5/15/07
According to a national survey of consumer attitudes about hair conducted by the Hair Sciences Center of Colorado, a Denver-based medical and surgical hair-restoration facility, bald is not beautiful.
The survey included more than 1,000 men and women, ranging from 20 to 50 years of age. The survey shows that 61% of respondents believe that men and women today are judged by their hair.
โIt is obvious that throughout our society today, hair is extremely vital to overall looks, professional success, self image, and relationships,โ says James Harris, MD, founder of the Hair Sciences Center. โAs a practicing hair restoration specialist, I witness and address these concerns in my clinic every day. We found it interesting to learn that the strongest negative perceptions about baldness lie primarily among those men who are in the process of losing their hairโnot in men who are completely bald.
โThere were several other surprises revealed in our study as well,โ he continues, โincluding the significant psychological impact of hair loss for women. Perhaps this is why hair-restoration surgeries performed in the United States each year are on the rise.โ
The survey also found that:
โข 52% of respondents said that men and women who have what is perceived as โgoodโ hair get better jobs and 53% said men and women with โgoodโ hair have a more attractive partner;
โข 47% indicated that men with a full head of hair are smarter than those who are balding or bald;
โข 70% said they think that men with a full head of hair are more successful, and men losing their hair ranked the least successful, even more so than those who are bald;
โข 70% of respondents said they notice when a mature womanโs hair is thinning; and
โข of the 140 female respondents who reported hair loss, 70% believe their self-esteem will decrease with hair loss.
Because hair is perceived to play a key role in career paths, self-esteem, image, and personal success among respondents, 80% of those surveyed said they would rather lose their hair than 20% of their income.
[Hair Sciences Center of Colorado, March 28, 2007]