A woman branded a 'ginger minger' by bullies has now transformed into a blonde bombshell.
Carmen Rouse, 31, was cruelly teased throughout her school years due to the colour of her hair and her 'tom boy' style. At the time, she was part of the cadets and wasn't fazed by makeup.
As the taunting worsened, the Welsh lass decided to bleach her hair blonde before the start of the school year. But sadly, she was still tormented in the playground.
READ MORE: Woman called 'ginger minger' at school gets last laugh – by becoming bikini model
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It wasn't until Carmen hit her 20s and early 30s that she decided to go back to her roots – embracing her redhead style and landing a place in a bikini competition.
The model and opticians manager found a new confidence – and now enjoys experimenting with her appearance.
"I’ve gone blonde now," Carmen exclusively shared. "I just wanted a change. I got such a big reputation as ‘oh that’s the redhead’ and ‘she’s the red head’ which was quite nice.
"But, I feel like I just needed a change as I’ve been red for so many years now so I thought let’s go back to blonde and see how it goes.
"Not many people had the red hair that I had it became a phase where everyone is either blonde or brunette, there’s not many red heads about. But, ever since I’ve gone blonde I’ve noticed that a lot of people are actually dying there hair red now so it’s become ‘the’ thing.
"I feel like I look younger and I don’t have to wear as much makeup, as being a blonde you don’t need to wear as much makeup. Whereas when your red head, especially coloured hair I had, it’s quite a drastic tone so I feel like you’ve got to pile on your makeup.
"I do feel a lot more chilled in my makeup and a lot more natural. I do prefer it, to be honest, the blonde.
"I feel like there’s less effort having to get ready as I don’t have to put on as much makeup and I feel like I look a bit younger with it I hope."
Since she's gone blonde, Carmen has noticed a change in how men perceive her too. Even though she learned to love her auburn locks, she gets even more attention nowadays.
The singleton has been turning heads left, right and centre. She said: "I’ve noticed that the men seem to be turning their heads and complimenting me a lot, they must like blondes!
"On a night out I’ve noticed with the lads I already know and have come up and said ‘you look really nice with blonde hair’ so I seem to be getting more attention since going blonde.
"Whereas when I was a red head, I never really got much attention."
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With National Love Your Red Hair Day taking place in November, the model wants those with ginger locks to realise their beauty.
She believes that those with ginger tresses have a 'fiery' personality, and just because she's now blonde – she's not dulling down her character anytime soon.
For now, Carmen will remain blonde. Although, that doesn't mean she won't go back to her red roots.
"Embrace it," Carmen expressed. "Not everyone likes the red head but embrace it. We are known for the wilder side of our personalities, we’re a bit more fiery should I say makes sense with the hair colour really.
"I stayed red for so many years throughout the whole of the bullying and it made me want to stay red even more just because people didn’t like it so I was less likely to change it, to make them bullies their own way.
"But just embrace the red hair, it’s become a trending thing in 2023. I’m glad I was red for years and pushed through all the bullying and the only reason why I’ve gone blonde is because I want a bit of a change.
"Doesn’t mean I won’t be red again, I’ll probably end up being a red head again in the future when I get bored of being blonde."
You can find Carmen on Instagram, here.
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