Aug

2012

12:25pm, EDT

Why do so many women go blonde?

With the new 'do, Cyrus joined the throngs of women around the world who choose to go blonde.

So, what's the appeal?

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At its root, the desire to have light hair represents an urge to look different, said Peter Frost, an anthropologist at Laval University in Quebec City. Most people have dark hair, so blondes stand out.

The urge to be blonde may also be driven by deep evolutionary history beginning many millennia ago when light shades first appeared on women's manes, allowing them to turn the heads of potential mates.

"The more common a hair color becomes, the less often it is preferred," Frost said. "It's a kind of novelty effect. The moment you become ordinary, you no longer have the same appeal. There's selection for being a bit different and eye-catching."

Modern humans evolved in Africa. Even after migrating to Europe about 35,000 years ago, scientists think that all people had black hair. Then, sometime between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago in northern and eastern Europe, studies suggest, the hair-color gene MC1R developed variations that produced a diversity of hues, including red, brown and blonde.

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Eye color, which is controlled by several genes, including one called OCA2, diversified at the same time. Some researchers have speculated that lighter hair and eyes helped people better acquire vitamin D in a high-latitude environment. Frost has a different theory.

During the last Ice Age, he proposes, men had to travel longer distances through Arctic tundra to find animals to hunt. That led to higher death rates for men as well as a decreased chance for polygamy because it would have been nearly impossible to support more than one family with such a scarcity of food.

As women came to outnumber the supply of monogamous men, they had to become more competitive for male attention. In evolutionary terms, this produced strong sexual selection for novel hair and eye colors. Women with unusually bright looks were eye-catching and appealing.

Men didn't experience the same pressure, which might explain why it is still more common for women to be born blonde, and why it takes longer for blonde hair to darken on girls than it does on boys.

Even today, Frost said, the market for blonde hair dye is greater among women in places like Latin America, where naturally light locks are particularly unusual. In Sweden, where a large proportion of people are blonde, women often darken their hair. Purple, magenta and other unusual hues have also become popular.

In addition to the desire to stand out, going blonde might represent a subconscious attempt to look young and cute. That's because, along with broad foreheads and little noses, blonde hair is also more common in young children than in adults.

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All of that hair coloring may pay off for women, suggests some research. In a study published in April in The Journal of Socio-Economics, for example, French waitresses earned more money in tips from male customers if they wore blonde wigs.

Other research, which included more than 12,000 American men using a popular dating website, found that men showed a slight preference for blondes over other hair colors, said Jena Pincott, author of the book, "Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes?: The Science Behind Sex, Love, and Attraction." Polish men have been shown to prefer blonde hair on women who are older than 25, a finding that supports the youthful-look theory.

For modern women, the benefits might be psychological more than anything else.

"If being a blonde makes you feel more attractive, you'll be more confident, seek more attention, and likely get it," Pincott said. "Then you'll have more fun."

Once blonde hair becomes too common, though, it may lose some of its appeal.

Some research has shown that single men prefer pictures of blonde women if embedded in a series of brunettes. But if the men see mostly blondes, brunettes become more attractive to them. Scandinavian men, who are surrounded by blondes from birth, often say they prefer women with darker hair.

"Modern men are attracted to blond hair for the same reason as their Ice Age counterparts: It's eye-catching and, much of the time, rarer," Pincott said. But, she added, "Even the most dazzling shade won't help you stand out if everyone has it."

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DUH!-2004613

I am a natural blonde and have recently at age 40 something gone brunette, i love it and my husband and I both think it makes me look younger! I will stay this colour for some time yet but who knows maybe down the road i will go blonde again.

1 vote

#1 - Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:21 PM EDT

Barbara Postid

There are so many blondes around now that it has become a cliché.

If being blonde works with a woman's complexion and eye color, that's great. But, there are lots of women around who you can tell right off that the color is fake because it doesn't work with their coloration. Jessica Simpson, Tori Spelling, Ashley Tisdale, and Britney Murphy (R.I.P.) are the first who come to mind.

2 votes

#2 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:23 AM EDT

Reba-587597

Tori Spelling's hair is awful as a blonde. She was a redhead for a while on 90210 and it looked so much better.

1 vote

#2.1 - Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:14 PM EDT

eneedhelp

It is easier to hide the grey and doesn't stain the skin. Plus as you age, you get paler and look better in blonder shades. Red can make older women look like clowns and black hair overpowers the older face, making you look more washed out and fake.

3 votes

#3 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:26 AM EDT

meh1956

I like it because it's easier to cover the grey as well. I'll take 50 shades of blonde over 50 shades of grey any day.

4 votes

#4 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:44 AM EDT

Silverswan61

Blonde seems to be an expression of youth, and it's OK for women choose whatever hair color they feel most attractive in. I have always been a very dark brunette, and never tried to change the color, only covered the gray with dark brown. Now it doesn't look so natural over 50 and the silver will win out! I don't think I'd look good in blonde and neither does my husband. To each his own!

1 vote

#5 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:39 AM EDT

red12345

Blonde? eh. I'll keep my natural red hair thank you. Red hair will never lose it's appeal because in the US only 2-6% of the population has natural red hair. One really good thing about natural red.....I will never go grey. Red hair stays red longer and will naturally "fade" and lose it's brightness and will eventually turn blondish to white. I don't mind that. Hey, I'm 40 and have never dyed my hair.

2 votes

#6 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:58 AM EDT

Dancing Feet

red12345 I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is you're right, red heads go gray later. My mom is a natural redhead, and she is 66 with only a few stray grays. The bad news, not all red heads turn from red to blondish white. I have vivid memories of my great-grandmother, who was also a natural redhead in her youth, with definite gray hair. Granted, she was 95 at the time, but her hair was most definitely gray, not white.

I,unfortunately, did not inherit those awesome hair genes. I'm a brunette whose hair grayed before 40 like my dad. I find now that I have more than just a few strays, getting my hair colored a coppery brown, similar to how my hair lightened in the sun when I was a kid, both looks natural, and makes the gray roots not look so stark and noticable.

1 vote

#7 - Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:55 PM EDT

Reba-587597

I'm a natural blonde and I hate it although the hair on my arms and legs is blonde too. That part is great. When I was born it was white. Now, I dye it Red. It's great now. My hazel eyes really stand out! (Not trying to be the OTHER Reba). It looks funny when it grows the roots are lighter than the color instead of darker. Men tend to pay attention to redheads too.

One point of reference, there is no such thing as a natural blonde with brown eyes.

#8 - Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:12 PM EDT

homesick yank

If idea of being attracted to a less common hair color were true, then instead of dying their hair blond, more women would be dying their hair RED, since there are less redheads than blonds. So that theory doesn't hold water.

btw, I love redhair, wish I had it! (My hair is, unfortunately, graying mousy brown.)

1 vote

#9 - Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:24 AM EDT

Valerie J0

Women with brown hair are considered to be more serious and intelligent. I would never want to be blonde!

#10 - Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:34 PM EDT

Kathy-467503

There is nothing more beautiful than a head of gorgeous, natural blonde hair. Much of the fake blonde is not attractive though.

Take a poll of women world-wide and I'd bet the majority of all women would choose to be born as a natural blonde over any other hair color.

#11 - Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:58 PM EDT

Ron-2402090

They want to us guys that they are stupid, not very bright, have no common sense, before you talk to them but they are good in bed. Once you find out they are not a natural blond you do not care.

#12 - Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:12 PM EDT

Alice Bliss

I have several patches of silver-gray in my hair that refuse to take dye of any kind. Even a beautician couldn't get those patches covered. So, I took to lightening my hair to blend those patches in rather than completely cover them. I know this probably isn't the same reson many women color their hair, but it works for me.

1 vote

#13 - Sun Sep 2, 2012 10:28 AM EDT

briannetizen

I'm a guy, and I'm not attracted to blondes. Some of them seem to have this "i'm better than you" attitude towards brunettes. I notice this more when I am out in public with my GF. I don't think it's healthy for anyone to bleach their hair. Maybe one day we will find out it causes scalp cancer. So, if you're not born with it, probably best to stick to what is natural.

#14 - Fri Sep 7, 2012 5:57 PM EDT

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Why do so many women go blonde?

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