Why It's Such a Big Deal When a K-Pop Star Dyes Their Hair (2024)

And Miju agrees. Because a majority of Korean artists have black or brown hair, "if they all kept their natural hair color, it would be more difficult to distinguish which artist is which, especially for newer artists trying to break through," he adds. Just think of all the times you've watched a group perform for the first time and distinctly remembered one specific member. They probably had a bold hair color, right?

In the case of B.A.P. and Red Velvet, having every member of the group go blonde helped attract attention for their debut, and when they added a new member, respectively. A group-wide move like this, occasionally paired with colored contacts, "created a really different visual style not typically seen in South Korea," Benjamin says.

The historical taboo of bright hair on television

Although CJ Kim says colorful dye jobs have indicated changes for as long as she remembers, they weren't always widely accepted. Back in the 1990s, members of S.E.S. and H.O.T. frequently had to hide their rainbow hair under hats and bandanas because the look was banned on all broadcast stations.

"SBS, MBC, and KBS said that it was a bad example for young people, so anyone who dyed their hair was considered to be a nuisance and would not be able to show face on TV," Yi says. "It's so crazy how that wasn't so long ago. Today, we have men and women expressing themselves with beauty, and now, Seoul is the most progressive beauty nation in the world."

Miju adds that with social media the changes are more apparent. Thanks to Twitter and Instagram, you can find out about a new hair color the second an idol shows up at an airport, no matter where in the world you are.

The caring and keeping of idols' scalps

Of course, with all the bleaching and coloring, fans tend to worry about their favorite stars going bald. Because hair colorists often see the same idols over and over again, "we know at what point the hair will start breaking and get really damaged, so we try not to get to that point," Kim Taejin says. Depending on the color, she adds that they might come in once a week to keep the hue fresh.