In a world laid low by Brexit, you see them at school gates and in supermarket queues: ordinary women with wildly multicoloured hair. We ask five colour converts why they have taken the leap

We are facing the prospect of a few gloomy grey months ahead, with a general election on the horizon, and no end to the Brexit impasse in sight. But one trend has emerged to brighten up these damp winter days.

Not long ago you would see rainbow hair only on celebrities such as Katy Perry or Nicki Minaj, or people in the cosplay community. Not any more. What was once a wacky trend is now beloved of ordinary women. Look around your local coffee shop, or observe mothers on the school run, and you may see the rainbow hair trend for yourself. It’s certainly hard to miss.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s rainbow hair streamed behind her as the Jamaican sprinter took gold in the 100m final of the World Championships this year. The Hate U Give actor Amandla Stenberg sported rainbow box braids at the BET awards in July 2018, while members of the K-pop supergroup BTS rock pastel rainbow hair, to the delight of their teenage fans.

Although brightly coloured hair is becoming more socially acceptable, not all employers are on board. Kerry Lawrence-Sutton, 32, from Cambridgeshire, recently had the offer of a teaching assistant job rescinded, after the headteacher objected to her hair. “I was gutted,” Lawrence-Sutton tells me. “I’m really good at my job.”

So to rainbow or not to rainbow? We asked five women who have taken the leap.

Fiona Sharpe, 53, a communities consultant from Brighton

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fiona Sharpe: ‘At work, everything is grey, so I think it’s nice to bring a bit of colour into it.’ Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

My hair is how people identify me: Fiona with the crazy hair. I have to sit in meetings with council representatives and statutory agencies for work, where everything is terribly grey, so I think it’s nice to bring a bit of colour into it. I have had negative feedback: a man once asked me in a meeting when I was going to grow up. I just shrugged and said: “You mean, when am I going to be boring? I hope, never.” He didn’t have a comeback.

Apart from my hair, I would describe myself as a not-particularly-adventurous grownup. People can be surprised when they find out I have a serious job – a customs officer in Gatwick Airport once insisted I had to be an artist because of my hair.

I have no idea what colour my natural hair is. I have been dyeing it since I was 20. If I had to guess, I’d say it was brown. I have a fabulous hairdresser, who happens to be my nephew. He messages me and says: “Aunty Fi, I have new colours in. Want to play?”

Jan St John-Knight, 48, a learning and development professional from the Isle of Sheppey

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jan St John-Knight: ‘My sense of being different comes out in my hair.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

About six years ago, I dyed my hair blue. I was the only mum in the playground with blue hair for a while – until one day, when everyone had blue hair, I went to the salon and had nine colours put in. When I came back I thought: no one will have hair like this.

I don’t see myself as a looker. I’m not one of those women who could go around with crap hair and still look nice. I never have been. So getting my hair done has always made me feel good about myself.

Five years ago, I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). When you have ADHD, you are different anyway. Growing up, people would always say how unconventional I was. I’m happy with that. I guess my sense of being different comes out in my hair.

I’ve had a mostly positive response. Last week, I was in Morrisons getting breakfast and this toddler came up to me with his mum. She said: “My son loves your hair! He wants to give you a kiss.” People tell me a lot that I’m brave, which I find odd. You would wear brightly coloured eyeshadow – why not colour your hair?

Amina Mucciolo, 36, an artist and designer from Los Angeles

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amina Mucciolo: ‘I have one life, so I’m going to live it colourfully.’

I have always loved colour, but it’s only recently that I have embraced it fully. Being colourful makes me feel the most like myself.

Growing up black in America in the 80s and 90s, there was a lot of pressure to meet people’s expectations of how you should dress and look. It was only when I got older that I realised that stuff didn’t matter. I have one life, so I’m going to live it colourfully.

I think I have around 27 colours in my hair. I used to do box braids with coloured yarn, but now I use synthetic hair. I do it all myself – it takes four or five days to complete, and I do it once a month. I find the process very meditative.

Colourful hair is definitely a big trend. I never saw anyone with hair like mine five years ago, but now I see people my grandma’s age with pink hair! It’s becoming more acceptable, which is awesome.

I view my hair like a canvas. I plan it in the way I plan my artistic projects. It’s a living piece of art.

Amy Witham, 24, a social media influencer from Middlesbrough

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amy Witham: ‘My hair has actually become my career.’

My mum is always getting angry at me for staining the bathtub with my hair dye! The purple dye is the worst. It really makes a mess.

I have dyed my hair since I was 12, but went rainbow about six years ago. I do it all myself; I always have. I find it really easy because I’ve been doing it for so long – I can even bleach my roots now without looking in the mirror. I bleach my roots every two weeks, and then top up my colour by mixing some dye into my conditioner every time I wash my hair. Originally, I started out with rainbow highlights, but I found an ombré was easier to maintain. Conditioner is definitely my biggest expense – I spend at least £50 a month.

My hair has actually become my career, which I never expected. I used to work at Superdrug! Now, I work with hair and beauty brands, and post sponsored content on my Instagram. It’s funny because when I was younger people used to make fun of me for sitting in my bedroom and taking pictures of myself. But now that’s the norm.

Sometimes, people send me photographs of Chinese brands claiming they have done my hair, or my pictures in the window of salons in America. It happens all the time. It’s annoying, because no one else has done my hair. It’s all me.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ayofemi Holloway: ‘This wig is like colour therapy.’ Photograph: Gareth Phillips/The Guardian

Ayofemi Holloway, 32, a salon manager from Swansea

When I was younger, I would never have worn my hair like this. I was painfully shy back then. My mum used to plait my hair into one braid, and people would call me Rhino Head. I think when you’re a black woman, society wants you to make other people feel comfortable. You have to wear a black wig or a black weave to fit in. But since having my children, I’m so much more confident. If I want rainbow hair, I’m having rainbow hair.

I was browsing Pinterest in August when I came across Amina’s [Mucciolo] pictures. I thought she looked incredible. At first, I got rainbow box braids: my mum did them for me, at her salon. They looked brilliant, but I had to take them out in September, and my mum hasn’t had time to put them back in again – it takes eight hours, and she’s a very busy lady.

I still love the rainbow-hair look, so since then I have been wearing a rainbow wig every day. For me, this wig is like colour therapy. It just cheers me up. When I have rainbow hair, I feel young and bouncy. I feel fun: like the day’s going to be great.

Rainbow hair: how to get started

If you can think of nothing better than having My Little Pony hair, the hairdresser and bright-hair specialist Spooky Ruño of the Hunter Collective advises you to enlist the services of a professional, particularly if you have never bleached your hair before. “There are some people who attempt it on their own,” she says. “But I don’t think their hair is in the best condition.” If your hair is naturally dark, it will be a more difficult look to achieve.

In order to dye your hair a rainbow of colours, you first have to lighten it, either by using bleach or a high-lift tint. “You need to lift you hair to the palest, clean blond,” says Ruño. If there is any colour remaining in your hair, the rainbow won’t work. “When it comes to blue, it really needs to sit on a clean blond – otherwise, it will turn green.” Dyeing your hair rainbow colours professionally will be expensive: you will have to bleach your roots every six weeks and top up your colour at the same time, as bright colour fades quickly with washing. For an inexpensive alternative, a rainbow balayage (when the ends of your hair are dyed) is a good bet, as you won’t have to worry about your roots. Or, for an even more low-maintenance alternative, opt for a rainbow wig.