Turns out my red hair has been the problem all this time

So you know what they say about blondes having more fun, but did you know that being a redhead actually decreases your chances of being taken seriously, particularly by the opposite sex?

My hair is naturally an understated auburn color, but when I was in high school we moved into a house with a well, and the iron in the water grabbed hold of the red in my hair and brought it out. I liked it so much, I began coloring it once I moved out of the house so I could keep it. Over the years my hair has been some shade of red, from my natural auburn to newly-minted penny, with an occasional venture into extreme ends of the spectrum from platinum blonde to near-black. Mostly it stays a sort of medium coppery shade, which works well with my skin tone and looks natural enough that the roots don't scream "I NEED A TOUCH UP" every six weeks.

Right now I'm sporting a much darker look - a deep mahogany which is a LOT darker than I'd planned on. But the friend who colors my hair assured me it was what I wanted. I got a lot more compliments on this shade than any other I've ever tried, so while I was unsure of how I felt about it, I gathered by the number of people who said, "it really brings out your eyes and your skin," that perhaps I had found something that worked.

But I wonder. Does having been a redhead for most of my life hold a direct correlation to the fact that I'm 40 and still single and have a rotten dating track record? Is my weight solely to blame, or has my red hair been the culprit in attracting the players, the weirdos, and the jerks? Like the author of this article, I think I'll take a look at the women I know in stable, healthy relationships and see if there's something to it. Right off the bat when I think of the three people closest to me who have stability and happiness in their marriages, there it is - they're all brunettes. Coincidence?

You tell me. In the meantime, I'm going to email my hairdresser and see if she has time to help me wash the last relationship failure out of my current dye job.