Dr. Christopher Balgobin, Medical Director at Good Look Ink, has cited a report by a University of Pennsylvania professor showing that women tend to find men with shaved heads more “manly”.
The report by Alfred Mannes was published in a recent article for the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science. Mannes found that his 60 participants continually perceived that the shaven-headed men ranked higher for “masculinity, strength, dominance and leadership potential.”
Mannes ran a series of three tests with his subjects. The first required subjects to study photos of men who were similar in age and apparel. The test subjects rated all of the men on how commanding, prominent and imposing they looked. The results showed that men with shaved heads topped the ratings.
The second test required the subjects to look at photos of men both with hair and after their hair had been digitally removed. Not only were the men observed to be more dominant when they were shown digitally without hair, but they were also viewed as nearly an inch taller and 13 percent stronger.
For the final study, Mannes provided the participants with verbal and written descriptions men. Some men were described as having thick hair and others had shaved heads. Once again, the participants rated the men with shaved heads highest for masculinity, strength, dominance and leadership potential.
Based on the findings, he developed the theory that shaven headed men are considered more imperious than the hirsute because the look is associated with “hypermasculine” images such as Marines and Hollywood action heroes like Bruce Willis or Jason Statham.
“The broad takeaway is that perceptions about leadership and related traits like dominance can emerge from peculiar characteristics that aren’t really related to leadership at all,” Mannes said.
Mannes said that the impetus for his research study was his own experience in his early 30s, when he began losing his hair. “After fighting it for a while, one day I just decided to shave it off,” he said. Mannes claimed that he received some positive feedback but his new appearance had “one unexpected consequence” – people started to treat him with more deference.
“The shaved look is more attractive than the visibly balding look,” Mannes told Time. “So men suffering natural hair loss may enhance both their dominance and attractiveness by shaving.”
Dr. Balgobin backed up the report by channeling the success stories of some of his company’s clients. “We have found over the years that the idea of the manly, healthily coiffed Samson character is completely outdated,” said Balgobin. “We receive emails from clients all the time that their Scalp Micro Pigmentation has given them a new lease of confidence, which has led to success with both employment and chosen partners.”
Good Look Ink is the leading authority in non-surgical scalp micropigmentation, which allows men who are balding to level the playing field and make it seem as though it was their choice to buzz their head by giving them the illusion of having hair.
A Fox News Magazine survey recently asked several ladies what they thought of guys with the shaved head look. Most women were very assertive with their praise, particularly in a confident man.
“I like when dudes commit to shaving their heads instead of doing the weird patchy thing or trying to comb hair around so it looks like they have more. Just own it, dude,” says Lilit, 31.
“Confidence and personality win over hair/lack thereof every time,” says Lauren, 35.
In another study cited by Good Look Ink, researchers at Wake Forest University asked over 2,500 women to study several pictures of men and to rate each guy’s appeal on a level from 1 to 10. While a clean, well-kempt appearance was attractive to most test subjects, having a full head of hair did not make the women’s list of sexy attributes. What topped that list? Confidence!
Dr. Balgobin says that the majority of his clients gain a great deal of confidence from their new appearance. “After their, Good Look Ink Scalp Micro Pigmentation, our clients don’t suffer from bed head in the morning, or have to worry about their hair sticking up all over their head after a work-out,” says Balgobin. “These small things greatly increase confidence.”
Multiple studies have shown that having a thick head of hair is not a deciding factor for women when choosing a man. To the contrary, the shaved head look is the way to go when it comes to achieving a more authoritative and manly look. As Good Look Ink’s Dr. Christopher Balgobin professes, the key to pulling it off is confidence.
Stephen Elliott contributed to this article.
Mike Casey is based in Palmyra, New Jersey, United States of America, and is a Stringer for Allvoices.