A good head of hair seems to be a major asset in the US presidential polls

With the US elections inexorably heading to a face-off between two mane candidates, it may be germane to recall what the probable Democratic Party nominee said 15 years ago to an audience in Yale. “Your hair will send significant messages to those around you: what hopes and dreams you have for the world, but more, what hopes and dreams you have for your hair. Pay attention to your hair, because everyone else will,” said Hillary Clinton. This sage advice assumes a new significance given that even anecdotal data suggests balding candidates rarely win in western elections in these telegenic times — as Bernie Sanders will soon realise — and hair is seen as a statement of intent if not character.

In this case, Clinton’s own constantly changing hairdo stands in direct contrast to her probable Republican opponent Donald Trump’s trademark, emphatic, never-changing, cotton-candy mop — love it or hate it, just like its owner. Even the contribution of Tory enfant terrible Boris Johnson’s eloquently unruly corn silk caruncle — which has its own Twitter account — to the communication of his stand on smooth haired British Prime Minister David Cameron’s anti-Brexit appeal should be seen as evidence of the value of the subliminal message of cranial cilia. The addition of a canny hair adviser to the Clinton campaign could be the clincher.