From a bob to long and layered, a fringe to a side parting, blonde to auburn to brunette — the average woman is said to alter her hairstyle or colour up to 150 times in her lifetime.
Yet for some, the idea of changing their signature cut and colour is unthinkable.
Princess Anne, for example, is now 70 and has worn her hair in the same distinctive bouffant since her teens, as TV’s The Crown has reminded us.
Here, SADIE NICHOLAS meets four other women whose tresses have barely varied in 50 years…
My long, blonde locks keep me young
Gemini Reynolds, 69, is a retired actress from Esher, Surrey. She is divorced. She says:
My skin may be more lined and my figure not what it was, but my hair hasn’t altered a jot since I was 16.
When I was a little girl, my mother insisted I wore my naturally dark brown hair in a shortish bob with a ribbon tied around it.
Weeks after my 16th birthday in 1967 I went to a salon on Regent Street in London and used the money I’d earned from a job in an advertising agency to have it dyed blonde
But I vowed that one day I’d have it long and the same shade of blonde as Marilyn Monroe.
At 14, I started to grow it and weeks after my 16th birthday in 1967 I went to a salon on Regent Street in London and used the money I’d earned from a job in an advertising agency to have it dyed blonde.
As I walked back to the Tube, a man said ‘Hello blondie!’ as he passed me on the street. I felt 10ft tall and so glamorous.
My hair has attracted attention from men ever since. Pre-lockdown, I was dancing at a friend’s party when a male guest said: ‘I love watching your hair swirling around!’
I knew from that first day that being a bottle-blonde meant careful maintenance, and it has been a commitment ever since.
I knew from that first day that being a bottle-blonde meant careful maintenance, and it has been a commitment ever since
The past six months aside, I’ve had it cut every six weeks and my roots done once a month — and sometimes every two weeks if I’ve wanted to look immaculate for a special event.
I pay between £50 and £150 for the colour, depending on the salon.
For a long time I went to Daniel Galvin in London, and after that to another upmarket salon in Knightsbridge.
But for the past 24 years I’ve had the same local hairdresser, who has never tried to persuade me to tinker with the style or colour.
Over the years I’ve invested more time and money in my hair than in anything else, spending tens of thousands on it over the decades.
Other than a brief flirtation with growing my fringe out — I hated it! — I’ve never been remotely tempted to change the style or colour.
I wouldn’t feel like me if I did. My hair keeps me feeling as young as I did on that day 53 years ago.
I match the red shade to my childhood curls
Retired marketing and events executive Sue France, 71, runs a women’s networking group.
She lives in Cheshire with her husband, Peter, 73, a retired company director, and has a son and two grandchildren. She says:
When I look through old photos, my hair is always the same.
This colour and length have seen me through childhood, student days, hanging out with bohemian crowds on London’s Portobello Road, starting my own business and having a family
This colour and length have seen me through childhood, student days, hanging out with bohemian crowds on London’s Portobello Road, starting my own business and having a family.
Even through terrible times, including the death of my daughter from cancer in 2001, my hair has remained a constant.
Like my sister and mother, I’m a natural redhead. I’ve never been teased about my auburn locks and always loved them.
When I was 30, a hairdresser friend commented that my hair was fading with age and I should have it coloured to restore its vibrancy. I’ve been having it dyed regularly ever since.
A couple of years ago my hairdresser got the shade too dark. When I visited my mother a few days later, she took one look and said: ‘It’s not the right colour!’
Like my sister and mother, I’m a natural redhead. I’ve never been teased about my auburn locks and always loved them
She gave me a little bag containing red curls she’d cut from my hair as a child, so I could ask my hairdresser to colour-match it.
My sharp cut has kept it looking modern through the years, and I pay £70 a time to get it coloured every six to seven weeks.
In the past, this meant I never got to see what my natural colour was — I’d assumed it must be grey by now.
To my surprise, though, lockdown revealed it is actually dark brown. When I told my hairdresser on the phone, she warned me: ‘Whatever you do, don’t colour it yourself!’
My hair is my trademark and I don’t ever see that changing. And now I’m 71, my fringe is great at hiding my wrinkles!
Instead, I used a spray-on colour to hide the roots and held my nerve till the salon reopened in July.
By then, my hair was a few inches below my shoulders — longer than it has ever been.
My hair is my trademark and I don’t ever see that changing. And now I’m 71, my fringe is great at hiding my wrinkles!
The colour was for a panto role – but I loved it
Actress Avril Gaynor, 73, lives in South London and has two grown-up daughters. She says:
Because I’ve had the same hairstyle since my 20s, you may think I’d put a lot of thought into it. But I decided on my short, red look because of a quirk of fate.
Because I’ve had the same hairstyle since my 20s, you may think I’d put a lot of thought into it. But I decided on my short, red look because of a quirk of fate
When I was a child, my hair had a natural bounce and was mousy in colour.
My mother worked as a model for L’Oreal, and after my face was badly injured in a car accident at 18, one of her stylists suggested going blonde might help my confidence. So blonde I went.
I learnt how to make the most of my hair, make-up, clothes and accessories, wearing larger earrings to steer attention away from my scars.
In my early 20s, I appeared as a princess in a pantomime and my costume included a red wig. But one night it flew off on stage, revealing my blonde curls.
The next day I went to a salon and had my hair coloured red, lest it should happen again. To my surprise, everyone said it suited me
The next day I went to a salon and had my hair coloured red, lest it should happen again.
To my surprise, everyone said it suited me. I loved it, too — and have kept that colour and style ever since.
I’m a creature of habit and have been going to the same male stylist, Jean-Marie, at Vidal Sassoon in Covent Garden, every six weeks since 1991.
I was one of the first people through the salon’s doors when it reopened in early July.
I’m a creature of habit and have been going to the same male stylist, Jean-Marie, at Vidal Sassoon in Covent Garden, every six weeks since 1991
He is terribly complimentary about my hair and never tries to persuade me to do anything different.
However, these days I colour my hair at home, as DIY products have come a long way and are so easy to use.
My sister begged me to change it for her wedding
Retired college lecturer Anne Pearce, 69, is divorced with three daughters and lives in Stourbridge, West Midlands. She says:
When I was a very young child, my hair was quite short, but when I was six my mother insisted I grow it to below my ears so she could put bunches with bows on either side of my head.
I hated all the fiddling and fuss of having long hair, and at the age of 14 I sneaked off to a hair salon without my parents knowing.
I used pocket money I’d saved up to pay to have a crop like Twiggy’s, which was the height of fashion at the time
I used pocket money I’d saved up to pay to have a crop like Twiggy’s, which was the height of fashion at the time.
Mum wasn’t too upset, but Dad was very old-fashioned and thought girls should have longer hair, so he wasn’t impressed with my new look.
But having cropped hair was a revelation — all I have to do is wash it and run a bit of styling product through it to lift the roots, and it never needs a blow-dry.
As a result, I have never been tempted to grow it.
Some people might think it’s boring to have the same hairstyle for 55 years but why would I change it when I love the convenience and it suits me?
Some people might think it’s boring to have the same hairstyle for 55 years but why would I change it when I love the convenience and it suits me?
However, wearing it so short does require regular maintenance. To keep it looking tidy, I have it cut every four weeks on a Tuesday, at a cost of £22.
But I’ve never dyed it — this is my natural colour.
People like to argue the toss with me on that, insisting ‘at your age you must surely dye it!’.
I tell them to take a close look at my roots if they don’t believe me. There are a few stray white hairs these days but they blend in with the blonde.
My ex-husband, who remained a good friend, died last year. Unlike my dad, he never discouraged me from having such short hair.
Wearing it so short does require regular maintenance. To keep it looking tidy, I have it cut every four weeks on a Tuesday, at a cost of £22. But I’ve never dyed it — this is my natural colour
And all three of my daughters, who are in their 30s and 40s, have experimented with shorter styles over the years, though they have long hair now.
But not everyone has been such a fan of my enduring hairstyle.
When my late sister, Carol, got married in our 20s, she asked me to grow it a bit to look more feminine in my bridesmaid dress.
I told her ‘no way!’ and said she could either have me as I was or not at all.