Japanese Survey: Forget Hemlines! Women’s Hair Length is Economic Indicator

Japan’s leading business daily, says women’s hair length is a reliable predictor of Japan’s economic health, says Wigomania.

In a recent report, the paper reported stats to show that Japanese women start wearing their hair short when the economy is worsening and let it grow longer when times are getting better. The data comes from an annual survey of 1,000 women in their 20s, in Tokyo and Osaka..

What explains the findings? One theory is that women adopted shorter hairstyles because in harder times they have less money to spend on hair care products, such as hairsprays and gels, which women tend to use more heavily for longer hair. Sales of hair products peaked in the mid-1990s at $980 million before falling every year until 2004, bottoming out at $550 million.

Other observers disagree, however, noting that short hair needs to be cut much more often than long hair, and is therefore more expensive to maintain. Pro10 Ambassador Stylist Miho, who is from Japan, tells us that at least half of the young women in Japan wear hair extensions to add length and fullness to their hair and that the trend is growing rapidly.

via Celebrity Hair Care Illustration: BellaSugar poll asking Whose Drastic Celebrity Haircut Do You Like Best. Shown are Michelle Williams, Victoria Beckham, Selma Blair and Rihanna

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