The Barbie Effect: Platinum-Blond Hair Salon Requests Reach Unprecedented Heights

Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie hit theaters on July 21, racking up $162 million in ticket sales for the weekend, making it the year's top-earning film so far. "Barbie" also set a record for the biggest opening weekend ever for a film helmed by a solo female director, and it grossed nearly double that of its highly touted head-to-head competitor, "Oppenheimer." The economic reach of "Barbie" has extended beyond the movie industry, however, as beauty salons are reporting an increase in business from people looking to recreate the movie's celebrated aesthetic on their own bodies.

According to a report on The Source, the beauty service appointment website Fresha has seen a dramatic increase in Barbie-related bookings recently, including an 83% uptick between June 19 and July 19 for pink nail coloring and pink and platinum-blond hair dye treatments. 

Proper Salon in London has taken the opportunity to host a pop-up salon offering special Barbie tooth gems and nail art. For residents of or visitors to London, the Barbie salon is open Thursday through Sunday from noon until 7:30 p.m. and is hidden in the Barbie popup store on Shoreditch High Street. 

Warner Bros. has shelled out roughly $150 million to market "Barbie" — slightly more than the film's production budget — and that money appears to have been well spent. Aside from the boosts to Warner Bros.'s own bottom line and those of beauty salons worldwide, the "Barbie" effect can also be seen when viewing search engine and social media metrics for the early summer months. TikTok users have created more than three million posts with the #Barbie hashtag in the past month, and Google Trends shows a more than 300% increase in "Barbie"-related searches in July 2023 compared to July 2022.

The film's massive marketing campaign includes a limited-edition Xbox console, a special-edition Balmain hoodie priced at $1,350, and a "Barbie"-themed Boston Harbor cruise. And while it's not a part of Warner Bros.'s official marketing push, someone calling himself Ken has built a hot-pink Malibu DreamHouse and has listed it on Airbnb, although bookings are unavailable as of this writing. 

With the film still racking up rave reviews (it has a 90% approval rating from critics and an 87% from fans at Rotten Tomatoes), expect Barbiemania to carry on well through the summer, leaving a trail of dyed blond tresses behind it.