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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think ‘mousey’ hair is the worst hair colour to have?

207 replies

Marnie56 · 03/09/2020 20:25

I am one of these people with naturally ‘mousey’ hair - until I was about 10 I had light golden blonde hair and as with a lot of people it gradually got darker. Since I was about 14 I’ve had highlights religiously every few months. So my hair is still ‘blonde’ but only because I spend so much money on it!

I absolutely hate the fact that without highlights I would be this ‘nothing’ colour - it’s not a nice brown/brunette colour and it’s not blonde. I don’t even know what I would look like if I let my highlights grow out and I never got them again but I can’t imagine it would look nice!

I know a lot of people get some sort of colour in their hair, balayage etc but most people would still look fine if they had their natural hair colour - I think all hair colours look nice apart from this weird mouse/dishwater.

Anyone else feel like me? Am I just destined to have to get highlights every few months forever so I look remotely nice!?

If you have let your hair go ‘natural’ and it is mousey and looks good I would be very interested to see it! I don’t think I can think of any celebs with that sort of hair!

OP posts:
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BrokenBrit · 03/09/2020 20:46

@Marnie56 I guess I was thinking texture really, I have slightly curly hair, I’m mixed, and it goes wild easily. I cut it short and now I look very frizzy, I seem to have no hair styling skills at all. I’d happily swap for nice easy mousey hair Grin.

Diverseopinions · 03/09/2020 20:46

Going swimming is good for lightening up mousy hair. The chlorine gives an all over lift.

I think celebrities don't have mousy hair because it doesn't show up well for the camera. In real life, it is pretty.

Whyaretheredinosaursinthebath · 03/09/2020 20:46

@Marnie56 you do have to be careful as too dark is so draining and worse than mousy (on me anyway) and it takes forever to fade. I did make that mistake once

Hairdresser uses a level 5 L'Oreal semi on it which does fade a little, with a few highlights in the parting. Because of the highlights it's a little lighter, so probably in the end the same overall darkness as mousy (does that make sense?!) but much nicer because the dark colour is a bit warmer and richer and then the highlights are nice too

Although it's really faded at the moment due to lockdown and only one appointment since which faded quickly so now it's a sort of warmer mousy with highlights 🤣

I keep wondering about ditching the highlights and just using a level 5 semi at home so it's cheaper but they look so nice and soft I'm reluctant to

formerbabe · 03/09/2020 20:47

I think it's lucky because you can change colour easily...lots of mousey women go blonde and its fine. My hair is very dark, I'd have to bleach the fuck out of it to turn it blonde...basically any colour change really damages my hair

DinoTeam · 03/09/2020 20:48

Yanbu. I am naturally mousey and it’s bloody awful. I’ve dyed mine brown since I was 14 Smile

Original poster
Marnie56 · 03/09/2020 20:48

@purrswhileheeats

Mousey is nice if you have a warm skin tone. My skin is grey (not an English rose) and I look terrible with my natural mousey hair colour, almost anaemic.
I think this is me!!
OP posts:
BrokenBrit · 03/09/2020 20:48

@formerbabe yes that’s what I was thinking too! It definitely helps my theory that we always prefer others hair/ look over our own. Let’s embrace our lovely different hair colours Grin.

BashfulClam · 03/09/2020 20:48

I have mousey brown hair but it has natural gold strand, red strand etc that catch the light and can make it look more attractive. I can’t go blonde as I have really black eyebrows in contrast to my hair and blonde would make them stand out too much.

Whyaretheredinosaursinthebath · 03/09/2020 20:49

@BrokenBrit mine is naturally mousy and also naturally wild! I absolutely have to style it just to put it in a pony tail neatly

It's annoying because I spend much more time on my hair than most people I know but it doesn't look like it, my styled is another person's wash and go look! I'd much rather just wash and go

The hairdresser can tame it into a lovely blow dry though to be fair, it's just me that can't

Gunpowder · 03/09/2020 20:49

Actually it’s been rebranded mushroom and it's in fashion. Wink

ramarama · 03/09/2020 20:50

I have it too but don't mind it - it is a versatile colour:

  • you can choose to go shades lighter or darker, either can usually look good, depending on your colouring
  • it's very easy to match with cheap home dye
  • now that i'm older and starting to go grey, it's nowhere near as noticeable as on my darker brunette friends

and lastly, it's very easy to disguise grey by adding more blond highlights. At least we needn't ever deal with that huge change from a striking colour to grey eventually.

Whyaretheredinosaursinthebath · 03/09/2020 20:51

@ramarama that's true, there are some pluses

CountFosco · 03/09/2020 20:52

These women look ok with 'mousey' hair. I married into a family with black hair, they all love my 'dark strawberry blonde' hair and who am I to disagree Wink.

Whyaretheredinosaursinthebath · 03/09/2020 20:53

@Gunpowder could they really think of nothing better?! Mousy is more glamorous than mushroom!

The model at the top doesn't have what I think of as mousy hair though. Mine is naturally actual mouse coloured, sort of grey brown bleurgh

Whyaretheredinosaursinthebath · 03/09/2020 20:54

No offence intended to mice

SummerSummerSummertime · 03/09/2020 20:54

Kate moss blatantly has mousey hair colour naturally.

SummerSummerSummertime · 03/09/2020 20:56

This is pretty mousey...

To think ‘mousey’ hair is the worst hair colour to have?
Original poster
Marnie56 · 03/09/2020 20:56

@Gunpowder

Actually it’s been rebranded mushroom and it's in fashion. Wink
Amazing! I’ve just been googling some pictures. What strikes me is any Google pictures of someone with mouse/mushroom hair, they look lovely as they have a nice tan! Something i also don’t have!
OP posts:
SummerSummerSummertime · 03/09/2020 20:57

Mousey...

To think ‘mousey’ hair is the worst hair colour to have?
SummerSummerSummertime · 03/09/2020 20:57

Looks fine to me!

Original poster
Marnie56 · 03/09/2020 21:00

@SummerSummerSummertime

Looks fine to me!
Yes she looks lovely! But her skin tone is really nice along with it - I don’t think I would ever look like that! But this gives me some hope anyway Grin
OP posts:
lotusbiscuit · 03/09/2020 21:02

But you can go dark, red, blonde, the options are endless!

I have embraced my mouse.

Fink · 03/09/2020 21:03

My sister had mousey hair until her mid-20s, when it started to go darker (she'd been blonde as a young child). It's now darkish brown. I don't know how old you are but yours might still change!

Mine is very dark brown. I love it, but as pp have said, it's not without disadvantages. I can't dye it at all because nothing shows up, so I would have to use a harsh bleach first for anything else to take. And my greys are really obvious, big white streaks against the blacky-brown.

VirginiaWolverine · 03/09/2020 21:03

Mine is currently dyed teal, but I gad it as it's natural mouse for years before that, and it looked really good. I looked terrible wearing black, though, but if I stuck to muted cool tones it was subtly elegant in a rather lovely way.

nanbread · 03/09/2020 21:06

I'm a mousey haired person too and agree it's awful. Makes me look pasty and dull and my clothes don't look so good. When I have highlights I look 10x better, and younger. I was thinking of going darker or embracing the mousey brown but one of those colour consultant people told me to keep going lighter.