The Myths and Truths Behind Thinning Hair and Hair Loss

Hereditary Hair Loss accounts for 95 percent of all hair loss

July 2010

A new national survey, Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Myths & Truths Behind Thinning Hair and Hair Loss, conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of the ROGAINE® Brand, explores the myths and truths surrounding thinning hair and hair loss.

Hereditary Hair Loss affects up to 40 percent of all men and 25 percent of women in the United States. However, the survey finds that when it comes to hair loss, old wives’ tales, urban myths and misunderstandings abound.

The following results shed new light on the perceptions of American men and women, revealing a large gap between what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to the who, what, when, where, and why of Hereditary Hair Loss.

Hair Loss Causes, Treatments and Incidence: Myths and Truths

Causes

Hereditary Hair Loss accounts for 95 percent of all hair loss. However:

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) think stress can cause hair loss... This is the #1 myth associated with hair loss!

More than one-third of Americans (35 percent) believe frequently wearing a hat can cause hair loss.

More than one-third (34 percent) of Americans believe that over-styling can lead to hair loss.

Hormones from pregnancy and thyroid conditions, crash dieting, and certain medications have been shown to cause temporary hair loss (Telogen Effluvium). Unlike hereditary hair loss, this is strictly temporary, and hair will grow back on its own. However:

Only 30 percent of Americans think crash diets and 26 percent think pregnancy can cause hair loss.

That old wives tale that says hair loss comes ONLY from your mother’s side of the family? 100 percent false. Hereditary Hair Loss can come from the mother OR the father’s side. However:

More than 60 percent of Americans incorrectly think Hereditary Hair Loss can come from only one side of the family.

Nearly one-third (30 percent) of Americans still believe hair loss comes from ONLY the mother’s side.

Treatments: What Works and What Doesn’t

Healthy diets and hair vitamins will help improve hair health, but will not regrow hair. Hair-thickening shampoos, conditioners and serums may help hair temporarily appear thicker, but will not help stop hair loss. Topical DHT-blockers are not effective because they need to be ingested to be effective. However:

50 percent of Americans would try a healthy diet to treat hair loss or thinning hair.

49 percent would try hair vitamins like Biotin.

46 percent would try hair-thickening shampoos, conditioners and serums.

More than one-third (38 percent) of Americans think either DHT-blockers or hair-thickening shampoos, conditioners and serums can help stop hair loss.

ROGAINE® is the only topical FDA-approved treatment to regrow hair. In clinical studies, Men’s ROGAINE® Foam regrew hair in 85 percent of men with twice-daily use after four months; most women experience regrowth with Women’s ROGAINE® Topical Solution after six months. However:

Americans are undecided when it comes to the availability of effective hair loss treatments. Exactly half (50 percent) think there is no effective treatment.

46 percent would try FDA-approved treatments, like ROGAINE®, to help treat hair loss and thinning hair.

Incidence

For men, hair loss can take place as early as the late teens and early twenties – and up to 40 percent of all men will experience Hereditary Hair Loss. For women, by age 40, 40 percent will show some degree of thinning hair. However:

Less than a quarter (24 percent) of men think they are very likely to experience hair loss. Women, even less so: only one in ten (11 percent) think the same.

Hair Loss: Its Daily Impact

Social Implications

Americans consider hair one of their best features, second only to their eyes. The survey shows that hair is top of mind for many Americans, but that a host of social stigmas still surround thinning hair and hair loss.

Relationships and Hair Loss

Fat or bald? Despite the myriad of health risks associated with being overweight (think: heart disease, diabetes, and stroke)… Almost half (43 percent) of married Americans would rather their spouse be overweight than bald.

More than one-third (37 percent) of women would rather their significant other be overweight than bald.

Among younger Americans 18-35, more than half (57 percent) say they are not physically attracted to people with thinning hair. This number climbs to 67 percent among Americans 18-24.

Hereditary Hair Loss can affect men as early as late teens and early twenties. Doctors advise that it is easier to keep the hair you have than to restore what you have lost. So act quickly—ROGAINE® helps stop hair loss.

One in five felt their thinning hair negatively impacted them when asking someone out (22 percent) and when on a first date (21 percent).

One in six (17 percent) women would be embarrassed to introduce their significant other if he had thinning hair.

Breath mint, anyone? More than one in five (22 percent) younger Americans 18-35 would rather their first date have bad breath than hair loss.

Hiding Thinning Hair and Hair Loss

More than one-third of Americans (35 percent) have actively tried to hide their thinning hair – by wearing a hat or scarf, styling their hair in a special way, wearing a toupee or wig, using spray-on hair, or using a photo when they had more hair.

Hair Loss May Lead to Loss of Other Kinds

More than one in ten Americans (11 percent) felt their thinning hair or hair loss negatively affected them in a job interview… With eight million unemployed Americans, that’s 800,000 who might be at a disadvantage!

More than a quarter (28 percent) of Americans felt their thinning hair or hair loss negatively affected them when asking someone out or when a first date.

Hair Loss and Facebook Fraud

Among younger Americans 18-35, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) would use an outdated photo of themselves with fuller hair as an online profile picture.

Men & Hair Loss: What Do People Really Think?

Hair = Macho, Macho Man?

Among younger Americans 18-35, almost two-thirds (64 percent) say a man with a full head of hair looks more masculine than a man who is balding.

That number climbs to 71 percent, among Americans 18-24.

The Hairy Laws of Attraction

Nearly 30 percent of women say baldness is a worse trait to have than back hair.

Women & Hair Loss: It’s Highly Emotional

(Mis)Understanding Women’s Hair Loss

Nearly 90 percent of Americans think a woman who has lost her hair is ill… ...when in all likelihood, she is simply among the 39 million American women dealing with Female Pattern Hair Loss.

Women Going to Extremes

More than half (55 percent) of women would go to extreme measures – including giving up their favorite food, giving up five years of their life, not talking for a year, or breaking up with a significant other – to guarantee they’ll always have a full head of hair.

It’s about Femininity

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of women say they would feel less feminine if their hair began to thin.

That number climbs to 83 percent among women 18-35.

Rules of a Relationship

66 percent of men would suggest that a woman not open up about thinning hair until the relationship starts to get serious (i.e. after a few dates or once they start dating exclusively.)

About the Survey

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Myths & Truths Behind Hair Loss was conducted among 1,001 nationally representative American men and women ages 18 and older. The interviews were conducted online by Wakefield between November 12th and November 17th, 2009 using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population over ages 18 and older.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

To learn more about ROGAINE® and hair loss, go to www.rogaine.com