‘Dyed hair is a bit of a rebellion’

What does diversity look like through the eyes of a photographer? Thanh Nguyen studies Communication and Media and photographs for Erasmus Magazine. She made a photo series about hairstyles. “A hairstyle is a way to express yourself.”

“Everyone is unique and everyone is beautiful. That’s diversity for me. There is not one way to be beautiful, not one standard. That’s why I made a photo series that is about hair and hairstyles.”

“Think curly hair. A few years ago, you saw a lot of people with curls making their hair straight or wavy. Because a few celebrities did that, it was suddenly the beauty ideal. But natural curls are beautiful, just look at the first years in the photo above.”

“A hairstyle is a way to express yourself, to explore or show your identity. In winter, everyone’s wearing a thick coat, so hair is even more important to show your style.”

“I dye my hair a different colour every month. I do that myself because it is expensive to get your hair dyed. And my friends say hair stylists here can’t handle Asian hair.

“Dyed hair is popular among Vietnamese students in Rotterdam, as you can see in the first photo. I was talking about it with friends the other day. We came to the conclusion that if you see someone with brightly dyed hair on campus, there’s a big chance she is from Vietnam.”

“It’s a bit of rebellion. We are trying to break free from the strict rules we had in high school. Especially in public education in Vietnam, where I also went, there are a lot of rules. If you dye your hair, people have their judgements ready about you, people gossip about your family or you just have to dye it black again.”

“Those rules are also for boys. Their hair has to be short. You don’t often see Vietnamese boys with long hair or a beard, like the Greek guy in the green hoodie in the last photo. So I also have a hard time getting used to that in the Netherlands. Before I came here, I rarely saw anyone with a beard. I feel very young when I talk to someone with a beard.”