Does hair influence attraction between sexes?

Jan 2005

Men prefer to date women with a great body than a beautiful head of hair. But most women say they would rather date a man with thinning or balding hair than one who was overweight, a new survey has found.

The online survey of 1,019 adults for physicianshairgrowth.com also revealed that 25 percent of women and 20 percent of men believe wearing a baseball cap or hat can contribute to hair loss.

"Wearing a cap is one of the key misconceptions about hair loss and does not contribute to hair thinness or balding in any way," states hair re-growth specialist, Oscar Klein, M.D., founder and president of physicianshairgrowth.com and maker of an innovative line of topical hair re-growth products.

Other Key Findings:

* When asked if they would be attracted to a woman with thinning hair, 61 percent of men said no.

* An overwhelming majority of men (81 percent) and women (89 percent) believe heredity is the key culprit for why people lose their hair.

* Most (81 percent of women/76 percent of men) did not believe frequent shampoo use contributed to hair loss. However, the frequent application of hair processing treatments such as coloring and hair straightening is a factor in thinning hair and one percent (1 percent) of women in the survey agreed.

* Only 11 percent of men believe stress is a key factor in hair loss when, in fact, it causes 10 percent of the population to go thin. Four percent of men believe side effects from medications can cause balding.

* Overwhelmingly, men and women voted their own locks as the most beautiful on the planet. Men also voted Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts as the two top favorites for great looking hair while women chose Fabio and Antonio Banderas.

The survey, conducted by Greenfield Online Research, is based on an internet poll of 1,019 adults 18 years of age and older conducted between December 20-27, 2004, with a margin of error among all adults plus or minus three 3 percent.