Study

Success in dating with hair loss!

When you look in the mirror and see the first signs of baldness, there is a high chance your mood will be ruined. Agonizing questions arise immediately: What will everyone think about my hair loss? Am I still sexy?

Studies into hair loss have not changed the fears of men who are experiencing it. Men still go through a period of self-doubt and self-esteem issues, wearing hats on photos, as well as caps in bars to hide their hair loss. This emotional state of psychological stress can even accelerate hair loss.

At MySpring, we wanted to find out how bald men are perceived in the dating world.

Poll: 2,500 Men and Women respond anonymously

Which statements about bald men do you agree with?

‍Baldness affects 7 out of 10 men over 35 years of age. The results of Spring’s anonymous poll are somewhat surprising: participants said they consider bald men to be more manly, more intelligent, more dominant, more trustworthy, more experienced, and more successful compared to men with hair.

Reality

This is how bald men are actually perceived in online dating!

Two identical men, one difference: One is bald and the other one has hair. For the ultimate test, which should identify how the bald headed man is perceived by others when it comes to online dating, we used a platform where the first step is primarily about appearance: Tinder.
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We created two identical profiles for our test subject Christian (29 years old)—the only difference being hair. For a duration of 10 days, Christian gave positive ratings to 100 men and women of all ages every day (swiped to the right). The surprising result in terms of matches and incoming direct messages shows that hair played a role in Christian’s performance on Tinder.

Balance

The hairstyle makes the difference

365 Matches for bald headed Christian
30 Matches with woman - 335 Matches with men

81 direct messages
6 from woman, 75 from men

Average age of all matches
Women/Men: 29 years

394 Matches for Christian with hair
254 Matches with woman - 140 Matches with men

71 direct messages
19 from woman, 52 from men

Average age of all matches:
Women: 27 years / Men: 30 years

Both Christians performed well in terms of matches and direct messages. The total number of matches shows no significant difference between both hairstyles.

As a straight man, a bald headed Christian had a much more difficult time with women than Christian with hair. It was men seeking men who were most interested in getting to know bald Christian.

With 81 direct messages overall, more matches reached out to bald headed Christian than to Christian with hair. Both Christians received more messages from men than from women. Christian with hair matched with more women compared to bald Christian, and he also received more direct messages from women.

“The public and general media”

Nico Hribernik, CEO of MySpring:

“We interviewed 700 young people affected by hair loss, and found that many are embarrassed and insecure about it. In comparison, older people have more self-confidence and therefore deal better with hair loss. The media often portrays bald men as being macho and self-confident, which isn’t helpful for those young people troubled by their hair loss.
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At mySpring, we are committed to raising awareness about the often unspoken problems that affect men. It is important to realize the impact that hair loss has on men and their self-esteem, even if it is not always obvious from their outward behaviour.

We are passionate about creating more of an open dialogue around this topic, and providing solutions.”

Friedrich B., who also experiences hair loss says:
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‘’I noticed the first signs of hair loss when I was 19 years old. Society tells you that you are supposed to be having the time of your life at this point. You want to be fit, out there partying, and getting to know people—not walking around with a bald head!’’

Baldness is discussed widely:

“A few years ago, another study by the US portal OnlineDoctor came to a similar result: A representative survey of 1,700 people showed that 54 percent of the women questioned think a bald head is sexy. 97 percent of women would date a bald man. "

Versus

"In 2013, scientists from Berlin looked at the psychological effects of hair loss and came to the conclusion that even moderate hair loss can cause a great emotional burden with reduced self-confidence, a damaged quality of life and even psychological distress.

Source: GQ, 2019: “Studie verrät: Darum haben Männer mit Glatze höhere Flirtchancen”

“Especially when it comes to shame or moral issues, there are many reasons why people do not answer honestly in surveys. The phenomenon of social desirability then leads to the fact that the interviewed person tends to give the answer that he or she expects to be socially approved or desired. The honesty of survey responses can often be validated through observations in a natural environment and situation. For this reason, we wanted to compare a representative survey with an analysis of unbiased reactions to Tinder. "

Isabell Wiesenhütter, Psychologist from Dienst bei Wellster Healthtech:

There is someone out there for everyone. This applies to bald headed men as well as men with hair. Of course there are women as well as men who find a bald head particularly attractive. After all, an interesting and exciting man will stand out regardless of their hairstyle.
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There are significantly more attributes that are much more important to the person as opposed to external appearances only. Insecure men with a bald head should therefore rather not seek their opportunities where optics play a large role, but concentrate on situations where they can show their personality.