Hair Loss Affects Confidence

Hair Plays A Significant Role In Happiness

While abundant hair symbolises vitality and beauty, new research finds that our hair plays a significant role in our self-image, relationships and emotional wellbeing.

Although hair loss is considered a relatively mild dermatological condition, it can result in significant emotional distress, confidence and self-esteem issues, particularly because of the way that people believe they are being perceived.

New research carried out by évolis has revealed that 40% of people in Australia who have experienced hair loss or hair thinning have lost their confidence, whilst 1 in 3 reported having a lower self-esteem and 1 in 5 became depressed.

The report also found that hair loss had impacted the love lives of almost a quarter (23%) of people in Australia. Whilst 1 in 2 (48%) Australians admitted to selecting a partner based on their hair when dating and 1 in 5 (19%) saying they lose interest in people who are bald or losing their hair.

Dr Dominic Burg, Chief Scientist at évolis said, 'The research findings demonstrate that not only is our hair an extremely important factor in happiness and self-confidence, but also that it impacts how we interact with others."

'When we're happy with our hair, it gives us a confidence boost. However, when we're unhappy with our hair, this can lead to being overly self-conscious and become a point of negative internal focus."

Alopecia is a type of hair loss that affects at least half of white men by the age of 50, most by their mid-20's. Fewer than 45% of women go through life with a full head of hair, with 1 in 10 (12%) developing detectable hair loss by the age of 29[2]. The research commissioned by évolis found that hair loss can cause stress and anxiety with 42% of women admitting that the thought of hair loss is terrifying.

Dr Burg says, 'There is significant stigma associated with hair loss, which comes down to an unconscious bias. We tend to link good, thick hair, with youth and in turn virility. Hair loss is often associated with poor health and this is because your body will tend to shut down hair and nail growth when you are unwell, in order to preserve energy for other bodily functions. So unconsciously, we assess the health and fitness of others, including potential partners by the appearance of their hair", Dr Burg says.

'Each hair follicle goes through a process of three distinct phases, growth, rest and release and then growth again. This cycle repeats many times over your lifetime and it can be quite easy to upset the balance."

'Stress, diet, medications, illness, age and genetics can all impact the hair cycle. This can result in shedding, a decrease in thickness and quality of hair and also a reduction in follicle density."

Our hair represents an important part of our overall image[3] and experts advise that there are a variety of options available to offset or reverse hair loss to help maintain our confidence and self-esteem.

Dr Burg says, 'My advice for men and women experiencing hair loss would firstly be to get more exercise, reduce stress and improve your diet. There are also synthetic drugs both topical and oral available, but some of these are associated with a number of side effects."

'Alternatively, there is a new option which specifically assists in hair loss by blocking a protein called FGF5 and with this, évolis can extend the growth cycle resulting in less hair fall and more actively growing hair and overtime this results in increased hair density."