This weeks’ Time Machine is hopping back to the 70s to see just how many people were dying their hair compared to now.
But, let’s start at the beginning… Dying hair first became a thing in ancient Egypt where they would apply henna to grey hair. In ancient Greece, early colorists lightened hair by rinsing it in a potassium solution and rubbing it with a yellow pomade made from flower petals and pollen. Those highlights must have been amazing. JAAD
Now, back to our era.
In 1971, Roper asked Americans whether or not they had ever dyed their hair. Most — 70% — said they had not.
Jumping forward to 2011, even fewer people said they were regularly getting their hair colored. According to the Associated Press, 76% of people said they didn’t dye their hair.
And, now?
There hasn’t been a recent poll asking people about their hair coloring experience, but the market suggests it may be more common than in the past.
The haircare market represents 22% of the global cosmetics market, second only to the skincare industry.
In 2022, the haircare industry generated around $86 billion in revenue and that’s expected to grow to more than $104 billion by 2028.
So, while, on one hand, we’ve come a long way from the ancient Egyptians and Greeks with their interesting techniques for coloring their hair, on the other hand, not much has really changed. At least some of us want to improve on what nature put on our heads.
This post was written by Marist Poll Media Team member Athen Hollis.