Drew Barrymore dyed her brown hair blonde: cute or fried?


Yesterday we saw Drew Barrymore cook “clams Montecito” on French chef Eric Ripert’s cooking show, “On The Table.” Her hair was very dark and it looked a little fried and limp to me, but I didn’t say anything about it because we were too focused on the dumb things she said. (Plus I know that not everyone wants to talk hair all the time like I do.) Drew went on at length about herself and her career, and she said a couple of things which rubbed people the wrong way, particularly this: “I think I’m moody because I’m a woman. I can ask any man in this room, like women are just inherently like, moody or hormonal people. I don’t know how men deal with it. I praise them.” We deal with a lot of crap from men too, and we don’t chalk that up to hormones or say it’s some general male personality trait, but I gave Drew somewhat of a pass because she was swilling her overpriced wine at the time. Maybe she had a little buzz and was talking smack while trying to be funny. It happens.

Anyway Drew dyed her dark hair back to blonde yesterday. Photo agency FameFlynet was camped outside the salon and they report that it took five hours for Drew to achieve! It sounds like a long time, but I once spent over four hours at the salon years ago when I went from a dark redhead to a blonde. (I’ve since gone back to reddish blonde.) It took a couple of passes for my stylist to get the shade right and he was dedicated and took his time. (God I miss him.)

What do you think of Drew’s new look? I think it makes her look younger, but that could be because she had blonde hair like this for years and we associate it Drew’s younger self. Her hair does look kind of fried here though. From my rudimentary understanding of coloring science (based on what various stylists have told me) you have to “strip” color from the hair to achieve lighter, blonder colors and it can be damaging. Darker colors are gentler on the hair because it deposits the color. Maybe Drew’s hair just air dried here instead of getting blown out, which could explain why it’s looking beat, although I’m also thinking it looks like this because she went lighter.

You all know I love to talk hair and last week I found a great stylist whom two of my friends use and she gave me an excellent cut. I’ve also been experimenting with “demi-glaze” colors, which have really restored my formerly dry hair. (Thanks to those of you who suggested that!) It’s amazing how different it is in just a couple of weeks. But even though I would like to go blonder, I know it’s not an option if I want to keep my hair on this healthy track. It’s a trade off when you get older and have been processing your hair for years.

Doesn’t it seem like so many celebrities are going blonde lately? There’s Sofia Vergara, Minka Kelly, Jennifer Lawrence, and even Charlize Theron. It’s a real trend for summer.

Also, Emily Blunt was at the salon at the same time as Drew and it looks like they were having a good time. Emily went blonde late last year, I like her better as a brunette.

photo credit: FameFlynet

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

67 Responses to “Drew Barrymore dyed her brown hair blonde: cute or fried?”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Happymom says:

    Emily Blunt is really pretty-even with the crazy foil hair-thingies.

    • Rachel says:

      She is still really pretty, but that’s just *wrong*. I cannot even imagine someone taking my picture while I’m sitting in the salon in foils. If I were a celebrity, I’d insist the salon put up some damn blinds.

    • JenD says:

      She is really pretty. The blonde looks good on her. And Iike Drew’s blonde, too. She looks a lot younger

    • Seagulls says:

      Almost scary pretty.

    • StormsMama says:

      Yeah she’s GORGEOUS. who looks good with foils? Emily Blunt.

  2. evyn says:

    Poison Ivy!

  3. Maya Memsaab says:

    Looks nicer than the dark hair but I might feel differently about it tomorrow. Us wimen are moody.

  4. Nev says:

    this is my Drew!!!!

  5. Relli says:

    So she decided to put her head in the witness protection program!?! I probably would have too given the craptacular stuff she said.

  6. janie says:

    Blonde all the way.

  7. amanda says:

    Fingers in an electrical outlet and Pamela Anderson come to mind…

  8. lylaooo says:

    oh my!!! Emily is soo beautiful… no wonder why my brothers have a crush on her!

  9. danielle says:

    Drew I like blonde. Blunt should go back to brunette, I think.

  10. Anna-fo-Fanna says:

    I never understand why stars have damaged hair at all. I mean, I know they color it a lot for their work, and on frequent whims, but come on, people!! You’re rich – your hair doesn’t have to look that way! I am not rich, color my hair all the freaking time, and it doesn’t look this damaged. Get with it and find a real, talented hairdresser; not just the person who’s “in” right now. Awful.

    • Umi says:

      While I agree (because in whimsy world, I too think that stars have access to everything and never have to put up with split ends)–it depends a lot on your hair texture. I have very thick, coarse hair that is curly. It breaks very easy, even though it is thick, because of the texture. Everyone’s hair can take varying degrees of playing around with. My friend has butchered her hair more than I ever have and she never seems to have the split ends I get.

  11. lucy2 says:

    I think she looks good with both, but the blonde seems to suit her more. Does look a little fried though.

  12. RHONYC says:

    if you are a natural blonde to begin with, isn’t it just a matter of striping the dye off your hair to reveal the natural hue ❓

    • gg says:

      Doesn’t work that way. Peroxide and bleach was used to “seal” the dark color, going underneath the cuticle damaging it a little in order to deposit the new dark color; and now stripping the color off requires more bleach, which is an extremely harsh chemical. And all this leaves your scalp burning like a mofo, and you’ll usually get a few scabs on your scalp that take weeks to heal all the way.

      Then they use more peroxide and bleach to fix the shade of blonde toner so it’s not white, or a sickly shade of brassy red. I’ve done all this by a good hairdresser, and there’s no way to not leave the hair much weaker afterwards. At that point, you’d have to be very careful, using a gentle color shampoo, stay out of the sun and wind, and keep good leave-in conditioner always on the affected hair, at least until it grows out, which takes about 3 years on hair of this length.

      If you didn’t know any of this, my guess is you have nice healthy hair and haven’t needed this type of advice before, so good for you.

      • RHONYC says:

        no i didn’t…yikes!

        currently i’m hunting for a good natural colorant.
        until then i’m using a fukocnah hair ‘mascara’ to cover my Storm from X-Men-like whites.

        mutherfug my mom’s cursed hair genes! 🙄

  13. Londerland says:

    I actually like the “fried” blonde on Drew, but yeah, probably because I’m old and this is how she should look in my mind: bed headed and casual (and perpetually on the verge of popping her boobs out for Letterman).

    I wish Emily Blunt would drop the blonde and the tan, though. It just washes her out and makes her look so generic IMO. Pale and brunette made her features pop so much more.

  14. kc says:

    Is she doing Poison Ivy 2?

  15. Rhiley says:

    She looks like she did on the covers of Little Girl Lost and people magazine circa 198whatever. Except it looks like she has messed with her lips. Her top lip looks pumped up.

  16. Boom boom says:

    I like her blonde too . I have a bad association with drew from this cunt who use to emulate every drew hairstyle and antic. Except this girl was super bitch and part red-neck so she couldn’t quite pull off the free spirit vibe that Drew has. I was tormented by this girl for years until she finally got hugely overweight and it toned down her self importance a little . Thank god, people like that eventually get theirs but … Yeah she ruined me ever being able to enjoy a drew movie since I get panic attacks just thinking about her, lol.
    Blonde is much softer on her . I don’t like what she did to her nose and lips. She almost hatcheted most of her profile off . She had a cute nose to begin with but decided to go for that Hollywood tiny nose.

  17. elceibeno08 says:

    Her hair does look fried.

  18. ncboudicca says:

    Yesterday I thought she looked like Katie Holmes, today I immediately thought of Sebastian Bach in the “I Remember You” video, esp for the one where she has the hair swept over

    • j.eyre says:

      Oh man, I was going to make a semi-reasonable comment and now I can’t because I am laughing about your Sebastian Bach comment. I am merging Drew and Gilmore Girls…

      I was going to say that all the women my age dying their hair blonde are doing it because the grey has gotten to a point that the dark colors are not looking good. They have to go so dark to not get the reddish hue the grey takes, it is unmatched with their skin tone (vampira effect.) So they end up going blonde to blend everything.

      • ncboudicca says:

        I cover my white strands with more red and sometimes a little blonde. I agree it is hard to go dark as you mature, it tends to make the character lines on your face stand out in a harsh way.

    • Hakura says:

      @ncboudicca – LOL. I didn’t know what he looked like, so had to google it. xD (I thought he was a woman at first!) but you’re dead on w/the comparison.

      • ncboudicca says:

        He was a beautiful man when he was young, but drugs/alcohol took their toll on him. 🙁

  19. KellyinSeattle says:

    She looks like she just stepped out of a MTV video in the ’80s. Which isn’t necessarily bad….I miss the 80s! 🙂 Duran Duran, etc….big hair as in Peg Bundy…that was a lot of fun!

  20. Onyx XV says:

    I prefer Drew blonde. It brings out her cuteness and just suits her. I think brunette makes her look old and frumpy, I don’t know why.

    Wasn’t Emily Blunt a redhead at some point? I thought she was. She would look stunning with auburn hair.

  21. faun says:

    She sat for 5 hours and couldn’t sit 30 minutes more for a blowout?

    • Hakura says:

      Exactly my immediate first thought! It’s obviously not blown out, which just adds to the ‘fried’ look.

      • Rosalie says:

        Get over yourselves. Why do women get so judgy when ther women let their hair dry naturally? i never ever blow dry my hair. So many women who have found out have been like”OMG whaaaat?! I could never leave the house without drying my hair!”. And I’m like.. Chill.

    • Glaughy says:

      Maybe her stylist advised her to skip the blow-out that day because she had just undergone a 5-hour hair lightening session. It could be to help minimize the stress on the hair.

  22. Dawn says:

    I think Drew looks better as a blond then she does with the dark hair. And yep Emily Blunt is just one pretty woman.

  23. tmbg says:

    I feel like I’m a teen again and back in the 90s! I actually love the hair – color, crazy volume and all.

    Sigh, I miss the 90s.

  24. Annette says:

    She’s one of those people who don’t change much. With the blonde hair she looks almost just like Poison Ivy Drew – I don’t know why, but I love it!

  25. DAFFY says:

    I like her as a blonde

  26. boredbrit says:

    I’m gonna come out and say I really don’t like Emily Blunt as a blonde. It just annoys me. DB looks good either way.

  27. Aurelia says:

    Yeep, see in one of the photos drew is calling the nanny saying “ya know how I said I would be here 2 maybe 3 hours max … well it took 7 ok. That pigment would not shift!”

  28. Lflips says:

    I don’t like her as a blonde – she looks sallow. I also think Emily Blunt should go back to dark hair.

  29. Miffy says:

    She looks like Honey Boo Boo in that header photo.

  30. lisa2 says:

    I spend 3 hours getting my hair done.

    She looks younger with the blond.

  31. Patrice says:

    All I thought as soon as I saw the right side of the header pic was “Poision Ivy”! Lol. Why would she travel back to her old (awful) 90s look?? That brown/auburn hair she’s been sporting recentlylooked so healthy and rich on her! It actually even made her appear much younger than her years and her skin glowed 😀

    Idk what she was thinking with this but imho-which I’m 100% sure carries no weight with Drew whatsoever-this regression is NOT a good one…

  32. Barrett says:

    Drew needs it cut. It’s damaged. She can pull off short hair and should go back to it!

  33. Just Me says:

    CB – Google Killerstrands blog. Several years ago, I had the same problem with bleaching my hair. It got so bad, it was breaking off at the roots. Looked really, really bad. I started following the Killerstrands program/philosophy & it COMPLETELY changed my hair. It helped with the porosity issues & the regrowth was thick, lush & SUPER healthy. I never got involved in their message boards, so I don’t know about the drama a lot of people seem to complain of on review sites. I just know that as a consumer with damaged hair, the program WORKED.

  34. Snail says:

    It doesn’t look blonde, it looks orange. I think going from that dark all over, you have to do it in stages. Maybe that was just the first pass and she has to let her hair rest a week or two before they take it really blonde.

    Especially since the dark hair was dyed, not natural, it’s probably going to take a few treatments to get it to the correct blonde shade.

  35. Aud says:

    The colour ages her a lot.

  36. Mia says:

    I like drew better as a blonde, but I can’t believe she left the salon with her hair looking like that.

  37. Livvy says:

    Her husband probably asked her why she was slowly turning into his mom. He was probably all, “I married Drew Barrymore and now she’s turned into another Santa Barbara mom.” And off to the salon she went!

  38. Luls says:

    Most women look better with darker hair. FACT.

    That applies to both Emily & Drew.

    • fun to make up rules says:

      the world is wonderful because everyone has their own opinion.. I think that going brunette makes one look older, especially middle aged women with dyed brown/black hair. At least put some highlights in it ladies.

  39. Tania says:

    I like Drew as a blonde!

    I love love love the shape of Emily Blunt’s lips and I really wish I knew what color of lipstick she uses. I think it’s just perfect.

  40. Tania says:

    I like Drew as a blonde!

    I love the shape of Emily Blunt’s lips and I really wish I knew what color of lipstick she uses. I think it’s just perfect.

  41. real says:

    So much better blonde!! Welcome back, Drew!

  42. kim says:

    How early 90s poison ivy of her

  43. kitty bye says:

    Love Her Blonde!