OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Sen. Ben Nelson’s hair has always been his most distinguishing feature. The Nebraska Democrat’s aides have long called him “Hair Force One.”

But Nelson winces at the attention his thick mane has been receiving in recent days.

When he showed up on “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central on Monday, his silver hair was back to its original shade of brown.

“I’d like to say it was the lighting on the TV show and that I lost 20 years,” a chuckling Nelson said Wednesday during his weekly phone-in news conference call. “It was the result of a rinse gone wrong.”

Nelson’s barber of 40 years retired last spring, and Nelson has been trying out some new ones since. His most recent stylist suggested a rinse, and he agreed, not knowing that the rinse would darken his hair.

“It was a hair-raising experience when I realized what happened,” Nelson said. “It wasn’t a $400 haircut, but I was prepared to pay $400 to get it straightened out.”

Fellow Democrat John Edwards’ presidential campaign committee paid $400 each for two haircuts given him by a celebrity stylist, the committee said in a federal campaign financial report filed this spring.

AP-ES-07-19-07 0210EDT

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