More and more young men are considering surgery at the first signs of hair loss, according to a new report.
Hair transplants are once again in the headlines this week after Boy George revealed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! that he had one after being inspired by footballer Wayne Rooney.
The 61-year-old star told campmates that he had been ‘bald’ before going under the knife.
Hair loss will affect a quarter of all guys before they turn 30, two thirds by 60 and a whopping three quarters by the age of 80 – but how do men in the UK really feel about it?
Well, according to new data from LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, men as young as 16 are considering undergoing the same procedure as Boy George.
The UK Male Hair loss report surveyed 1,503 Brits using dating apps to reveal how men in the UK are coping with hair loss.
According to their findings, nearly nine in 10 (89%) men believe there is a negative stigma around hair loss, which ultimately makes them feel self-conscious (43%) and unattractive (25%).
It’s something 33-year-old Nick Chowdry can relate to.
“I first started noticing I was losing my hair about the age of 19. I think I was in denial for a pretty long time about it and it took me a while to even accept it was happening,” he previously told HuffPost UK.
“At such a young age it had a massive impact on my self esteem and I spent the next five years trying various remedies to reverse or cover it up, some of which I believe were seriously damaging to my mental health.”
The report found that 16% of men research hair transplants at the first signs of hair loss with a further 6% undergoing the surgical procedure.
More shockingly, those of a younger age (16-24) are the most likely to turn to hair transplants at the first signs of hair loss, with one in five (19%) admitting to getting a hair transplant when they first noticed their hair was falling out, making this age the most likely to have a surgical procedure.
Among those surveyed, 13% also said they had tried an over-the-counter hair loss treatment at the first signs of hair loss and over a fifth (21%) tried a prescription hair loss treatment such as minoxidil.
Hair loss is also having a serious impact of men’s dating lives, with one in six men under the age of 24 having cancelled a date out of nervousness related to their lack of hair.
Although Chowdry has embraced his baldness by shaving his head completely, he sadly does “feel less attractive than when [he] had a full head of hair”.
“I don’t fit the stereotype of male beauty and I know that many women don’t find baldness attractive,” he said.
For others, balding doesn’t matter. Scott Hanton, 41, doesn’t think being bald is a big deal.
“In normal life I don’t think being bald matters, other than prematurely ageing you a bit,” he preciously told UK.
“I couldn’t care less about my hair loss, although I went bald later than some. I can certainly imagine very early balding, say early twenties, could be a bit heartbreaking.”
Dr Sameer Sanghvi, GP and clinical technology lead at LloydsPharmacy, says that it’s important to embrace hair loss as part of human life.
“Typically, when you think of male hair loss, we tend to think of the older generations, but hair loss can, start as early as 16 for some.
“Nearly nine in ten of those surveyed said they think there is a stigma attached to hair loss, which correlates to feelings of self-consciousness and perhaps leads to men seeking ways to disguise their hair loss rather than embrace it.
“Lifestyle changes will solely not slow down or stop the process of hair loss, so it’s important to embrace it as a natural part of human life.”
