blond  strands and goth roots; that started an early  ’80′s movement of people enjoying being blond without caring about the upkeep. Then of course there are the beach girls like Gisele Bundchen and Lauren Conrad who just have a natural summer ombre style that looks tropical. But celebs and their hair dressers have taken this to an extreme. Aside from Barrymore and Simpson-Wentz, Rachel Bilson and Jessica Biel have attempted to make the ombre look sheik; epic fail.

As an onlooker who has seen the Madonna, the Cyndi Lauper (shaved on one side and long on the other, which may be coming back. NO!), the “Rachel”, the Britney Spears ala shaved head and dominating blondes like Paris Hilton, I am no stranger to change. New styles are great and fun; no one ever knew what color my hair would be or for that matter, how long it would be. However, I have to disagree with this look and beg everyone who sports it to rush to your local drug store or salon. It is a look that looks dirty, lazy and just plain ridiculous. I showed my bestie some ombre looks and she literally gagged, that’s how bad it is. I feel like if this continues, women will start emulating Cruella DeVille or having grey roots with colorful ends. This cannot happen but you may love your dark roots and light ends and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, free of judgement. So I have come up with a quick and easy solution to “class-up” the ombre look: face-framing highlights that match the ends of your hair. Just a few well placed highlights around the face will help the colors blend a bit better and take away the grunginess of it all. Or you could pull an Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and trade in dark roots and blah ends for a one color pixie, but that is for my next story about pixie perfection.

Again, I am not here to judge, never have, never will. This is just my opinion on a look that has become as popular as Silly Bandz with the same relevance. I hope 2011 can bring something spicy, unique and less rooty, if you will.

Amanda-Lauren Nowitz

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