History Main / ElderlyBlueHairedLady

*** Marge admitted she dyes her hair, although she stole the tape.

->''"Now the goose is on the table,''\\
''And the pudding made of fig, ahh,''\\
''And the blue and silver candles''\\
''That would just have matched the hair in Grandma's wig."''
->-- '''Elmo & Patsy''', "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

[[caption-width-right:330: One of her MANY hair colors.]]

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone becomes a SilverFox with age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

* In ''AmeliasNotebook'', there is one occasion where the title character zones out in the lunch line and almost mistakes an elderly cafeteria worker for one of her troll dolls due to her blue-tinted hair.

* By the end of ''Auntie Mame'', the title character's hair "which had all gone to gray, was rinsed to a delicate periwinkle blue". Her great-nephew notices this:

* Mrs. Slocombe from ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' often dyed her hair some odd color nearly every episode. Usually it was blue.

* Briefly in an episode of ''{{iCarly}}'', there was a ''green''-haired old lady (who sucks on a baby pacifier).

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone becomes a SilverFox with age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone becomes a [[SilverFox]] with age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone become [[SilverFox Silver Foxes]] as they age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

* In AmeliasNotebook, there is one occasion where the title character zones out in the lunch line and almost mistakes an elderly cafeteria worker for one of her troll dolls due to her blue-tinted hair.

* Mrs.Slocombe from ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' often dyed her hair some odd color nearly every episode. Usually it was blue.
* Phyllis Pearce in ''CoronationStreet''
* Briefly in an episode of ''{{iCarly}}'', there was a ''green''-haired old lady. (Who sucks on a baby pacifier.)

* Grandma Yetta from TheNanny.

* Referenced in "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", as quoted above.

* Agnes Skinner, Seymour's [[MyBelovedSmother "beloved smother-I mean, mother"]] from ''TheSimpsons''.

''That would just have matched the hair in Grandma's wig."''\\

-- Elmo & Patsy, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

[[caption-width-right:330: [[Series/AreYouBeingServed One of her MANY hair colors]].]]

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Music]]

-->''"Now the goose is on the table,''
-->''And the pudding made of fig, ahh,''
-->''And the blue and silver candles''
-->''That would just have matched the hair in Grandma's wig."''
-->--Elmo & Patsy, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

* In AmeliasNotebook, there is one occasion where the title character zones out in the lunch line and almost mistakes an elderly cafeteria worker for one of her troll dolls due to her blue-tinted hair.

-->She pressed her nose against Mike's and looked into his eyes. "I've never ''seen'' hair the color of yours, my little love. It's so red!"
-->"I've never seen hair the color of yours, either," Mike said. "It's ... it's so ''blue''!"

* Thelma Harper from [=~Mama's Family~=], who was once even referred to as a "blue-haired old dragon" by her daughter-in-law.

[[AC:{{Webcomic}}s]]

** Although it's worth noting that blue is a natural hair color in ''TheSimpsons'', so it might not be dyed.

<<|{{Elders}}|>>

[[quoteright:330:[[AreYouBeingServed http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mrs_Slocombe_7290.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330: [[AreYouBeingServed One of her MANY hair colors]].]]

* Mrs.Slocombe from ''AreYouBeingServed'' often dyed her hair some odd color nearly every episode. Usually it was blue.

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone become [[SilverFox]]es as they age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone greys as they age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general (and still used in [[BritishPoliticalSystem politics]] to describe old Tory women who don't think women should participate in politics, and make sure that happens by taking control of local branches of the Conservative Party).

Grey hair has often been considered a sign of respectable old age. Unfortunately, not everyone greys as they age: those with one or two [=MC1R=] variant alleles will instead find that their hair turns an ugly dirty yellow with age. Older women in the 1970s and earlier who wanted to be gracefully grey would therefore get their stylists to treat their yellowing hair with a blue rinse, which with luck would tone down the yellow and leave a silver grey. It didn't always work - not everyone's hair absorbs the same amount of dye - and many older women walked around with distressingly blue hair. This led to this trope and also to the phrase "the blue rinse set", used in the 70s and 80s to describe older women in general.

* Thelma Harper from [=~Mama's Family~=], who was once ever referred to as a "blue-haired old dragon" by her daughter-in-law.

* Thelma Harper from ''Mama'sFamily'', who was once ever referred to as a "blue-haired old dragon" by her daughter-in-law.