Is it true... blondes have more fun?

A beautiful blonde graces the cover of Spotlight this month (1/2009). Smart, gifted and hard-working, Nicole Kidman would probably be as successful if she were a brunette. But to make it in Hollywood, many actresses have found it helpful to be fair-haired and fair-skinned. In the early days of film, the camera loved blonde hair, which stood out dramatically against the set. But later on being blonde became less important. Film technology changed and cameramen found other ways to make the stars shine. The big revolution for brunettes, however, came from outside Hollywood, through the Clairol "Blonde" advertising campaigns beginning in 1956, which popularized artificial hair colour for every woman by asking, "Does she… or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure." A little later they asked, "Is it true… blondes have more fun?"

Lady Clairol Blonde @ Yahoo! Video

Now anyone can dye their hair blonde. Having a stunning head of hair is a matter of having the right hairdresser. But of course beautiful blondes will continue to turn heads and sell magazines. After all, deep down inside, we just know they are special, and we think they might be having some fun we ought to know about. Am I right?

This week, come explore the cultural history of being and going blonde and learn the vocabulary you need to talk about beautiful hair.

Anne Hodgson