Women crop truth when it comes to hair and beauty spend

British women only admit to a third of their spend on make-up and hair when quizzed by their partner, according to a new poll conducted by online hair and beauty retailer Hairtrade.com.

The study, which surveyed almost 800 women on how much they tell their partner about their spending, found that on average women only admit to spending 34.2% of their actual expenditure on hair and beauty products.

Some 43% confessed that they had not revealed the complete extent of their spend on trips to beauticians and manicurists, with one-fifth keeping quiet about the cost of creams and lotions, and over 10% remaining tight lipped on the full cost of their hair products.

Among the biggest expenses women admitted to hiding from their partners were expensive trips to the hairdressers, with over half of the women surveyed revealing that they lie about how much they spent.

The research by Hairtrade.com discovered one of the reasons for women cropping the truth on their hair and beauty spend to partners was because they thought they would be shocked if they revealed the true amount.

A spokeswoman for Hairtrade.com said, “It is so hard to explain to men why our hair and beauty regimes cost so much more, especially when a trip to the barbers only costs them around ten pounds. But cost is always going to vary considerably depending on the quality of services and products."