Paramore’s Hayley Williams says anyone dyeing your hair should ask why

To many, Hayley Williams is the bold lead vocalist of Paramore, known for her soaring vocals and brightly-colored hair. But she’s also a businesswoman.

Williams created Good Dye Young, a cruelty-free hair-dye company, in 2016 alongside her makeup artist and hairstylist, Brian O’Connor. Their brand sells both temporary and semipermanent hair colors, and recently launched its products in all Sally Beauty stores across the US.

In a recent interview with INSIDER, Williams discussed her personal hair journey and shared her advice for people who are considering dyeing their hair.

Hayley Williams told INSIDER that people should try to understand ‘what’s going on inside’ themselves before dyeing their hair

The hair-dyeing process can be intimidating. While some fear that dyeing their hair a bold color might lead people to judge them, others worry that dye can cause long-term damage to hair. People who are nervous to take the leap have even created Reddit threads about dyeing their hair.

But, according to Williams, a hair-dye veteran, the process can be made a little easier by figuring out “what’s going on inside” before making a bold change on the outside.

Williams says it’s worth going deeper, asking questions like: “What’s going on inside of yourself?” and “Why do you want to do this?”

“Is there something going on? Did you go through a breakup? Are you getting a new job? Are you moving to a new town? What’s the ‘why’ behind why you’re dyeing your hair?”

“I think if you know why you’re choosing certain accessories, or why you’re expressing yourself in specific ways, it helps to feel more confident when that gets questioned,” Williams said.

Bold hair is a staple of Williams’ style, but it hasn’t always been accepted by everyone

Throughout her career, Williams has experimented with a wide variety of shades and hairstyles.

She wore a multicolored shag style when promoting Paramore’s sophomore album, “Riot!,” and donned two-toned locks during the release of her band’s self-titled album, “Paramore,” in 2013. More recently, Williams opted for a fresh start by bleaching her locks blonde.

Williams said that growing up in Mississippi she had “no access” to the types of fashion and beauty she “was interested in.” She often found herself “sneak-watching MTV” when her mom wasn’t home, where she was able to “catch a glimpse at what the rest of the world looked like.”

“I saw women like Missy Elliot and Gwen Stefani doing really rad things with their hair, their makeup, their clothing choices,” she said. “I felt like that’s the world, even aside from music, I just wanted to be a part of — where you could be very expressive.”

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Williams later moved to Franklin, Tennessee, which she described as being “a very conservative town.” It was there where she “started to get into music,” and develop a “core friend group,” who made her feel comfortable enough to experiment with her appearance.

“I would walk around, especially when Paramore had ‘Riot!’ out, my hair was like three different colors,” she said. “There was no going anywhere without weird looks.”

“I think that my personality was very much to feel defiant in that, and even if it bothered me, I would try to just kind of get over it and almost use my angst to get around it,” Williams continued.

The musician-turned-entrepreneur also discussed her family’s experience with hair dye. According to Williams, her grandmother mixes Good Dye Young’s semipermanent dye in a purple shade, called People Eater, with the brand’s Fader to “give herself a natural glaze over her naturally gray hair.”

“She has these bright blue eyes, and people just kind of see it when she goes grocery shopping or whatever,” Williams said of her grandmother’s hair.

“But she did tell me that when she was on a trip back to Mississippi recently, she was like, ‘I kind of, for the first time ever, felt what you described, and I didn’t really know how to react,'” Williams continued. “‘People were just staring and I could tell that people thought it was weird,’ and she said, ‘I just didn’t understand that feeling before.'”

Still, Williams understands that not everyone is as confident as she and her grandmother are when dealing with those who pass judgment.

“I think that not everyone’s like that, and it’s been really important for me as a businesswoman to understand that not everyone comes to their identity in the same way,” Williams said.

“Not everyone’s gonna use defiance to help color what they look like and how they feel, or to even describe themselves,” she continued. “So it’s been important that we use different types of imagery, and different types of people in our imagery online and on socials, because I was one specific type of kid.”

Williams believes that bold colors are ‘becoming part of the norm’ in fashion and beauty

Despite the reservations some may have when it comes to dyeing their hair a bold color, Williams believes the world is becoming more accepting of “loud” styles.

“I really enjoy that loud fashion colors are actually just that,” Williams said. “They’re becoming part of the norm — they’re part of the conversation in fashion and beauty.”

“I don’t really use this word lightly — because I know representation means a lot more than choices that you make in hair and beauty — but to see people who want to express their identity in really loud ways represented in fashion, and on the covers of very typically, conventionally, beautiful magazines, I think it’s really nice for girls who weren’t like me at 14, who weren’t defiant and angsty, but yet, they really were interested in being trendy, and they were interested in being beautiful.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Williams said.