Recession Inspires Heads To Go Red

Red hair is apparently all the rage this year in Britain, and Sarah Vine of the Times of London says hair dye in general is enjoying a recession resurgence.

Apparently L’Oreal hair dye sales are up 7%, and Vine likens the phenomenon to the “lipstick effect.” She writes:

It’s a simple psychology: the world may be collapsing around your ears, you may feel overwhelmed and out of control, but one thing you do have a bit of say over is the hair on your head. It’s a small but effective act of self-assertion: focus on what you can change rather than on what you cannot. Crucially, at a time of economic constraint, it’s quite a cheap way of updating your look.

But for those of you considering going red, be careful. You might, for instance, ask your mom to buy you a nice salon dye job for your birthday, so you can look like your favorite celebrity — April O’Neil. When you wash your awesome new locks for the first time, you might think your head is bleeding — then realize that in fact all that precious dye is sluicing down the drain. When you call the salon to complain, you might find out that red dye washes out the fastest of any color, and then you will just look like plain old you again, and your dreams of Aprilness will be dashed forever. Such as.