As presidential cover-ups go, it may be splitting hairs.
But the idea that Barack Obama may be dyeing his greys has taken the American media by storm.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's historic speech to the US Congress barely rated a mention in the US press - but Barack Obama's personal barber received top billing as he insisted the president's hair really is going grey after just 45 days in office.
The 47-year-old's shock transformation from youthful senator to silver fox during his presidential campaign last summer prompted rumours he was dyeing his hair grey to appear more experienced.
Then, two days ago, it was noticed that Mr Obama's hair appeared dark and youthful again.
It is speculated that, now that the president is safely in office, he is trying to appeal to younger Americans once more - with some help from a hairdresser, of course.
American media - including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Fox News and the gossip website Gawker - picked up the story of Mr Obama's do on Thursday, giving his personal barber top billing.
Zariff explained away the discrepancy by saying the amount of grey depended on the cut he gave Mr Obama.
Zariff has cut Mr Obama's hair for 17 years - and, he said, the president's apparent transformation from raven black to salt and pepper last summer was real and normal for his age.
But his current youthful appearance is also natural, Zariff insisted.
'I can tell you that his hair is 100 per cent natural,' Zariff said. 'He wouldn’t get it coloured.'
如果说总统是在掩盖什么，那可能有点小题大作了。
而最近有关巴拉克?奥巴马可能染发的消息却在美国媒体中掀起了一阵风潮。
英国首相戈登?布朗在美国国会发表历史性演讲被美国媒体一笔带过，而奥巴马的私人理发师却成为媒体争相关注的焦点--因为他坚称奥巴马在就任总统仅45天后就“白了头”。
在去年夏天竞选期间，这位47岁的总统从一位年轻的参议员转眼变成了“白头翁”，这一惊人的转变引发了关于他将头发染成灰白，而让自己看起来更有经验的流言。
然而两天前，人们注意到奥巴马的头发又变回了黑色，显得朝气蓬勃。
有猜测称，已登上总统宝座的奥巴马又在试图博得美国的年轻人青睐--当然这要有理发师相助。
上周四，包括《》、《》、福克斯新闻以及八卦网站Gawker在内的众多美国媒体都对奥巴马是否染发进行了报道，而他的私人理发师自然成为关注的焦点。
关于奥巴马发色变化的问题，（他的理发师）扎里夫解释称，总统头上有多少白发取决于他如何修剪。
扎里夫为奥巴马理发已有17年之久，他称去年夏天奥巴马的头发从乌黑变成灰白确是事实，而且对于他这个年龄来说也很正常。
扎里夫称，现在奥巴马年轻的外表（指头发变回黑色）也是自然的。
扎里夫说：“我可以告诉你，他的头发百分百自然，他不会染发的。”
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