Okay, so my D17 is currently rocking some dark violet hair, and she has a lot of fun experimenting with different (temporary - it's Manic Panic) colors. She's got a pretty artsy personal style, even though she will likely major in hard science or engineering.
We're currently planning to do a college visit road trip at the end of April and I'm of two minds when it comes to her appearance. Part of me wants to suggest that she let the color wash out and go natural for the purpose of visits - go "stealth" so she can observe her surroundings without calling any attention to herself in the process. Another part of me thinks maybe she should leave the color in, and if we visit a place that makes her feel uncomfortable because of it, maybe that wouldn't be the best school for her anyway.
My ambivalence is partly because I don't have a good sense for how much of a "phase" this is - she's 16 and taking a break from several years of being heavily involved in classical ballet performances where her appearance had to be very traditional. So maybe she's just having a bit of fun for a little while and she'll get tired of having her fingers stained purple from dye soon enough and by the time she is ready to go off to school she'll be back to hair that is a shade found in nature. In that case, I wouldn't want her to wind up ruling out perfectly good schools based on how many kids she sees with pink hair, you know? But on the chance that it isn't a short phase, and she wants to keep this up, I want to make sure she's in an environment where she feels comfortable.
Any thoughts/feelings/experience on what to suggest for the visits?
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