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[[quoteright:324:[[ComicBook/{{Swordquest}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/37554194150e04dee5d9816aa3201e04.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:324:"Blonde hair is not allowed in the realm! King Tyrannus commands it!"]]

->''"All those prisoners with white hair, step forward. You are certain to have rebelled in 1848. You will be shot."''
-->-- '''General Gaston Alexandre Auguste de Gallifet''', to the prisoners of the Paris Commune of 1871

Nice, distinctive hair you have there, Mx. Hero! But sadly, it's going to be a problem for you. Perhaps you find yourself in the midst of a SternChase, dodging trouble from the Space Mafia or close to getting your secret agent cover blown. You have a choice: Dye or Die.

So, you have to dye your hair as a disguise. Bye-bye, blonde highlights.

[[BeardnessProtectionProgram Men will also have to shave their mustache or beard, if they have one. Maybe grow one if they don't.]]

Compare ImportantHaircut; ExpositoryHairstyleChange; WigDressAccent (without the wig, the dress, or the accent); KaleidoscopeHair (if it happens many times); and ClarkKenting.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
%%* [[spoiler:J, the cult's second in command]] of ''Manga/BloodyMonday'', in the most recent chapter, is sporting a different hair color. Remember, Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent.
* Jinto makes Lafiel dye black the blue hair that marks her as an Abh in order to avoid notice by the invading United Mankind in ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars''.
* Eureka has to do this in ''Anime/EurekaSevenAO'' so she and her son can avoid [[FantasticRacism discrimination from the islanders]] and attention from foreign governments.
* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', Ed dyes his (long blond) hair brown, and wears stilts and a hat in order to disguise himself.
%%* [[spoiler:Victorique]] from ''Literature/{{Gosick}}'' to avoid pursuers.
* ''Anime/MaquiaWhenThePromisedFlowerBlooms'': Maquia does this to hide her characteristic Iorph blonde hair. The color she chooses is identical to that of her adopted ordinary human son.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Setsuna, after being exiled from the crow [[{{Youkai}} demon tribe]] for being a white-feathered [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]], has a complex about her implied natural appearance. As a result, she hates revealing her white wings, dyes her hair black, and wears contacts.
* A more lighthearted example in the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhite'' episode "Baffling the Bouffalant", in which Ash, Iris, and Cilan come to an area where the local Ungulates attack anyone not sporting an afro like their own. In order to pass through safely, the area's Nurse Joy started wearing an afro wig and brought more for any travelers and their Pokémon.
* In ''Anime/SwordOfTheStranger'', Nanashi aka Nameless in the literal sense, dyes his red hair black to avoid trouble. Seems like the residents in feudal times hated foreigners.
* Yoko in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'' spends a pretty good part of the first arc with her distinctive [[FieryRedhead bright red hair]] ([[LockedIntoStrangeness which had changed color when she arrived in the Kingdoms]]) dyed a much less obvious shade of brown to help throw off pursuit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': In UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, when Wally West got his second Kid Flash costume, which exposed his hair, he used "instant hair dye" (which was included in his costume ring... somehow) so it would appear that Kid Flash had brown hair. At some point in the ''ComicBook/NewTeenTitans'' era, he started being shown as a redhead in costume, and subsequent flashbacks to the early days haven't included the dye.
* ComicBook/GreenArrow shaved his hair and beard during Mike Grell's "Black Arrow" arc.
* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': In the "Execute Program" story arc from ''ComicBook/IronMan2004'', Tony Stark shaves off his beard and dyed his hair blond while on the run. It works, as no one recognizes him, but he feels he looks like "an idiot".
* ''ComicBook/OmahaTheCatDancer'': The title character bleaches her hair blond before fleeing Mipple City after she and Chuck had a severe falling out. Eventually, she decides to return and goes to her favorite hairstylist to put her hair back to normal. That proves a very unpleasant experience even as the stylist makes her opinion clear that Omaha shouldn't have abused her hair like she did, in other words, "Next time you get an idea about your hair? Call for a second opinion, Okay?"
* ''ComicBook/{{Persepolis}}'': In a RealLife example, the author's mother bleaches her hair in order to hide from the government, after a photo of her at an anti-government rally becomes famous.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': Kara used a "Kryptonian comb" in [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 her second solo series]], which allowed her to comb the brunette into her hair as well as comb in blond locks and serious curls when she did the reverse motions.
* ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'': As the series operates on real time rather than ComicBookTime, in one of the later chapters [[LongLived Superman]] started using makeup and dyeing grey into his hair as Clark Kent to present a plausibly aged appearance.
* ''ComicBook/{{Swordquest}}'': The foster parents of the protagonists dye their naturally bright blonde hair a medium brown so the BigBad would not suspect them while they were growing up.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Done by [[spoiler:The Silk Spectre II and Nite Owl II, when they assume new identities at the end, having allowed everyone to assume they died in the BigBad's attack on UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. They both dye their hair blond. Also, Nite Owl II grows a mustache and Silk Spectre II cuts her hair.]]
* ''ComicBook/WhyIHateSaturn'': . Played for laughs, as brunettes Anne and Laura are on the run from Laura's ex-boyfriend, and they dye their hair blonde so they won't be recognized. However, when [[spoiler:he finds them anyway, they run again, and Laura decides to return her hair to its original color -- only she messes up and [[MyHairCameOutGreen it comes out green]]]]!
* ''[[ComicBook/XLivesAndXDeathsOfWolverine X Deaths of Wolverine]]'': Moira [=MacTaggart=] goes on the run after being betrayed by Mystique. The CIA try to capture her, so she cuts her shoulder-length brown hair into a blonde crop as a disguise.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
* In Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "Literature/KingGoldenlocks", the titular prince flees his country after being condemned to death. During his exile, Goldenlocks covers his head with a cloth to hide his distinctive hair color.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, a news reporter from [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Rimwards Howondaland]] is in search of a scoop and has to -- very illegally and on pain of death if discovered -- enter the [[DarkestAfrica Black Howondalandian]] country next door which is perpetually at war with her own. She hits on the idea of becoming a [[UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands Sto Kerrigian]] for the trip and gets a fake ID. As her face is well-known, she tries to evade detection by dying her hair black, as opposed to her natural blonde. [[spoiler:Her hostess sees through this straight away and notes a black hair dye on a blonde is as obvious as Hell. Fortunately the hostess is amused rather than angry, knows her through mutual friends, and keeps her secret.]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13701943/1/BlazBlue-Remnant-Alternative BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant]]'', Penny keeps her blonde hair dyed orange to hide her true identity [[spoiler:as a Murakumo and to keep hidden from her creators]].
* ''Fanfic/ExtraLife'' has Chiaki wearing a black wig while under the fake identity of "Keiko Watanabe", to cover up her distinctive pink hair and lessen the risk of someone recognizing the supposedly-dead Ultimate Gamer.
* ''Fanfic/FourDeadlySecrets'': Ruby and [[spoiler:Miltia]] dye their hair when they go scouting out [[spoiler:Junior's bar]].
* In "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8652163/7/NGE-Runaways NGE: Runaways]]" Shinji and Asuka are running from [=NERV=]. Shinji dyes his hair blonde to hide his identity. He tried to talk Asuka into getting her hair dyed too, but she refused, choosing to cover her head instead.
* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIS'': After the FinalBattle [[spoiler:Rei]] dyes her hair brown (and wears contact lenses) so nobody knows [[spoiler:Rei Ayanami is still alive.]]
* ''Fanfic/SecondAmericanCivilWar'': In ''Home of the Brave'', Isabella bleaches and dyes her black hair to honey blonde, cuts it shorter, adds fake glasses, and uses makeup to lighten her skin while on the run from American forces.
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': [[FieryRedhead Asuka]] wears a blond wing as both ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'' and ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' to prevent someone from figuring out who she is.
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheVampireOfSteel'', Kara Zor-El dyes her hair red while in Sunnydale to protect her secret identity.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/393415/yellow-immortality Yellow Immortality]]'': the only way for Fluttershy to escape [[Literature/TheKingInYellow Carcosa General Hospital]] and its curse of eternal life is to change her fur color, meaning she has to dye in order to die.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' sees Black Widow dye her red hair a platinum blonde, and brunette Wanda going from brunette to auburn red, due to both being on the run due to their parts in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''.
* The Lifetime movie ''Black & Blue''. Gracie flees her abusive husband and is advised to cut her hair -- because it's too conspicuous.
* Marie of ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'' has to cut and dye her hair a dark brown. In this case, it's because her initial hair color is a little more distinctive. There's a CallBack to this in ''Film/TheBourneUltimatum'' when Nicky has to do the same.
* In ''Film/{{Breakout|2013}}'' Jocelyn cuts her blonde hair to shoulder-length and darkens it to brown after she has fled from her abusive husband.
%%* ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal''.
* In ''Film/{{Cruella}}'', the 12-year-old Estella decides to dye her distinctive black and white hair one color to make it easier for her to live as a runaway in London.
* After helping the Marquis of Tewkesbury escape from an assassin in ''Film/EnolaHolmes'', Enola guesses that his shoulder-length hair will need to be cut short to disguise him. She's proved right when sketches of him in the papers have his long hair, and he's able to stay hidden with the short haircut. Enola herself doesn't need to, as she can easily put [[SweetPollyOliver her hair under a hat and wear boys clothes as a disguise]], and then switch back to girls' clothes when it suits her.
* In ''Film/{{Elektra}}'' Abby is told to do this while on the run from The Hand. She dyes her hair brown and cuts a fringe to resemble Elektra. Oddly enough Mark and Elektra don't do this -- and they're still found pretty soon too.
* In ''Film/{{Following}}'' Bill gets paranoid about being recognized by someone whose house he robbed. Cobb then convinces him to shave, cut his hair short, and don a different wardrobe. Of course this bites Bill in the ass [[spoiler:when Cobb frames him for everything]].
* ''Film/{{Firestorm|1998}}'': Shaye dyes his distinctive pale hair black as part of his DeadPersonImpersonation so he can join the prison fire crew and escape.
* ''Film/TheFugitive'': After escaping police custody, Dr. Richard Kimble [[BeardnessProtectionProgram shaves his beard]] and dyes his gray hair brown.
* Agent 99 in the 2008 ''Film/GetSmart'' movie -- but her dye job is incidental next to the extensive plastic surgery she undergoes to keep her job as a secret agent.
* ''Film/HidingOut'': Andrew dyes a streak of blonde into each side of his head as part of his disguise as a high school student.
* ''Film/{{Imperium}}'' has FBI agent Nate Foster shaving his head to go undercover in a Neo-Nazi group.
* ''Film/IngloriousBasterds'' implies this. Shoshanna Dreyfuss is only seen briefly at the start but she appears to be a brunette. When she's living under a fake identity in Paris years later, her hair is blonde (and with visible roots to suggest it is dyed). Possibly as an attempt to look less Jewish and more Aryan -- as she is hiding from the Nazis.
* ''Film/{{Lockout}}''. Emilie ends up the only woman in the midst of a prison riot. Snow dyes her hair with coffee, motor oil, and other nasty stuff. Oh and a punch to the face to make her look more masculine.
* Inverted in ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'' where the lead's usual hair is dyed blonde during her time as an assassin. When she loses her memory, she lets her natural auburn hair grow out. The CIA is still able to recognize her on video, despite a drastically different style of clothing as well.
* At the end of ''Film/MidnightSpecial'', [[spoiler:Sarah is seen cutting and preparing to dye her hair to hide from the government]].
* Similarly, in ''Literature/SafeHaven'', the heroine cuts and dyes her hair (from blonde to brunette in the book, from brunette to blonde in the movie) to disguise her appearance before fleeing her abusive husband.
* Done by Evelyn Salt in the movie ''Film/{{Salt}}''. She dyes her blonde hair brown. And at the end [[spoiler:disguises herself as a man to sneak into the White House]].
* Played with in ''Film/{{Shadowboxer}}''. Vickie's hair is cut while she's on the run but she wears a blonde wig instead of dyeing. And after a few years have passed, she stops wearing the wig and her hair has grown back.
* Nancy Callahan changes from blonde to brunette (but still dances at the same strip club under her own name) between ''Film/SinCity'' and the sequel.
* Julia Roberts' character in ''Film/SleepingWithTheEnemy'' plays with this. Although she cuts her hair after faking her death, it's presented more as an ImportantHaircut and she doesn't look that much different afterwards. She wears a wig when travelling to her new town too.
* In ''Film/{{Species}}'', [[spoiler:after faking her death in a car crash with one of her own severed thumbs]] Sil cuts her long blonde hair shorter and dyes it black to hide from the scientists who are hunting her.
* Attempted by a cavewoman mother in ''Film/WhenDinosaursRuledTheEarth'' with tar, as that tribe had a tradition of sacrificing blondes to the sun.
* In Dutch UsefulNotes/WW2 drama ''Film/{{Zwartboek}}'', AKA ''Black Book'', in order to spy on the Nazis, the Jewish main character Racheal had to dye her brown hair blond, and not just the hair on her head (since this is a Paul Verhoeven film, guess which part was shown).
* Inverted in ''Film/TheBoondockSaints II: All Saint's Day''. On deciding to return to the Boston to continue fighting the Mafia, Murphy and Connor shave off their long beards and cut their hair down to its usual length, which both of them note afterwards wasn't very smart, since now they look just like their Wanted posters again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Sharrow in [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]'s ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground'' goes so far as to shave her head in an attempt to throw off her pursuers.
* In ''The Avengers'' by Rich Cohen, a book about a band of Jewish guerillas who fought against the Nazis during WWII (''not'' about Marvel superheroes), a female member of the band dyes her dark hair blond to appear less Jewish. It isn't completely successful as the dark roots of her hair are still visible through the blond dye which at least one Nazi officer notices, though she manages to get away from him in time.
* In ''The Awakening'' by Kelley Armstrong, Chloe's blonde-with-red-streaks hair is recognized by a bystander, and so she is forced to dye it black. Since she's a sheltered fifteen-year-old and the new color looks atrocious, this is very upsetting to her.
* Creator/ShannonHale's ''Literature/BooksOfBayern'': Used by Ani (Isi) in ''The Goose Girl''. Since only her countrymen (read: the traitors that want to KILL her) have blond hair, she tries to dye her butt-length yellow locks. Subverted in that she can't find enough brown dye, as it's uncommon in Bayern, and settles for wearing a scarf and only dying her eyebrows.
* [[spoiler:Princess Halley]], aka Cira of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', is a SignificantGreenEyedRedhead who dyes her hair black [[spoiler:so people won't realize that she's part of the royal family]].
** There is [[spoiler:also the adopted child]] whose hair is dyed in order to blend in better.
* In order to hide their naturally blonde hair, Kaunians in Harry Turtledove's ''Literature/DarknessSeries'' start doing this. When the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Algarvians]] discover this thanks to [[CorruptCop Officer]] [[FatIdiot Bembo]], they start randomly, [[FanDisservice and rather invasively]], checking people for blonde roots on any of their hairs, with offenders being dragged off to [[HumanSacrifice control camps]]. Vanai manages to augment the dye job with a simple illusion spell to grant her a Forthwegian appearance, allowing her to marry Ealstan.
* In ''Dragon and Phoenix'', Maurynna has to dye her hair and skin to traverse part of Jehangalan without drawing attention to the fact that her ethnicity isn't represented there at all. Her friend Raven wants to do the same, but the dyes would not work well on his brilliantly red hair or his pale, freckled skin.
* Downplayed in ''Literature/TheFamousFive'' book ''Five Get Into Trouble''. When Richard is in danger of being seen by his arch-enemy Rooky, Julian tells him to rub soot over his yellow hair, to blacken it. At first, Rooky is fooled; but a bit later, he demands to have another look, and recognises Richard after all.
%%* Abby in ''The Firm''.
* ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'': In ''The Republic of Thieves'', we find out [[FateWorseThanDeath what the Jeremites do to redheaded girls]]. It's bad enough that even [[TheFagin the Thiefmaker]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards is appalled by it]]… and [[spoiler:makes darn sure that Sabetha always dyes and covers her red hair.]]
* ''Literature/GodsAndWarriors'': While helping Hylas escape from the Crows in ''The Outsiders'', Telamon gives him walnut juice to conceal his yellow hair.
* In ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'', Dusty Miller and Andy Stevens both have their hair dyed black so that they can pass for Greek fishermen, instead of the saboteurs they actually are. After the scene on the cliff, Captain Mallory notices that the rain is starting to wash the dye out of Stevens' hair, and is furious because their superiors supplied them with low-quality dye, which could cost a man his life if they were discovered. This was somewhat of a moot point, since [[spoiler:Stevens was already half-dead from falling into a ravine, and they could no longer have passed for fishermen at this stage in the plan anyway.]]
* The protagonists of ''Literature/TheHealingWars'' cut and dye their hair to avoid being recognised after they're declared wanted criminals. Aylin in particular dyes her red hair black in order to pass for Baseeri (the occupying force). Later in the series, when the characters travel to Baseer, they all dye their hair black and Nya uses a false braid made of Aylin's cut-off hair as further disguise.
* Somewhat like the Polgara example below, it's mentioned a time or two in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' stories that Companions can't be dyed -- or rather, the dye job never lasts long enough to do much good.
* ''Literature/LorienLegacies'': In ''Literature/IAmNumberFour'', Number 4/John Smith bleaches his dark hair blond when he has to move cities (ironically inverted in the film where he is played by the naturally blond Alex Pettyfer). He has to do it ''again'' in the next book ''The Power of Six'' when he actually is on the run from the law. He and Sam are forced to shave their heads. Number Six doesn't have to do this since she has the power of invisibility.
* Zakath grows a beard as part of not being recognized in ''Literature/TheMalloreon''. Belgarath dyes Garion's sandy blond hair dark brown for the trek across Morindimland. Polgara has tried dying her hair in the past to hide, but her skunk stripe always comes back and makes it impossible.
** Reversed nicely at one point in the prequel novels. Dye won't adhere to Polgara's white lock, and she's trying to be undercover. So Belgarath (in his wandering storyteller disguise) starts telling ladies across the western kingdoms that the latest fashion in hairdressing is dark hair with a dyed-white streak in it.
* ''Literature/MayasNotebook'': In Las Vegas, Maya ends up dyeing her bleached hair black so as to go unnoticed by Brandon Leeman's mooks, who killed him and are looking for her. It leaves her with odd stains on her scalp that become visible much later, after [[HumiliatingWager she loses a bet and ends up shaving her head]].
* In the Holocaust-set novel ''Literature/NumberTheStars'', Peter has distinctive red hair and must keep a hat on it to avoid the Nazis from finding him.
* Both Aiden and Meg Falconer in ''Literature/OnTheRun''. Meg bleaches and cuts her dark hair, while Aiden dyes his blond hair brown.
* In ''Literature/TheOutsiders'', Johnny cuts and dyes Ponyboy's hair blonde when they go on the run after Bob's death.
* ''Literature/RoseMadder'': Rose isn't ''trying'' to disguise herself when she impulsively dyes her brown hair to blonde, but the dye job does save her at least once from being recognized by her AxCrazy husband when he's hunting her in order to kill her for leaving him.
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheSilverCrown''. Ellen is on the run, and Otto suggests that she cut her hair to look more like a boy and throw off the people who will be looking for a girl. As all they have is Otto's pen knife, Ellen refuses.
* Various characters in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', as Westerosi families are pretty well ColourCodedForYourConvenience.
** Sansa has the distinctive auburn hair of the Tullys. So she dyes her hair a more normal mousy brown [[spoiler:while disguised as 'Alayne Stone']].
** Princess Myrcella has her distinctive Lannister hair dyed and her companion stands in for her while travelling to Dorne.
** 'Young Griff' dyes his hair blue in memory of his Tyroshi mother. Or so he claims. It's later revealed to be in order to disguise [[spoiler:the distinctive silver hair of (it's claimed) Aegon Targaryen]].
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** In ''[[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]'' Corran Horn dyes his hair and grows a goatee in order to attend Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy without openly being a hero of the Rebellion and drawing too much attention. The dye, being [[WeWillNotUseStageMakeupInTheFuture special dye with a metabolizing agent]], is initially misused, making him green-haired from head to toe, and he has to call his old Space Cop partner for help.
** ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Isard's Revenge]]'' has Wedge Antilles donning a cyborg guise and growing out a beard in order to disguise his famous face while on TheInfiltration.
** The cyborg disguise is a CallBack to ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge's Gamble]]'' where he impersonates the same person when infiltrating Coruscant.
* ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'': Kassandra [=DeMarian=] in ''The Painter Knight'' is a literal FieryRedhead, [[KingIncognito hiding from assassins]]. Her hair is cut and dirtied brown, and her [[FireballEyeballs eyes]] are covered by a see-through cloth with the intent to make her appear blind.
* [[spoiler:Elizabeth]] does this in ''Tell No One'' after [[spoiler:faking her death]]. Also owns a collection of wigs just to be safe. Her counterpart in the French film adaptation doesn't do this. Ironically it's the haircut that [[spoiler:convinces her husband it's not an impostor when she tries to get back in contact -- as he guesses that someone trying to fool him would try to make themselves look exactly as Elizabeth had when she apparently died]].
* In ''Literature/TheThiefLord'', Hornet dyed Bo's angel-like blond hair black with ink [[spoiler:to fool the detective that was searching for Bo and his brother.]]
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Nynaeve, Elayne, and Birgitte do this while attempting to travel across country incognito in one of the middle books. In Birgitte's case, it's particularly necessary as her [[BraidsOfAction blonde braid]] is one of her most well-known features and would instantly alert people to her identity.
* In ''Literature/WhereAreTheChildren'', Nancy has naturally red-gold hair (which her children Mike and Missy have inherited), but ever since coming out of prison seven years ago she's dyed her hair dark brown so she's less recognisable. Ray (her husband) considers asking Nancy to let the dye grow out and go back to her natural colour, but he knows Nancy doesn't feel secure enough for him to broach the subject. [[spoiler:In the ending, Ray finally encourages to get her hair changed for her birthday, saying he thinks she'd look great as a redhead; it's implied she'll take him up on the offer given she no longer has to hide]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* In the eighth season premiere of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', [[spoiler:when Brennan became a fugitive after being framed for murder, she uses peroxide on her hair to pass for blond as a disguise.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]", [[spoiler:the Master]] is assumed to have dyed his hair [[spoiler:to avoid being recognized as the former Prime Minister]]. In reality, [[spoiler:it [[LockedIntoStrangeness turned white]] because his resurrection was screwed up]].
* Dr. Richard Kimble dyes his grey hair black in ''Series/TheFugitive''.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones''. Sansa Stark has her distinctive red hair dyed black after fleeing Kings Landing. The dye is washed out when she enters an ArrangedMarriage for political reasons, where it's important she is identified as one of the Starks.
* Done in the TV adaptation of the Covert-One novel ''The Hades Factor'', with the character in question (going from redhead to blonde) referred to as the "Killer Blonde version".
* Used in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', season one, "Five Years Gone". Claire's iconic blond locks have been dyed brown.
* In the ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' episode 'Methuselah's Gift', Amanda does this when she's being chased by mortals who want her crystal. She bleaches her dark hair white.
* In ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', Gaku Washio ([=GaoYellow=]) bleaches his hair to disguise himself because he's officially AWOL from the Japanese Air Force.
* ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'': In "Son of a Gun", Rachel has her long hair cut short to allow her to infiltrate the skinhead subculture (and wears a wig when she is in the police station).
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': One of Kate's flashbacks reveals she spent some time with her hair dyed blonde to hide from the federal agents hunting for her. Another set of flashbacks show her still a brunette but with a much shorter bob, which isn't quite as effective but the Marshall was being generous at the time.
* Attempted by a suspect in ''Series/{{NCIS}}''. She walks right past Tony and Ziva thanks to a dye job, but they catch her after they find hair dye residue in the hotel room she had recently vacated.
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E12DesperateMeasures Desperate Measures]]" follows two female inmates, Lara Pope and Jane "Hitch" Harrelson, who had escaped from a prison bus that was attacked by [[OutlawCouple the boyfriends of two other inmates]]. Lara was falsely accused of murder by her ex-husband, Garrett, while Hitch was sentenced to life for killing three men. Seeking help from Lara's uncle Walt, the women change their hair color to avoid being recognized, with Lara going from blonde to redhead and Hitch from redhead to brunette. The dye and the new clothes were enough to fool Gage[[note]]who has [[VehicularSabotage his motorcycle's drive belt cut off by two thugs who were harassing the two women]] while he was on his way back to Dallas following a charity motorcycle ride[[/note]] and a State Trooper[[note]]who pulls the two women and Gage over for speeding after they unknowingly give him a ride back into town[[/note]], at least until Lara told Gage the truth when Hitch decided to kill them both, to which she is apprehended while Lara gets away. While the authorities were fooled for a while, it doesn't fool Garrett and his men when they find Lara reunited with her son, Griffin, at his school.
* Implied in ''{{Series/Wednesday}}''. Laurel Gates is identified in family portraits by being blonde-haired, and [[spoiler: when she turns up alive, it's as the red-haired Miss Thornhill, who presumably dyed it to properly conceal her identity as a member of the outcast-hating family in Jericho]].
* ''Series/{{The Witcher|2019}}'': While on the run Ciri rubs dirt in her blonde hair to try and disguise its distinctive shade. It's not very effective, and mostly just makes her look dirty, and she very quickly stops doing it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', you can meet former crewmember Kelly Chambers, now on the run. You have the option of convincing her to change her identity; if you do, she dyes her brown hair blond and changes her name. If you don't, she gets killed when Cerberus attacks the Citadel.
* Max Payne shaves his head as a quickie disguise in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3''. He admits that it's kind of a stupid disguise, and he gets made fun of for it later.
* Sonny Bonds needs to dye his hair as part of his undercover disguise in ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest1InPursuitOfTheDeathAngel''.
* Heather/[[spoiler:Cheryl/Alessa]], in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'', has her hair dyed blond as part of her disguise to avoid the titular town's cult. Her father probably does this from the time she's young, and she apparently continues doing it when she gets older. She is a teenager, however, so it might have been a style choice. In a meta sense, it also hides her identity from the player, since her natural black hair would make it pretty obvious who she really is.
* In ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'', Kara changes her hair colour while on the run to help avoid being identified as the deviant android whose image is all over the news. The player gets a choice between black, brown, blonde, and platinum-white, all of which are flatter than her previous layered dark-honey-blonde, and Kara will sport that colour for the rest of the game.
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[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheNoordegraafFiles'',[[CuteButPsycho Violet]] dyes her hair blonde after she is rescued from her kidnappers. Akila, who is telling this part of the story, quotes the trope name verbatim.
-->-- ''"If you're on the run, it's an easy way to stay hidden. Dye or die, so to speak."''
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': In "Jailbird and Jailbunny", Daffy dyes himself and Bugs blond (or yellow) after they escape from prison. [[PaperThinDisguise This is enough to stop a cop from recognizing them despite holding a wanted poster with their pictures on it, and Bugs confessing who they are.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "The Dad Who Knew Too Little", Homer and Lisa are hiding from a private detective. Lisa rubs black dye into her hair and Homer tries to use a big blob of it to give himself an Elvis-style do.
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