The blond advantage: fair hair completely changed my life – but is it time to give it up?

When I first dyed my hair, the difference in how I was treated made me assume life got better the more you lightened your look. I have now spent years testing the theory ...

I saw the light at 22. Since my teens, I had been dyeing my naturally mousy hair very dark brown. Shades such as “mahogany” and “praline” were unforgiving against my pale skin, but that wasn’t important to me. As a teenager, I was desperate to be taken seriously and thought of as smart, maybe even intimidating. I wanted to be brunette to signal that I had chosen books over looks.

Then, one day, shortly after I started my first job, it dawned on me: I didn’t have to do all that. It took two sessions with a professional to lighten my defiantly darkened hair, but I felt lighter at once. It was as if the bleach had seeped through to my brain, lifting not just my locks but my disposition.

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The one change that worked: I got out of my car in the middle of my commute and sat under the trees

Three years ago, when I was stuck in a traffic jam, I decided to stop to visit a park I’d passed by many times. Now, I go there at least one morning a week. I must have passed it 100 times. Until ...
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I was always terrified of confrontation. Then I hit my 40s | Arwa Mahdawi

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‘I’ll retire when I’m dead’: My 401(k) lost $50,000 in the market turmoil. I’m in my early 40s. What should I do now?

“I have no clue how the funds in my 401(k) are invested.”
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Experience: I moved in with my partner the day we met – now we’re married

Four days after she arrived I thought: this is it. I bought an engagement ring. The first time I saw Rachel was on Bumble. We matched, but then both ended up taking a break from dating apps. So ...
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A moment that changed me: Crohn’s left me in constant pain. An operation restored my appetite for life

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My wife is my best friend. How do I tell her I want an open marriage?

I want us to stay together, but our sex drives are very different and I need to feel desired without the guilt of a secret affair. I am a thirtysomething woman and have been with my partner ...
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I adore my children. I’m also scared that one day my son will kill me

In the UK, more than 170 women have been murdered by their sons in the past 15 years. An anonymous mother reveals what it is like to be frightened of your child while desperately wanting to support ...
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My boyfriend wants us to move in together – but I need my independence and his dog won’t let us have sex

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Sanders: 'These are the scariest times in my life'

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says “these are the scariest times in my life” because of Elon Musk's growing power and what the former presidential candidate described as both an “oligarchy” and “the ...
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