Gen Z thinks blonde hair is ‘cheugy’ and uncool

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Gen Z are on a bit of a tirade, it seems. After already labelling side parts, skinny jeans, wireless headphones and even the cry-laugh emoji as “uncool” in 2021, now they’ve decided on their latest target: blonde hair.

As with any Gen Z trend, the backlash against the blondes started on TikTok, where users are proclaiming the once-popular hue is now “cheugy” and “uncool”.

For the uninitiated, cheugy is a word used to describe something as untrendy or unstylish.

Urban Dictionary defines it as: “The opposite of trendy. Used when someone still follows these out of date trends. This may include, but not be limited to, fashion, habits on social media, and usage of slang.”

Blonde hair has been labelled as cheugy after model Alyssa Lorraine shared a video explaining that she died her hair back to blonde and now it “isn’t trendy”.

“Went back to blonde after hiding my natural colour [and] dying it crazy colours for 17 years. Now blonde is cheugy,” she said.

Another user, known as The Digital Fairy, posted a video titled, “Is blonde cheugy?” In the video she notes that celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Florence Pugh and Gigi Hadid have all recently ditched their blonde locks for darker shades.

So what’s the reason behind this sudden blonde bashing? The Digital Fairy added: “Being blonde can get pretty expensive and [roots] became a big trend after the financial crisis of 2008.”

The TikTok user is citing the “recession roots” trend that emerged in the late 2000s following the 2008 recession, as people couldn’t afford to get their roots done.

A similar trend emerged last year as , during the multiple lockdowns the UK endured, many people returned to their natural colour as hairdressers were closed.

In a separate TikTok video, user @girlbosstown asked fellow users if she was “cheugy for being blonde”.

One of the commenters replied: “All the cool girls are going dark,” while one said, “Dark hair is elite.”

Another commented: “Girl … It’s just because it’s fall. Calm down.”

A third added: “I don’t think blonde is cheugy but poorly tanned skin and unnatural platinum blonde is very cheugy. Very few people can pull [off] this look.”

While natural hair colours may be having a moment, like all trends it will ebb and flow. So don’t go out and grab a bottle of brunette hair dye just yet.