Women Dye Hair Blonde Amid Recession

Celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton revealed a 67 per cent surge in the sales of his blonde hair products compared to this time last year.

And after quizzing his customers, Barton said the “gold rush” showed a simple change of colour was providing women with the perfect antidote to the gloom of the credit crunch.

“I don’t believe it is purely a coincidence that there’s been a huge sales rise in blonde hair products during these tough financial times,” said Barton, resident hair expert on C4’s Ten Years Younger and British Hairdresser of the Year.

“Many of my female clients say they feel more confident, more youthful and more attractive when they go blonde and they get more attention.

“With only 10 per cent of UK women having naturally blonde hair, choosing to be blonde must be more than about how you look.”

A survey of 1,200 customers in Asda, where Barton’s Shiny Happy Hair range is sold, found the perception that blondes were ‘extrovert’ and ‘more sexy’.

Meanwhile, 90 per cent of male respondents said they believe blondes have more fun.

Barton highlighted the influence of blonde icons over the years, from Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe through to Debbie Harry and Madonna.

The current most influential blonde bombshell, he said, is Paris Hilton, the millionaire heiress who arrived in the UK this week to promote her new reality TV show Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend.

The top 10 most popular blonde stereotypes revealed in the survey:

1. Extrovert

2. More sexy

3. Childlike ignorance

4. Make better girlfriends

5. Will kiss on a first date

6. More fun on a night out

7. More popular

8. Spontaneous

9. More wealthy

10. Dumb