For many months the color pink has been at the forefront of fashion and interior design. Not since the 1950s has pink been so in vogue – but there is a dark side to that bubble gum, little-girl hue that could be appropriate material for a Stephen King novel. People most often associate pink with femininity, softness, sweetness, a little girl’s dream bedroom, but the color pink has some seriously negative health effects that you should be aware of before you succumb to its questionable charms. Pink is so associated with femininity that it was the color selected to represent breast cancer research – but what a great pity they chose this color since it has a very weakening effect on the endocrine system.
There is a huge amount of misinformation circulating in fashion and decorating magazines and books about the effects of color. Why? Because some writers do not do their homework thoroughly enough. They repeat the same old myths without ever finding out if the information they are repeating was accurate to begin with. After spending years as color researchers, we grew increasingly frustrated at seeing so much incorrect information being published about color that we decided to set the record straight in a book in the hope of replacing myths with facts (Color: The Secret Influence, Prentice Hall 2000 & 2004).
We did our own research, and reviewed thousands of research papers checking for accuracy and making sure the studies were run with proper controls and on a large enough group to be meaningful. During this process we learned some disturbing things about the color pink.
You may have heard that pink is calming and relaxing. Wrong – or let’s be generous and say that is a seriously flawed statement. Original studies done on prisoners showed that when a holding cell was painted pink the prisoners seemed calmer for about 15 minutes and were easier to process. They were observed to be “in a humorous and restful mood.” Stories immediately found their way into national newspapers – but what was reported was only half the story; the full results of the study were not published. When prisoners were left in the holding cells for 30 minutes or longer everything changed. They became hostile and violent. After being left for four hours in a pink cell, one inmate went completely berserk, tore the cell apart and became so violent he had to be subdued. This part of the study was in complete agreement with other studies done on animals which showed that pink light adversely affected their behavior, even causing some to become cannibalistic. Further investigation disclosed that the relaxing effects of pink last for less than 30 minutes. If a person is exposed for longer than 30 minutes, a reversal usually occurs causing hostility and increased strength. It appears that the calming effects of pink are only temporary. But what is significant is that these effects do occur. Further studies need to be done to determine the exact cause, but it is thought that the color pink acts directly on the endocrine system causing a change in the body’s chemical balance. So what does this mean to you? It means that in your real, everyday life pink has a very bad effect on your body.
Within 2.7 seconds of exposure to pink, it is already at work playing havoc with your endocrine system, depressing your immune system and sapping your strength by causing muscle weakness and fatigue. It is at this point that the “relaxation” occurs, but at what cost? Your emotions also suffer since irritability sets in within about 30 minutes, with hostility and aggression following right behind. In children’s rooms pink can be the cause of temper tantrums, tears, and may even be associated with long-term behavior problems.
Some people are skeptical about how this can possibly be true . Perhaps a brief background on what color actually is can help clear up the picture. The simple answer is: color is energy. Color and light are inseparable; you can’t have one without the other. Color/light are part of the vast electromagnetic spectrum that contains brain waves, radio and TV signals, X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet, microwaves and so on. So, when looked at from that perspective it is perhaps easier to understand how the wavelength energy in color can have an effect on our bodies. Color/light enters our bodies not just through the eyes. The body’s largest color/light receptor is the skin. If you have any doubts about that, just remember your last sunburn.
When we do color seminars for design professionals or in university courses, we begin with a dramatic demonstration on the effects of pink and blue which shows within three seconds how pink weakens while blue is restorative. Think about the impact of pink on generations of little girls growing up in pink bedrooms while little boys are traditionally treated to the strengthening effects of blue. In our interior design practice, we simply refuse to do pink rooms for children – or anyone else. Using coral or peach instead can provide a similar feel without the negative aspects of pink. Thinking pink? Just say “No!”
Copyrighted Cherie Fehrman and Kenneth Fehrman, 2007. All rights reserved.
