When it comes to their hair, more than two-thirds of women prefer it to be straight rather than curly, and nearly half do what it takes on a regular basis to straighten their hair, reports Britain's Daily Mail of a poll of 2,500 women conducted by the British hair styling products firm Boots.

Women spend a lot of money and time on their hair. The average woman plunks down almost $70,000 in her lifetime on hair products, styling and coloring, as well as just under two years of her life washing, styling, cutting, coloring, crimping and straightening her hair at home and in salons. In a single day, the typical woman spends about 40 minutes on her hair.

Why do women go to all this trouble? Fully one-third say it is the single most important part of their appearance, so they spend more time on their hair than they do on their make-up.

In an attempt to make their hair beautiful and shiny, women admit they have resorted to the following wacky home hair remedies:

• Washing their hair in lemon juice (27 percent)
  
• Washing their hair in beer (14 percent)
  
• Tying their hair in rags (14 percent)
  
• Smearing their hair with raw egg (10 percent)

• Brunette (43 percent)
  
• Blonde (33 percent)
  
• Redhead (12 percent)