We've all heard the stereotypical phrases relating to hair color such as “the dumb blonde” or the “hot headed red head”, but how much of this is true? Do people with certain hair colors tend to have particular traits? In this day and age when so many people change their hair color, can you draw any correlations between hair color and personality? As it turns out, certain personality traits do seem to be associated with hair color and people do sometimes make judgments based on a person's hair color. Whether we look it or not hair color and personality may be interrelated. What is your hair saying about you?

Brunette Hair Color

You're probably aware of the stereotype. Brunettes are reliable, dependable, even tempered, and intelligent. Few studies are really able to measure whether brunettes are actually more reliable or dependable than their blonde and red headed counterparts, but no study that's looked at intelligence and hair color has found an association up to this point. Interesting enough, this stereotype still exists with surveys showing that the vast majority of both men and women consider brunettes to be more intelligent as well as more stable and well grounded. Over half of men report that they find brunettes to be more attractive than their blonde counterparts. Whether or not these stereotypes hold true, the brunette gets credit for a variety of admirable traits. When famous brunettes come to mind such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Eva Longoria, and Penelope Cruz, it's hardly surprising that brunettes are considered to be desirable.

Blonde Hair Color

If there's one hair color that's the butt of jokes, it's the flaxen hair of the blonde. Interestingly, the vast majority of blondes come from a bottle which begs the question of whether they're really blondes or brunettes in disguise. When you look at worldwide statistics, less than one out of fifty people is a natural blonde which makes it a fairly rare hair color. Nevertheless, blondes, whether they're natural or bottled, tend to be seen as lacking in intelligence and as being more fickle, outgoing, and flighty. Then there's the old die hard stereotype that gentlemen prefer blondes which has already been called into question based on surveys of men. Plus, blondes get a further bad name from the publicized antics of such infamous light haired women as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsey Lohan. (although her hair changes color on a monthly basis) Seems like blondes have public sentiment stacked against them in some respects, yet women continue to alter their hair color in the belief that “blondes have more fun”.

Red Hair Color

Natural redheads are actually more common than natural blondes with one out of every thirty-three people being a natural redhead, most of them being native to the U.K, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia. They are often credited with having a hot temper. Although no formal study has been done to address how common this trait is in redheads, redheads are probably no more likely to fly off the handle than blondes or brunettes except when someone calls them “Red” or points out their freckles. Interestingly, redheads have been shown to be the most sensitive to pain of all hair colors and often require higher doses of pain medication and anesthesia than blondes or brunettes. The interest in being a redhead seems to be at an all time high with many women turning to hair dyes to get the red haired look.

Although hair color and personality don't seem to have a strong correlation, it is difficult to measure these traits with the exception of intelligence. It may just be that people who have a certain hair color through chance or by choice tend to adopt the stereotype. This just lends credence to the idea that most people aspire to what other people expect them to be.