Vanessa Feltz has declared herself a "ride or die blonde," stating she will remain so for the rest of her life. Feltz, who was born with brown hair, described her natural color as a source of torture and saw embracing blonde as a pivotal moment of self-discovery.
Her fascination with blonde hair began in childhood, influenced by images of Diana Dors on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album in 1967. While her family considered hair dyeing vulgar, Feltz attempted to lighten her hair with lemon juice and sun exposure, with little success.
Early Attempts and a Chemical Cocktail
The introduction of Sun In, a product available at Woolworths in the mid-1970s, offered a more potent solution. After applying the hydrogen peroxide-based spray and spending hours in the sun, Feltz achieved a brassy, patchy color that horrified her mother but felt like a personal triumph. This early experience resulted in a permanent color change that required a visit to a professional hairdresser to correct and achieve a more desirable shade.
Feltz recounted how maintaining her blonde hair has been a lifelong endeavor, requiring significant financial investment and constant vigilance. She noted that during her student years, her grant money was often allocated to hair maintenance, and she subsisted on basic foods to afford salon visits.
A Brunette Interlude and Return to Blonde
Her dedication to blonde hair was tested when, at 22, her fiancé questioned her "brassy" hair color and suggested a brunette shade. Feltz complied, dyeing her hair brown at a salon, but found the change unflattering, making her look "green" and diminishing her "va-va-voom." This brunette phase was short-lived, as she returned to her signature blonde shortly after her honeymoon.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Feltz faced a period where she had to rely on a partner to help with her roots due to salon closures. This experience, described as terrifying, ultimately led to a relationship implosion, though Feltz focused on the need to repair her hair afterward with professional care. The result was a subtler, yet still blonde, shade.
At 64, Feltz dismisses any notion of embracing grey hair, affirming her commitment to maintaining her blonde identity, humorously stating her intention to be "the blondest blonde in the cemetery."