Table of contents
- Hair Thinning In The Past: Sexy?
- How Are Bald Men Perceived Today
-
Hair Thinning or Shaved Head?
- Want to look 13% stronger?
- Experiment #1: Are Men With Shaved Heads Perceived As More Dominant & Authoritative?
- Experiment #2: Can Your Shaved Head Make You Look Strong?
- Experiment #3: Receding Hairline, Shaved Head Or Full Hair?
- Men with shaved heads seem more powerful
- The shaved look is more attractive than the visibly hair thinning look
- There is a catch though...
- The End
Hair Thinning In The Past: Sexy?
…the wreath of laurels that Ceaser wore is not a nod to Roman tradition rather than an attempt to cover his baldness.
During American Colonial times, the European upper-class men wore curly, white wigs. Men with wigs considered as wise and sophisticated.
How Are Bald Men Perceived Today
A Man Complaining About His Hair Seems Like A Loser
Bald Men Is Less Likely To Be Trusted
Bald guys in the workforce are valued improperly
So when employers screen job applicants, men with nice hair lines are viewed more favorably than the bald guys. Click To Tweet
Are bald men perceived as attractive?
This is one of the man’s deepest fears – no longer to be considered a potential mate for beautiful women. Let’s face it. Our culture has provided plenty of basis for that fear to grow inside our mind. Just think all these Hollywood movies. Most villains are bald guys. Isn’t that cruel? But it happens all the time and there seems to be a pattern. Bad guys have a bad rep and definitively seem less attractive.
The good news is that bald guys with influence are making hair thinning an issue that must be addressed as a real problem. Most of them have gone under the knife for a hair transplant. John Travolta, Jude Law, and Matthew McConaughey are just a few good examples. Each successful hair fall treatment that a star makes it public, helps make men hair loss something we all should respect and pay attention to. The implications are not only visual but also psychological. That’s why we are glad to see society changing its stance.
But what happens if a man is balding and has no money to spend for expensive hair fall treatments, but still wants to be socially “approved”?
Hair Thinning or Shaved Head?
In 2012, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study regarding bald men and their attractiveness. The researchers concluded that men with shaved heads, in particular, are perceived as more manly. All things equal, bald men with shaving heads were more attractive to females than bald men with natural progressing receding hairline.
The clown / old teacher baldness (leave hair on the sides whereas bald on top) is perceived as weak and hopeless. People “see” this guy as someone who tries a lot to cling to his past glory thereby creating an air of desperation. Whereas, bald guys seem to be liberated and cool when shaving their heads. You’re saying:
'Yes, I'm going bald and I don't care.' Click To Tweet
That’s why researchers from the Pennsylvania University also concluded that bald men with shaving heads are viewed as taller and better leaders.
In antithesis, men with an incomplete semi-receding hairline had no such luck. The public opinion formed the following words for them. “Weak” and “sick”. Not a good bargain if you ask me.
Thus, for men whose receding hair affects their self-esteem, shaving their heads could prove a superstar comeback! But wait? Is there more?
Want to look 13% stronger?
Shave your head. Sounds crazy, I know. A study was done and published in the journal “Social Psychological and Personality Science”. According to their research results, guys with shaved heads are seen as 13% stronger, taller and with greater leadership potential than guys with naturally progressing receding hairline. Even guys with full hair looked weaker than shaved headed ones!
A shaved head seems to indicate dominance, authority and being in control of situations. Want to look tough like Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Jason Statham? Shave your head (and workout also)!
If those guys hadn’t their shaved heads, they would not be able to play the bad boys so easily. Their physique is at very high levels but so are other stars physiques. It takes a man of high confidence to be able to display a shorn head with ease to the public.
Being cool showing your shaved scalp takes guts. Click To Tweet
Albert Mannes, Ph.D., conducted three hair loss related social experiments. Their results were summarized in a paper called “Shorn Scalps and Perceptions of Male Dominance”. Take a look:
Fifty-nine volunteers analyzed twenty-five photographs of men in business school programs. Out of the twenty-five men, ten were completely bald with shaved heads. The rest were classic full hair guys with different styles. The volunteers were asked to rate each photograph. The criteria were “power”, “influence” and “authority”. The results were surprising. Men from the Shaved Head group topped the ratings in terms of how powerful, influential and authoritative they appeared to be.
Experiment #2: Can Your Shaved Head Make You Look Strong?
The second experiment was also interesting. The scientists were curious to find out which kind of baldness is more attractive and aggressive. Artificial (shaved) or natural hair thinning (non-shaved)? Three hundred and forty-four adults were shown photographs of four different men. One photo was of the man’s real hair. The second photo was a shot of him with digitally altered hairline – completely bald.
The researchers asked the participants in which photos men seemed more dominant and strong? Again, the results were conclusive. Shaved bald-style men were assessed as more dominant and slightly stronger too (remember that 13% increase?).
Experiment #3: Receding Hairline, Shaved Head Or Full Hair?
For the final study, five hundred volunteers were asked to read written descriptions of men. No images were used. Only the profile of the man, except the description of his hair, that was intentionally hidden from the researchers. The hidden hair choices of these men were thick brown hair, thinning brown hair or a shaved head. Guess what?
The guy with the thick hair scored the higher points for attractiveness description and slightly higher on confidence than the shaved heads (as expected). The guy with brown receding hairline scored the lowest on every trait given, except for the not so sexy “norm violation”. But how did the shaved headed man?
Our ‘hero’, the shaved head guy, ranked the highest in dominance (yiha!), masculinity (o yes!), leadership potential (Bezos anyone?) and strength (Dwayne Johnson style baby).
The overall results indicated the following conclusions:
Men with shaved heads seem more powerful
The research suggests that men who take the bold step to shave their head give the impression of dominance and boldness. The act of taking such a self-image impacting initiative needs a strong will. Taking initiative is one of the sexiest traits for a man.
The shaved look is more attractive than the visibly hair thinning look
Your receding hairline makes you look less masculine. Shaved heads come across as more honest too. Wearing toupees seems spooky and gives a bad idea that you ‘re a man who hides things from others. Shaving your head increases the perception of your high self-esteem to others, because shaving your head and still being cool, is tough.
There is a catch though…
In a nutshell:
- Men in military, sports and law enforcement are predominantly populated by shaved head guys. These “male” professions are the epitome of dominance and authority.
- Shaving your heads is a bold move. Men doing this appear more unconventional than others. They seem to play by their own rules in society and claim a higher status than average. That means less interest in social norms and more prone to violate these norms (for the worse or the better).
- It takes a lot of guts for a guy to ignore the aesthetic value society puts on thick hair. It’s a lot of pressure. A guy that shaves his hair and still integrates himself into the society has a high level of confidence in himself. Boldness is a key characteristic of those men.
The End
You got the picture! An ultra shiny scalp can be a better choice than a half-shiny one. If your hair thinning is in a later stage of development (aka the whole scalp starts to shine) go to the barber and enjoy your first shave! Of course, if you are in beginner level in your balding journey, give the honest fight. Cool shampoos, refreshing conditioners, massage toys, and hair strengthen solutions are your allies.
Special thanks to:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-couch/201205/hair-loss-and-desirability
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bgz7e/its-seriously-depressing-to-lose-your-hair-511
http://www.webmd.com/men/features/going-bald-all-your-head#1
http://www.calvitie-ohana.com/en/alopecia/psycho.html
http://www.webmd.com/men/features/going-bald-all-your-head#1
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160921-the-benefits-of-going-bald
https://www.hairsciencescenter.com/psychology-of-hair-loss/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-asim-shahmalak/hair-loss-new-research-_b_2437282.html
https://www.bernsteinmedical.com/hair-loss/basics/psychology-of-balding/
http://nyhairloss.com/the-psychological-effects-of-balding/
http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/shaved-head-men-dominant/
http://www.jaad.org/article/0190-9622(92)70134-2/abstract
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/face-it/201202/the-psychology-behind-good-hair-day
