WHEN Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus, he chose to make the Roman goddess a vision of beauty with flaming locks of crimson hair.

It now appears Venus has been born again in celeb-land with the flame-haired craze showing no signs of burning out.

This week, X-Factor finalist Cher Lloyd posted a picture of her new scarlet hair colour on Twitter for all her fans to see. But following this she has received a string of comments about copying other celebrities like Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and many others. In a culture that is so deeply influenced by the concept of celebrity, it looks like we’ve reached the point where celebrities have turned to copying each other.

Cheryl Cole has been widely recognised as woman who triggered the trend. But, surprisingly, for a girl who has her own hairdresser, make-up artist and two stylists, she opted for a home-dye kit to create her new look. Unsurprisingly, sales of red hair dye rose by 22 per cent after the weekend she revealed her flaming locks on the X-Factor.

But despite the recession-friendliness of home hair dye kits, people are still making trips to the hairdresser. Toni & Guy in Bournemouth reports four to five people each week making red hair requests.

But it looks like celebrities can’t take all the credit for the trend. Dan Clarke, senior technician at Toni & Guy, said: “We’ve always had a high clientele for reds and copper tones.”

Dan says its popularity is down to the intense appeal of the look. “It’s a very vibrant choice and a way for people to express themselves, and stand out from the crowd.”

Ellie Kendrick-Thomas, 22, from Bournemouth dyed her hair red shortly after Cheryl Cole. “To say I wasn’t inspired by Cheryl would be a lie. But I only ever copy celebrity looks that I genuinely like and I think that would suit me. I chose to go a few shades darker then Cheryl because it brings out my blue eyes. I wouldn’t copy Cher Lloyd’s red hair because its too bright and it wouldn’t suit me.”

So maybe there is an element of personal expression in this trend. Hairdressers even refer to this type of hair colour as an “expression” colour and it has been tipped to be around for a while.

But the desire for change is nothing new. People have been dyeing their hair long before stylish salons hit the high street. Historians have discovered more than 100 formulas for hair dye in the ancient world.

In 16th-century Venice, a fashionable coppery-red was achieved by putting caustic soda on the hair, then sitting in the sun. Closer to home, Elizabeth I sparked a colour craze, resulting in English noblewomen dousing their scalps in saffron and sulphur power, the side-effects of which were nausea, headaches and nosebleeds.

Call it self-expression or just copycat fashion, Cher Lloyd wasn’t first to go red and she certainly won’t be the last.