The average British woman spends an astonishing £27,722.52 on her hair in a lifetime according to a new survery - that's the equivalent to putting a child through university, or buying a luxury car.

We splash out a yearly average of £83.88 on shampoos and conditioners, £59.16 on home styling products and £260 a year on haircuts according to the research by TRESemmé.

And for 55 per cent of women a further £166.50 is devoted to colouring their locks each year.

"It’s incredible how much money women spend on their hair, but also unsurprising as we know that many women will go to great lengths to get the salon-like finish they aspire to." said a spokesperson for TRESemmé.

"Hair is such an important aspect of our appearance and having stylish locks can really make you look and feel good about yourself."

“We also know that women are becoming much savvier about looking after their hair too – for example, using a product before blow drying or straightening to protect hair from heat. There is certainly a better variety of quality haircare products available on the high street for women to invest in, compared to a decade ago.”

And it’s not just money that women are investing in their tresses - when it comes to time spent preening, women dedicate one hour and 53 minutes each week to washing, blow drying and styling their hair – which totals just over four days a year.

Washing and drying it alone takes up over an hour of every week – a total of two and a half days – while straightening, curling and brushing takes up almost a day and a half!