Kate's Blog

I wore a blonde wig as Ursala Swartzinvinger, the Swedish Olympic athlete, in a drama production recently. Being blond for a few minutes each day was fun and I thought I would do a little research on why that might be.

First of all I found Brunettes are usually perceived as being sweet and innocent. One site said it this way “Sure, she may sit with her nose in a book every once in a while, but smart chicks are hot! This is the one you take home to momma. She isn't a one night kinda girl, most of the time. Classic good looks, sultry dark locks, maybe she is a little shy, but that just makes you want to try harder! Right?!”

A study done by Clairol colorists found that brunettes project an image that is grounded and stable. Brunettes are often described as serious, sophisticated, intelligent, independent, and self-sufficient. Allure magazine did a survey and found that 76% of American women think that the first female president will have brown hair. And according to another study 51% of men think brunettes are more attractive.

According to Wikipedia only 1%-2% of the human population has red hair, but another article I found claims 3% of the population is said to be red haired. Red heads, like blondes, tend to stand out because of the rarity of the hair color. They typically are perceived as the feisty, femme fatale, Irish tough girls or as homely with freckles, frizzy orange hair, and fair lashes; As result there is a stereotype that redheads are either drop-dead gorgeous or unattractive.

According to a personality quiz entitled “What your hair color says about you” I am a red head… but those things are always way off.

What Your Hair Color says about you Your Result: Stylish and a trend setter You seem like a red head(or atleast that is what your quiz said).You probaly have a great sense of fashion and people probaly come up to you and ask you where you got your outfit. When you wear something people feel like they can wear it just because you did.
Athletic and a Leader
Brainy and Ditsy
Rebel and opnionated
What Your Hair Color says about you Make a Quiz

All of that and I was thinking, “Then why do we always say blondes have more fun”? One hair colorist said it best… “Wearing blond hair is like wearing high heels. It’s a statement and an attitude.” Supposedly the human eye is drawn to lighter shades which explains why blondes get more attention. I also discovered that 3 in 4 blondes are bottle blondes and that a real blonde is quite a rarity. In a brief from Psychology Today I found this:

Peter Frost, a researcher at the University of St. Andrew's, says fair coloring was rare in Europe until the Pleistocene. Men were also scarce due to a high death rate on hunting expeditions. The unbalanced sex ratio may have allowed men to be choosier when selecting a mate. Frost believes men were attracted to rare traits, giving rise to today's fair-haired Swedish models.

Blondes are typically perceived as being the cheerleader or popularity prone women. Blondes tend to have more friends, get more attention, and are perceived as being “high maintenance”.

After finding out how blondes are perceived and that most of them are faux blondes and comparing it to how brunettes are perceived I decided I like my hair color the way it is and there is no way I’m going blond… but the wig is fun anyway.