"Women are becoming more open to trying new colours, " says Ray Plunkett, technical director for Schwarzkopf Professional Ltd., an international leader in hair colour and care. "Changing hair colours is a quick way to create a totally new look." Interestingly, women aged 18-24 and 35-44 are the most likely to either currently, or plan to, colour hair (82 per cent and 77 per cent respectively). Alberta is Canada's most colourful province, with 37 per cent of respondents currently colouring their hair.

Colour me…red?
When it comes to hair colour preference, it's not just gentlemen who prefer blondes. A new survey reveals that while young Canadian women aged 18-34 prefer to be redheads, their older sisters still like blonde better - especially those aged 55 and up. Thirty-three per cent of women in this age group prefer blonde, whereas only 13 per cent prefer red. Although most young women prefer red hair, interestingly, 24 per cent of women in this age group considered brown sexier.

Men, don't panic if you're receding because, surprisingly, 8 per cent of Canadian women preferred baldness to any other hair colour!

A ranking of all hair colour preferences amongst Canadian women was broken down as follows: blond (29 per cent), red (22 per cent), brown (18 per cent), black (7 per cent), grey (3 per cent) and bald (8 per cent); red hair is most popular in Alberta (28 per cent) and brunettes reign in Atlantic Canada (29 per cent).

Salon safety
Sixty-eight per cent of Canadian women crave the comfort of a hairstyling salon, having more confidence in salon colour over home colour. This is true of all regions and demographics.

Changing colours
Forty-six per cent of Canadian women aged 18-24 indicated that they colour their hair because they felt it was time for a change. This suggests that younger women are more open to change in personal appearance. This desire for variety is less apparent as people age. Only 30 per cent of women aged 55+ would alter their hair colour just for variety. (As women get older, other factors, such as providing shine and covering grey, become more important.)

Other reasons Canadian women colour their hair include: boosting confidence (22 per cent), providing hair with shine (19 per cent) and reflecting one's personality (18 per cent).

Alberta is Canada's most adventurous province with 47 per cent of respondents who colour their hair because they feel it is time for a change. Quebec is Canada's most confident province, with only 16 per cent of respondents colouring hair to boost their self-esteem; Quebec respondents preferred to colour their hair because they wanted a change or to add shine.