Origin of the word Strawberry Blonde

Red hair doesn’t just come in one color, which is why there are many different names for the different shades of red. From dark auburn colors to bright ginger colors and even the lightest of red hair, strawberry blonde. The term strawberry blonde refers to a person having reddish-blonde hair.

Strawberry blonde seems like a strange name for the light reddish blonde color when it’s neither truly blonde nor truly red, so how did this term come about? Well, there’s no absolute answer, but there are a few different theories.

1. From the Italian Renaissance

It’s said that during these times, women would use a combination of lemon juice and saffron to lighten their hair in the sun. These women most likely had red “strawberry” undertones to their hair that appeared with the help of the sun.

2. From literature

Another common belief is that the term was used in literature in the 1800s and maybe even as far back as the 1600s. Authors needed a way to describe light red hair that was almost blonde, and thus the term was born.

3. From the actual meaning of the words

While we might never know the true origin of the term, we can look at the two words themselves and it will give us a clue why they were used. Blonde comes from the Latin “blundus” which means yellow. As we know strawberries are red so when you take red and yellow you get orange, and red hair at its core is really more of an orange color than a red.

What do you think of the word: strawberry blonde? Love or hate?

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Rock it like a Redhead!