At noon on Thursday before the 2024 Double Decker weekend, every chair at Oxford’s La Rousse Salon & Spa was filled. On that day, more than 40 clients walked into the salon looking for one thing: blonde touch ups.

La Rousse is just one of the 22 salons in Oxford that offer coloring and bleaching services. According to a 2024 GITNUX Market Date report, 51% of salons say that blonde is their most requested color. At La Rousse, that number jumps to 75%.

Emily Prins, manager of La Rousse, said that most of the blonde clientele is ages 15-25. 

“At least 90% of the college students who come to our salon request lightening services to achieve a blonde hair color, from baby-lights to full-head bleach treatment,” Prins said. 

Achieving the perfect shade of blonde can take a significant investment of time and money. 

The cost of being blonde is rising nationally, according to the Washington Post. Initial bleaching and dying sessions range from $100 to $500, depending on salon, hair condition and shade of blonde. Touch ups are needed every four to eight weeks and range from $100 to $300 per session.

This demand for blonde treatment has led many salons like La Rousse to hire “blonde specialists,” who specifically deal with achieving the perfect blonde hair. 

La Rousse’s “blonde specialist” Mallie Nagle provides hair care, coloring and styling services specifically tailored to clients with blonde hair. She uses her expertise and techniques to achieve optimal results for blonde hair types.

Mallie Nagle explained the difference in price points and the cost of treatment with the time and follow-up appointments is based on three factors: the level of stylist, the dye style requested and the difference of the original hair color to the desired color. 

“There are five levels of hair stylists, from beginner to master, and it is based on how long you have been in the industry and the results you produce. The price point moves up with every level of stylist,” Nagle says. “Different techniques have different prices. For example, if the client wants the Baltic technique, it will be more expensive than the typical full Weave Highlight, but they do not have to come in as often to get maintenance treatments.”

A random survey of 50 women taken on the University of Mississippi campus showed that 33 bleached and dyed their hair lighter. Of those 33 women, 27 said their hair was naturally a shade of brown. Only one woman out of the 50 was a natural blonde who does not color her hair.

The average eight-week maintenance cost of the 33 women was about $275.

This growing pursuit of blonde hair can leave those who do not follow along with the trend feeling excluded. 

“As a brunette at Ole Miss, I have definitely noticed that my hair color stands out, not just because it’s dark but also because I have never dyed it,” sophomore communication sciences and disorders major Reese Milstead said. “I mean, even in my own house, all my roommates are blonde. As someone who does not color my hair, it blows my mind how many hours my roommates spend in the salon lightening their hair.” 

Many girls who were blonde when they were children started highlighting their hair at a young age to maintain that look. According to the 2024 GITNUX report, 65% of women change their natural hair color with bleach to lighten it by the age of 16. 

London O’Keefe, a junior general business major, has been dying her hair since she was 13. 

“I was born a cotton-head, but by the time I was 13, my hair was almost entirely brunette,” O’Keefe said. “My mom took me to get blonde highlights … and I have been dying my hair every two months since then.”