‘Brady Bunch’ star Susan Olsen had hair loss from frequent bleaching on hit show

Susan Olsen made certain sacrifices when she starred as Cindy Brady for half a decade on “The Brady Bunch.”

Olsen was on The Chocolate Expo’s panel with her “Brady Bunch” co-stars, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland and Barry Williams, when she revealed that she had to dye her hair blonde every three weeks to maintain Cindy’s look.

According to People, a fan asked Olsen if she had to dye her hair to star as Cindy. Olsen was 7 when she took on the role.

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“You bet. Every three weeks they had to dye my hair. If you look at the third season, my hair is kind of a different shade of blonde every episode,” Olsen said.

Since she was putting her hair through so much, it began to fall out.

“They were trying out different things, but then my hair had started to fall out. With that, I went back to letting my mom do my hair, every Friday night.”

Cindy Brady’s signature curls didn’t come naturally to Olsen either.

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Christopher Knight, Barry Williams, Ann B. Davis, Eve Plumb, Florence Henderson, Robert Reed, Maureen McCormick, Susan Olsen and Mike Lookinland all starred in “The Brady Bunch.” (Getty Images)

Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady in the “Brady Bunch.” (Getty Images)

“I had to keep it rollers because my hair was straight. It couldn’t hold a curl unless I slept in them. But my mother was responsible for those ringlets,” she said.

“In 1970, trying different things meant a whole cocktail of weird chemicals, right?” she asked before Lookinland chimed in.

“All I had was Miss Clairol, Jet Black number 23. I remember the little bottle and it said ‘jet black,’” he said.

The “Brady Bunch” family posing on the stairs. (CBS via Getty Images)

“I was ‘classic blonde,’” Olsen said of her character’s hair color.

People reported that Olsen and her fellow co-stars also reflected more generally on their time on the hit show, with Olsen saying “the love was genuine” between all the co-stars.

Susan Olsen, Barry Williams and Mike Lookinland of the “Brady Bunch” attended the 2025 Chocolate Expo on March 29. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images)

“I know for me, and I might be speaking for the others, but they can chime in, that Bob and Florence were in a position for us to want to do this,” Knight said, referring to Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, who played the Brady children’s on-screen parents, Mike and Carol.

Florence Henderson with her TV daughter Susan Olsen. (Toby Canham/Getty Images      )

He continued, “We didn’t want to disappoint them. And that’s at the center of a good parent relationship: a child that doesn’t want to disappoint their parents because of respect. And it was reciprocated, but that is because of the respect we had for them.”

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Robert Reed and Florence Henderson played Mike and Carol in the “Brady Bunch.” (Getty Images)

“The Brady Bunch” aired from 1969 to 1974. The show starred Henderson and Reed as Carol and Mike Brady, who shared a blended family of three boys and three girls from previous marriages.

The sitcom followed the family’s life, showcasing adventures and more.

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