Balding men feel their hair loss is holding them back from finding true love, according to research.
The study of 800 adult males who have thinning or no hair found 73 per cent claimed to have less luck on the dating scene than friends with hair.
One in five blame their receding hairline on their failure to find ‘The One’, with 32 per cent believing they had a more successful love life when they had full locks.
It also emerged 40 per cent feel their hair loss has knocked their confidence when approaching women.
Dr Furqan Raja, specialist hair transplant surgeon for The Private Clinic of Harley Street (https://www.theprivateclinic.co.uk/), which commissioned the research, said: “Most men are already anxious around dating but hair loss forms a large part of this anxiety.
“Images portrayed on social media have raised unrealistic expectations and we find people comparing themselves to what they see as perfection.
“While some may think hair loss is not a significant issue, it can have a psychological impact on confidence, especially as physical features are one of the areas dates often notice first.
“But the good news is there are solutions to tackling baldness and ultimately maintaining good health of your hair to last longer.”
The study also found 18 per cent of those polled have experienced some form of negativity towards their hair loss, with a further 23 per cent witnessing it happen to other people.
Of those, 47 per cent have heard comments about not wanting to date someone who is losing their hair, while 41 per cent have faced jokes about a receding hairline.
And 48 per cent have noticed someone staring at their hair or baldness.
As a result, 42 per cent wished they had a better head of hair, with 22 per cent of those thinking about this as often as once a day.
While 30 per cent have even considered a hair transplant, believing it would improve their career, love life and confidence.
But of those who haven’t considered the procedure, 47 per cent think it would be too expensive while 13 per cent fear the treatment.
The study, carried out via OnePoll, also found 39 per cent started to notice their hair thinning before reaching their mid-thirties, with 44 per cent blaming it on genetics.
While 26 per cent put their baldness down to cutting their hair too short and 21 per cent worry it’s due to dying it too much.
Mr Michael Mouzakis, expert hair transplant and plastic surgeon, also based at The Private Clinic, which offers FUE hair transplants, said: “Baldness is caused by various factors such as excess hair treatment, stress and mostly down to genetics.
“We’re here to help men keen to make the first step and be more open about their hair in a positive manner.
“It's normal to lose hair. We can lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, often without noticing.
"Hair loss is not usually anything to be worried about, but occasionally it can be a sign of a medical condition.
“Some types of hair loss are permanent, like male and female pattern baldness. This type of hair loss usually runs in the family.
“Other types of hair loss may be temporary. They can be caused by an illness, stress, cancer treatment, weight loss or iron deficiency.”
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