While the recession has made weary Americans shy away from unnecessary spending, many women are fighting the blues with a different weapon: bleach. And lots of it.

An article recently published by the India Times said that the current economic recession is making more women dye their hair blond.

According to the article, salons reported a 67 percent increase in women going blond last year. With the blondes-have-more-fun ideal in mind, women may feel more confident and attractive with blond hair.

‘I think I’m more confident as a blonde,’ said Amanda Dwyer, a senior in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Whether it’s a slow economy or a boost while looking in the mirror, hair is something that can be a source of confidence for women. Hollywood stereotypes suggest that blond hair denotes sexiness and a more carefree lifestyle.

Whether or not blond hair is more attractive than other hair colors is subjective, but attractiveness could be a useful tool in getting or retaining a job in any economy, said Mark Ferguson, a professor of psychology at SU.

He added that being blond might make women feel more beautiful and fun in certain situations, boosting confidence and in turn helping women get what they want.

Junior English and textual studies major Jessica Scicchitano started dying her hair blond when she was 13. She says the main reason is that she wanted to enhance the way she looked. Even though she’s dyed her hair many different colors, she always goes back to the blond.

‘I started to feel like I ‘needed’ to be blond again, as if it were more attractive,’ she said.

Scicchitano, who said that when she first started dying her hair blond it was because she thought it would make her more attractive, said that now she is a blonde because it is less upkeep for her than being a brunette. She added that she feels that blondes do not have the power that they used to in the U.S.

‘I no longer think being blond has the power that it used to,’ she said. ‘I think we’ve morphed from a very Pam Anderson ideal to believing exotic beauty is (as) powerful as any blond-haired, blue-eyed girl could be.’

Pam Cole, a stylist at reVamp Salon in Armory Square, said that blond hair has always been most popular.

Lately, she has seen more women wanting to add more blond to their hair, usually through highlights. Cole said that the trend is probably due to the ‘blondes have more fun’ ideal.

‘Women also want dimension in their hair, and they want gray coverage,’ Cole said.

But not everyone is jumping on the ‘blonde-wagon.’

Nicole Makie, a stylist at StudioFX Salon, said that she has not seen an increase in women dying their hair blond; instead, she sees another trend.

‘Women like to go back to their natural hair color,’ she said.

Rose Ruggiero, a stylist at the One 20 Salon in Armory Square, said she has not seen the trend either. She said that women want to save money so they cut back on highlights and dying, which are lower maintenance.

Makie said that she can’t judge whether or not any of the trends that she is seeing at StudioFX have anything to do with the recession. While many Americans are affected by these harsh economic times, it does not affect SU students as much.

The ‘blondes have more fun’ ideology, however, still prevails on a national scale.

Ferguson said that the idea behind being blond can help women feel more beautiful and confident, enough to help move past any economic issues, in some cases.

However, the stereotype of the dumb blonde may also make women feel incompetent, Ferguson said.

‘If I’m a woman applying for a job in a company, then I might not feel more confident being blond because I would wonder how seriously anyone was taking me,’ he said.

Pete De Jianne, a freshman economics major, said that it all depends on someone’s personality.

‘I definitely don’t think blondes are dumb. Blondes can be really smart. Brunettes can be really dumb. It all depends on the person. It’s all about personality.’

‘I would say that I’m attracted to blondes at first, but it’s not the primary key in attraction,’ De Jianne said. ‘I guess the lighter-colored hair kind of attracts me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be attracted to a brunette or a redhead. It’s like the flashy color of a yellow car. They just get my attention more.’

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Published on February 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm