August 23, 2016

"Jolen cream bleach turns the mustache on your upper lip to the exact color of Richard Gephardt's hair, which is better than its looking like Frida Kahlo's mustache, but it's still slightly hairier than you mean it to be."

Wrote Nora Ephron, a while back.

I'm finding that this morning, because Dick Gephardt is in the news today, blogged here, where William asked "How did Gephardt spend so many years in public life without being relentlessly mocked for his orange hair. I guess back then people were more tolerant of orange hair...."

Also, Bob Shrum, in "No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner," describes a Dukakis ad (in 1988) that mocked Gephardt by showing a "gymnast with comically dyed orange hair dressed in a suit... trampolining and tumbling forward and back and forward and back again" with the voice-over describing Gephardt's various flip-flops.

So orange hair got mocked, even in the old days. It's not just something invented recently to attack Trump. I certainly remember Reagan's hair getting mocked, especially since he denied dyeing it. The much-repeated joke attributed to Gerald Ford was: "Ronald Reagan doesn't dye his hair, he's just prematurely orange."

29 comments:

Johnathan Birks said...

Gephardt also obviously dies his eyebrows. In some photos he has no eyebrows at all. But in others ... eyebrows! Someone get on this stat...

Trump's hair is not only orange, it's got that combover effect that conveys deception.

Fernandinande said...

In G.B. they harass "gingers".

Fernandinande said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fernandinande said...

First Ever Ginger Pride Festival In England To Happen In 2016

William said...

I stand corrected. I do remember Reagan getting mocked for his hair color, but I still maintain that Republicans are far more likely to be mocked for any physical defect or deficit than any Democrat. There are a fair number of obese Democrats, but a recent survey has shown that 98% of all fat jokes are directed against Chris Christie.

rhhardin said...

Ohio lets you self-identify hair color.

traditionalguy said...

I feel for Gephardt and Trump. Their reddish blonde hair makes them look so extremely attractive that it makes the standard, dull brown haired folks jealous. Combining that with a display of reddish blonde leg hair is so maddening that some people get mad on seeing Scotsmen in shorts, much less in Kilts and carrying Bagpipes.

On their faces, the reddish eyebrows turn white blonde in summer sun seeming to disappear.And since this happens overnight, these handsome men are accused of bleaching their eyebrows.

lgv said...

Getting a dye job to look natural is very difficult. White/grey hair that is light brown or blonde can easily go to the orange side. To prevent this, you have to go another shade that doesn't necessarily match the original color (darker brown). I have seen Trump's hair appear to be many shades, but they may also be a product of lighting. The biggest problem is that the shade is way off. It doesn't match his original color if you look at 30 year old photos. The benefit of the lighter shade is that it is less noticeable as it wears off.

I think it is sexist that women can dye their hair with no qualms, but for men, it is vanity beyond was is acceptable.

Wince said...

The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Richard Gephardt's Eyebrows - New Yorker Cartoon

Rosalyn C. said...

Same thought as Igv. Some people criticize Trump for being a sexist and yet many of the same people also attack him for coloring his hair. Isn't that criticism sexist? Isn't it hypocritical to believe only women can color their hair?

Plus lots of men do it, you just don't realize it. BTW, Paul McCartney admits to coloring his hair, although I notice he's letting some gray show at his sideburns. Robert Redford is 80, and he's doing the same thing, dying his hair except for the sideburns.

I know, hard to believe. We were taught men aren't vain and they don't gossip, right.

Sydney said...

I just want to say, I use Jolen bleach and it doesn't turn my mustache orange. You have to know how to mix it and apply it correctly.

loudogblog said...

Arnold Schwarzenegger got mocked a lot for his hair while Governor of California. It looked a little orange from time to time and people would call it "clown hair." I remember, during the recall election, Gray Davis (who obviously didn't dye his gray hair) suggested that Schwarzenegger should "wash the dye out of his hair."

eric said...

I'm always hearing how, in the past, we were never this bad to each other.

I think as a nation we have collective amnesia. I can understand why new voters are ignorant. If you're under 25 and this is your first election, you've got an excuse. It doesnt surprise me at all when they say, "The Republicans nominated Donald Trump. Trump! Now I have to vote for Hillary. Ugh."

Which is an actual quote of a millennial.

They have been convinced by Jimmy Kimmel and late night TV and whatever else they watch that Trump is the worst thing ever in the history of candidates.

Some of us are old enough to remember when Mitt Romney was the worst person ever. Before him, John McCain. Etc.

Yesterday, a poll of Ohio was tweeted out showing Trump losing to Hillary. Then the same poll showed that Kasich would be beating Hillary. James Toranto responded by writing, "Well sure, if he were the nominee and Trump was the one being viciously attacked."

Not an exact qoute, but point aptly made.

mockturtle said...

I've read that red hair retains its pigment much longer than do other hair colors.

tcrosse said...

Prince Harry, ring your office.

David Begley said...

Nora Ephron was a great writer.

CStanley said...

I don't remember Gephardt's hair well enough, but as for Trump his hair is not orange- it's an unnatural yellow. It's his skin that is orange, though he seems to have toned it down lately and has at least partially corrected the white undereye circles.

Ann Althouse said...

Red hair turns hite early. That's my experience. I had white hairs when I was 16. By the time I was 30, what had been a vibrant color was diluted with white to the point that it looked mousey. I switched to dyeing to try to maintain my valued identity as a redhead, but at some point it became too hard, mostly because of the way the roots showed. I switched to blonde as a more workable strategy. But I can see why a male politician avoids becoming a blond.

Ann Althouse said...

Turns white early....

Sorry.

Drago said...

The much-repeated joke attributed to Gerald Ford was: "Ronald Reagan doesn't dye his hair, he's just prematurely orange."

That comment, if true, explains much about Ford's national electoral "success".

traditionalguy said...

Rumor has it that Prince Harry was sired by James Hewitt, a Scotsman by way of Northern Ireland, so he comes by his hair color honestly.

damikesc said...

Robert Redford is 80, and he's doing the same thing, dying his hair except for the sideburns.

It's a shame he cannot get the leather that makes up his face fixed up some.

rehajm said...

Then the same poll showed that Kasich would be beating Hillary.

Obama's legacy will be making us a nation of counterfactuals.

KellyM said...

"lgv said...
Getting a dye job to look natural is very difficult. White/grey hair that is light brown or blonde can easily go to the orange side. To prevent this, you have to go another shade that doesn't necessarily match the original color (darker brown).

White/grey hair does pose a challenge. To prevent/minimize the possibility of light brown/blonde hair going orange you need to choose a light enough color on the ash (cooler) side of the spectrum and know how long to let it process. Stubborn grey will sometimes only respond to a longer processing and that pushes the rest of the hair past that orange stage and on to the desired shade.

Lastly, if you know your hair can take the processing you can also substitute a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the coloring agent. That will cause the hair to "lift" in such a way to so as to strip any remaining gold undertones out. However, you do run the risk of the hair lifting so much that it will have a slight lavender cast (ultraviolet). That can happen with grey/silver hair. It does wash out after a week or so but can be a shock if you're not expecting it.

Smilin' Jack said...

Ann Althouse said...

Red hair turns hite early. That's my experience. I had white hairs when I was 16. By the time I was 30, what had been a vibrant color was diluted with white to the point that it looked mousey.

Ann Althouse said...
Turns white early....

Sorry.


Um, we also need an apology for "mousey."

jaed said...

Mousey is a perfectly non-cromulent word.

My experience was similar to Althouse's, except that my hair is auburn, with a mix of brown and red hairs actually. The red hairs started turning white when I was 18 or so. It didn't get seriously mousey until maybe 45.

Unfortunately, my skin tone sorts very ill with blonde hair. Blonde is much easier because grey or white roots barely show against the light color. Against red... oh my do they show. Plus red dye is harder to do without sliding into something pinkish.

Dr Weevil said...

Thanks for reminding me of a joke I hadn't thought of in years:
Q. Why are Richard Gephardt's eyebrows so light?
A. He's a quart low on bullshit.

The Godfather said...

a) Reagan's hair -- I've known men and women well into their 70's with dark hair who I am certain didn't dye it. That's just something that happens with some people. In fact, they might well look better with gray or white hair, but they'd have to dye it to get that.

b) I'd forgotten Gephardt's hair. There was a time when I kind of liked him, and the hair didn't bother me. Biden, on the other hand, with his comb-overs and transplants showed himself to be a fool (and I also kind of liked him for a while, until the Bork hearings).

c) I have no use for Tromp, and if he'd do something about his hair, it would do him no harm. On the other hand, EVERYTHING about Hillary! is phoney. And she can't change that. Can't even fake it.

Bob R said...

In Primary Colors, Joe Klein mocked Gephardt's hair (at least hair of the character based on Gephardt.) Made fun of him having to use makeup so he did look like he had no eyebrow on TV.