People Are Mad About This Girl's "Unicorn Hair"

When I was little, nothing in life would have made me happier than having the rainbow mane of a beautiful unicorn (except, maybe, actually being a unicorn), so my primary reaction to this little girl with unicorn hair is intense envy. But, since this is the Internet and all, some people aren’t content to allow this child to let her glorious unicorn flag fly, and they’ve instead criticized her mother for helping her with her rainbow transformation. Folks, can’t we just let this joyful baby unicorn LIVE?

Mary Thomaston is a professional hair stylist in Florida, with a 6 and a half-year-old daughter, Lyra. Last month, she posted images on Instagram and Facebook of Lyra getting a new hairstyle: Long teal locks, with a shaved side and a colorful sun pattern. “All her own idea. She's been asking for this for awhile. I finally gave in,” Thomaston commented on one post. Before pulling the trigger on the vivid hair, Thomaston checked with Lyra’s school to make sure the color wouldn’t be a problem. “On orientation day, we got the go-ahead,” she told TODAY.

Most of the comments on social media about Lyra’s hair are positive, with many people, like me, basically turning into the human embodiment of the heart-eyes emoji upon viewing the photos. I mean, just look at this:

I want this on my own head right now. (Some of my envy with this hairstyle may have to do with the fact that, when I was Lyra’s age, my mom decided to experiment with my hair, which resulted in me getting an at-home perm the day before my kindergarten picture day. Images of 5-year-old me with a giant blonde poodle-poof on my head will haunt me forever. Lyra’s awesome rainbow locks represent everything that could have been.)

Although much of the response has been positive, some commenters have said that Lyra is too young for hair dye, and have accused Thomaston of treating her daughter like a doll or, worse, of putting her in harm’s way. She assured TODAY that her daughter has been perfectly safe, saying, “Some people are saying I'm poisoning her by putting these toxic chemicals on her scalp — I'm not.” She uses Manic Panic. “It's non-toxic; it's not harmful. It's basically a super, highly pigmented conditioner. I'm not going to harm my child,” she explained.

In an Instagram comment, Thomaston fired back at the critics, writing,

I have this weird goal of raising self confident, self assured children, who know and feel the freedom of self-expression. So when my child asks for blue hair, I tell her how much I like her choice and how beautiful she is. Even better, I do it with quality products, that not only respect the integrity of her hair, but also fades out with time.

And as for accusations that Lyra is too young to have colorfully dyed hair, Thomaston thinks she’s just the right age, writing,

[W]hen you’re a grown up with crazy-colored hair, people say that such things are for kids. It’s a contradiction. I say why not let them have fun while they’re young! Who knows what type of job she may end up with, but a lot of them won’t allow unnatural colors. When you think about it that way, it’s actually the perfect time to let them experiment with color.

She’s not wrong.

The important thing is that Lyra seems psyched about her teal hair. So let’s lay off the criticism and admire this adorable little unicorn instead, OK?

Images: Sally Anscombe/Stocksy; Courtesy of Mary Thomaston