Psychological Impact of Male Pattern Baldness

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Although it took 2500 years from Hippocrates' discovery to figure out the true cause of hair loss (see History of Hair Loss Treatments), the psychological attachment men have for their hair, even if it is already gone, has been recorded throughout history. As noted on the History page, loss of hair in the middle east meant a loss of a man's virility. It must have also been painful for Roman men, including one of the most powerful of all:

Legend has it that Caesar became so worried and embarrassed about his baldness that he used to wear his ceremonial laurel wreaths constantly to try and hide it. Caesar also had his defeated enemy's hair cut off as a sign of submission when they were conquered. (2) (Article continues below ad)

He was apparently so desperate about his hair, that he even tried a baldness cure that Cleopatra proposed that consisted of burnt domestic mice, horse teeth, bear grease, and deer marrow.(4)

Men today might feel a kinship with Julius Caesar if they knew how much his hair loss bothered him. The psychological impact of male pattern baldness was studied twice in the 1990s and both came to the conclusion that it caused great stress and unhappiness, left a poorer self image, and increased self-consciousness of their own baldness when compared to controls with little to no hair loss.

Results: Reported effects of balding reflected considerable preoccupation, moderate stress or distress, and copious coping efforts. These effects were especially salient among men with more extensive balding and among younger men, single men, and those with an earlier hair-loss onset. Relative to controls, balding men had less body-image satisfaction yet were comparable on other personality indexes. - 1992 Study. (7)

Results: Men with greater hair loss had more bother, concern about getting older, perceived noticeability to others and greater dissatisfaction with their hair appearance than men with less hair loss. These effects decreased with age for men with hair loss, but regardless of age, perceived noticeability of hair loss increased monotonically with degree of hair loss. - 1998 study. (8)

The second study went on to note that this negative self-image was especially damaging in young men, and single men. One might assume they feel more stress as they perceive losing one's hair might mean losing one's chance to attract a suitable partner.