The Truth About Boris Johnson's Hair Revealed
Boris Johnson has been called "Britain's Trump" and a "Trump Mini-Me," and according to critics, the similarities stretch far beyond their newsworthy hairstyles. Indeed, the British Prime Minister's shady side, shaky relationship with Queen Elizabeth, and headline-making personal life haven't helped him win any fans. Notably, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic paired with, as Foreign Policy proclaimed, his "dishonesty, cronyism, and a dilettante attitude to the affairs of state" has caused his "shining political star" to start "dimming."
Real-world examples that supposedly showcase these unflattering traits include a lobbying scandal, an investigation into who exactly paid for his £15,000 (or about $19,800) luxury holiday to Mustique Island in April 2021, per the Daily Mail, and a reported illegal Christmas party during COVID lockdown, which Johnson has denied. There's also Wallpapergate, which continues to haunt him with accusations that he broke the ministerial code and spent £90,000 (around $119,000) in taxpayer money to refurbish his apartment when the allotted annual allowance is one third that amount, per the Daily Mail. Not surprisingly, Reuters notes that support for Johnson is "sinking," but one thing that hasn't changed is the PM's signature hair — and people's interest in it. We reveal the truth about Boris Johnson's hair and answer some of the most asked questions surrounding the infamous blond 'do.
Who cuts and styles Boris Johnson's hair?
Boris Johnson's signature hairstyle is disheveled, to say the least, and one of the hottest points of debate is whether or not it's styled. The PM is adamant that his 'do is natural, and in 2008 he proclaimed that his hairstyle is "impossible to imitate, as it is a product of random and competing forces of nature," per The Telegraph.
While some experts agree — "I got the impression he had never used product," stylist Nick Mazer told The Sun in 2019 — others aren't convinced. For example, hairdresser Ronda Lewis told Politico she believes "he puts a product in it and then blasts it with a hairdryer," otherwise it would simply fall flat. While we may never know for certain, Johnson again stressed that he has a casual styling routine when he told a journalist in 2020, per the Daily Mail, "I do brush my hair" and added, "I do my best with it."
As for the cut itself, there's been plenty of buzz around that, too, especially during Britain's pandemic lockdown when all salons were shut. Johnson looked scruffier than usual, and folks started wondering if his then-fiancee, Carrie Symonds, was doing the cutting. "Another bad pudding bowl haircut from Carrie?" asked one Twitter user, while celebrity hairstylist James Johnson told the Daily Mail that "the straight and blunt edges that are disconnected make the cut look [like] an at-home job." However, during normal circumstances, The Sun confirms he visits "his personal barber at No.10."
A 'cultural phenomenon' with historical roots
In October 2021, the Stoke Sentinel dubbed Boris Johnson's hair a "cultural phenomenon," but it seems he's not the first British political figure to use his unkempt style to his advantage. According to professor Dominic Janes, who teaches modern history at Keele University, "scruffy Boris Johnson's 'man of the people' look is part of a long British tradition." Writing for The Conversation, the scholar honed in on Charles James Fox, Britain's first foreign secretary, who lived in the 18th century and was actually the first to use his hair for political gains. According to Janes, Fox had a "disregard not only for style but also of basic neatness" which was the polar opposite of his early days.
Like Johnson, who is a distant relation of King George II (per "Who Do You Think You Are?") and who enjoyed a privileged upbringing that included an Oxford education, Fox too came from an aristocratic background (he was a descendant of King Charles II) and studied at the same university. Johnson was initially labeled a "dandy" for his elite lifestyle, but he soon discovered that made him less relatable to the masses. So, as Janes writes, he changed things up and "boosted his appeal by ditching the elite look and rebranding himself." It's a move the historian says Johnson imitated from Fox, claiming the prime minister's "signature scruffy style conceals privilege by pretending to thumb its nose at it."
A clever, calculated political tactic
If you think Boris Johnson's hair is simply too messy to be an accident, you're not alone. Even before he was Prime Minister, his hair was a hot topic, and The Guardian began its 2014 profile of the future PM by commenting on his "unruly thatch of blond fluff." Journalist Elizabeth Day suggested that he "takes a great deal more care of it than he is willing to let on" and reported that he had been caught ruffling his hair on purpose in order to achieve the unkempt look before public appearances. Pressed about it, Johnson played up a carefree approach, saying, "There was something in the shower this morning that I used, I cannot honestly tell you what it was."
Despite his claims, folks weren't convinced, and after he was chosen as the new leader of the Conservative Party of Britain in 2019, The New York Times honed in on what it dubbed his "strategic use of a deceptively absurd image," claiming that he used his "silly style" to garner "affection" — and votes. The Atlantic agreed, stating that he "knows exactly what he's doing" because he's "superficially disheveled but in fact focused and watchful." Meanwhile, Politico called his "tufted mess" "a political brand." Johnson biographer Sonia Purnell told the outlet that he used his hair as a "decoy" to "disarm," and noted how "the further up the greasy political pole he climbed, the messier his hair got to be." That's quite a few critics claiming the PM is plotting with that flaxen mane.
Boris Johnson's headline-making haircuts
Not only does Boris Johnson's hair make headlines, but so do the haircuts that help keep it newsworthy. Whenever Johnson gets a trim or shows up at an event looking like he's in desperate need of one, you can be sure someone will report on it. Even before he was Prime Minister, The Sun did a full story on the then-Foreign Secretary showing off an unusually short cut in 2016. Then, in 2018, when he was a MP on the campaign trail, he made a surprise stop at Funky Barber in London, and The Sun tracked down the stylist who cut his hair for an interview. "I was a little nervous and cut it shorter than I should," Nick Mazer admitted, sharing that Johnson has "very fine hair."
Interest in Johnson's 'do has only continued to grow and reached a new level of interest during the pandemic lockdown. In February 2021, Piers Morgan shared (via The Sun) that he had it "on good authority" that the PM's then-fiancee, Carrie Symonds, was planning to give him a DIY quarantine haircut. Indeed, Johnson himself told BBC in March, "I do badly need a haircut" and shared that Symonds was "going to have another go, yeah." In April 2021, as soon as restrictions on hairdressers were lifted, The Sun was quick to dedicate an entire article to the prime minister finally getting a professional haircut by "his personal barber at No.10."
The hair that launched a conspiracy
Boris Johnson's hair was at the center of what Esquire called the "latest political conspiracy theory" in 2019 when Internet sleuths began investigating if Johnson had blatantly lied. It started when police were called to Johnson and Carrie Symonds' home after neighbors heard "screaming, shouting and banging," as well as plates breaking, per The Guardian. The incident was downplayed and, days later, a photo of the couple holding hands appeared in the Daily Mail, along with quotes from friends who assured the outlet that the pair was still "very much in love."
The snap was soon criticized by the likes of MP Jo Stevens, who called it "obviously staged" (via the Mirror), and Piers Morgan, who tweeted, "Boris invades his own privacy to use girlfriend as campaign promotional tool." Shortly after, critics discovered that the photo was likely not even current. They began comparing the Sussex snap to shots of the PM from the day before which showed a visibly shorter haircut. "Does hair grow that fast?" asked one user, while another wrote, "Are we expected to believe the field photo is from the weekend? Even Boris Johnson's hair doesn't grow *that* fast." Sky News Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates tweeted that he was told by Johnson's reps, "the picture is genuinely from Sunday," but he wasn't buying it either. In the end, Johnson skirted around the topic, telling LBC, "Why should I [tell you]? ... I'm not going to comment."
Boris Johnson's hair evolution
Boris Johnson's signature hair hasn't always looked the way it does today. As if to prove the theory that it is indeed imperfectly styled on purpose, Marie Claire was able to unearth a slew of photos from the prime minister's past in which his locks look nothing like what we're used to. In the '80s, for example, Johnson was sporting a side swoop that would give a young Justin Bieber a run for his money. A decade later, he showed off what the outlet described as a "shorter, spikier crop" in which the sweep was gone and shorter bangs were no longer flat but tousled. The Guardian also did its own digging into the PM's hair evolution and found that while studying at Eton College in the late '70s, he sported a longish bowl cut down to the middle of his ears. Meanwhile, at a 1986 party at Oxford Town Hall, he smoothed his hair straight down, allowing his bangs to hang shaggily above his eyes, but not a single hair was standing out of place.
It wasn't until the early 2000s that Johnson debuted the "bed hair look" he'd become known for while appearing on BBC comedy quiz show "Have I Got News For You," per Marie Claire. Indeed, one of the show's executive producers Richard Wilson claimed, per The New York Times, that Johnson would purposely mess up his hair "just before the cameras rolled," helping him launch the look that would go on to win him millions of votes.
The truth behind the color
In addition to endless questions about the actual styling and cutting of his hair, Boris Johnson's mane has also come under scrutiny for its color. More specifically, people want to know whether or not the Prime Minister relies on a little help from peroxide to achieve his blond mane. It's a topic Johnson himself has given changing information on.
In 2016, he boasted about his hair to The Sunday Times, saying, "This is the real thing. It's all natural." When the reporter asked "But you do dye it, don't you, Boris?", he allegedly admitted, "Yes." However, it seems that was a joke that was lost in print. Soon after the admission began making headlines, Johnson's sister, Rachel, took to social media to set the record straight. Calling the story "a massive headline grabbing wind-up," she tweeted that "All Johnsons are natural blondes" before adding that "no hair dye in the world [could] achieve the unearthly platinum shine of the @BorisJohnson barnet."
It wasn't long after that adamant defense that journalist Tim Shipman, who wrote the original article, tweeted how Johnson had "requested 'an urgent point of clarification' about hair dye. Says he was joking and has 'never' used it," Shipman clarified. According to The Sun, Johnson explained, "I do remember saying yes in what was a satirical voice. I remember thinking 'God, I hope he doesn't take that seriously.'" Natural blond or not? We'll never know for certain!
Boris Johnson's hair has its haters
While some believe Boris Johnson's hair is a clever ploy that has helped him advance in politics, others are adamant critics of the disheveled 'do. All you have to do is turn to social media to see the amount of hate it regularly receives. In July 2021, for example, when Johnson posted a video to Twitter announcing he'd have to isolate after coming into contact with someone with COVID-19, his hair took a beating.
British actor Matt Lucas tweeted, "I have a comb I'm not using if you want one," while Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spokesman, slammed, "Comb your hair [...] and f*** off out of our lives." Meanwhile, Piers Morgan unleashed a tirade, tweeting, "What a shambles, but what else to expect from a guy who can't be bothered to even brush his hair when he addresses the British people?" Everyday Britons also weren't impressed, as one Twitter user claimed, "the more ruffled the hair, the bigger the lie he's about to tell." Yet another tweeted, "Sort your hair out mate."
That same month, The Scotsman columnist Simon Kelner wrote an entire op-ed about why Johnson's "messy hair is a sign of a general attitude of negligence." Honing in on what he dubbed "curated dishevelment," Kelner wrote how he "can't decide whether [Johnson] wants to draw attention to his appearance, or to distract attention from his message." Ouch.
He inspired a hairy work of art
In November 2021, Boris Johnson and his signature hair were commemorated with a work of art made out of — wait for it — hair! British hairdresser Davinia Fox collected "half a black sack of hair," which she cut and "very carefully swept up without my clients knowing," between lockdowns, per BBC Sounds. She then spent 16 hours over two days carefully constructing a 5-by-3-foot portrait of the prime minister using said locks. Speaking with the outlet, Fox said she "wanted to show how much people's hair did grow throughout the lockdowns." This, in turn, highlighted the role the pandemic played in shifting people's perspective of hairdressers from "one of those down graded jobs" to an "essential" service.
The hairy portrait was also Fox's way "to say thank you" to Johnson, per Mirror, because he "brought us through the pandemic." Interestingly, she was initially going to turn the hair into a COVID-19 "molecule" but as she started laying out Johnson's nose, then his eyebrows, she realized, "Yeah, this is actually working.'" So she went for it. Adding she'd "love" to cut the PM's hair, Fox offered her own two cents on his unique 'do. "As his hair grows, it becomes really fluffy which is why it sticks out on the sides," she said, explaining "it's all down to the hair follicles" and "he can't help it."
Boris Johnson's hair rebrands
During his first public appearance of 2022 at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, Boris Johnson showed off a different side of himself — a neater side. As Sky News reported, Johnson's "untidy, dishevelled blond mop" was gone and was instead replaced by a much shorter sideswept 'do. Rather than sticking up in every direction, his locks stayed right where they should and prompted the outlet to ask if the haircut was "a signal" that he would be "less chaotic and erratic in his approach to governing" in the year ahead.
The Guardian also couldn't help but comment on the new cut, but some outlets thought the parallel between hair and politics was a bit much. The Poke, for example, called out Sky News' reporting as a "scraping of a barrel." Some Twitter users also made fun of the headline with a parody Johnson account tweeting that his New Year's resolution was "to not change at all but get a haircut to fool people into thinking I'm no longer a shambolic walking haystack."
This wasn't the first time Johnson's hair was linked to a "rebrand." Back in 2019, Express reported on a noticeably shorter, tidier cut and asked if the then-MP was "hoping for [the] Prime Minister role with [his] new look?" Indeed, image consultant Kate Evans told the outlet that he might have ditched the disheveled locks because he felt that to get ahead in politics, "he should change tack and rebrand, and go out there with a new message."
His hair elicits passionate reactions
Shortly after Boris Johnson debuted his short new 'do for 2022, the critics came out in full force. The prime minister likely thought that cropping his unruly locks would elicit a positive response, but the opposite happened. For one, journalist Lorraine Kelly unleashed a brutal jab on Twitter, writing that "PM Johnson looks like he had a go at his hair with a knife and fork." As Express reported, other public personalities were quick to agree with that assessment, including The Vivienne (winner of "RuPaul's Drag Race") who said the PM "brushed it with a toffee apple by the looks of things." "Harry Potter" actor Afshan Azad conceded that "Queen Lorraine" was simply "saying how it really is."
The haircut also garnered jibes in the House of Commons. During the first Prime Minister's Questions session of 2022, Angela Rayner, the deputy leader for the Labour Party, slammed the PM, saying he "gives with one hand and takes away with another." She followed that up with a snide comment about his haircut, quipping, "It's not about brushing your hair, it's about brushing up on your act." Johnson, however, didn't seem fazed. He soon unleashed his own harsh rebuttal, claiming the issues at hand had nothing to do with him (or his hair) but with "Labour incompetence," which has "ruined this country time and time again."