Statistics: Hair Loss and Career Success

• 63% of women claim to have career related problems as a consequence of their hair loss.
• 21% of men feel depressed by their hair loss and agree that it affects their careers.
• 62% of men agree that hair loss can affect self-esteem and professional confidence.

Researchers have established a clear connection between hair loss and career success. While there are plenty of studies available on the subject, we’ve chosen three of the most relevant ones and displayed their results in the table down below. 

A full head of hair is an important part of personal attractiveness. Thus, losing your hair can often feel like you have lost what makes you attractive and that subsequently impacts your self-esteem. 

You automatically start believing yourself to be inferior to other members of your workplace who still have their hair. You’re also constantly flustered and fidgety at work trying to hide your hair loss, which makes you look less confident. 

Studies show that the most common emotional aspects associated with hair loss are embarrassment, frustration, jealousy and self-consciousness. And being overly self-conscious can definitely impact your professional confidence. 

We would like to believe that looks have nothing to do with professional advancement but the fact is beautiful people are paid more and promoted earlier. Additionally, hair loss can have plenty of psychological effects that hinder our career performance. 

According to various studies, hair loss can increase the risk of anxiety and depression, decrease your self-confidence and, at worse, trigger body dysmorphia (a mental disorder which causes people to worry too much about the flaws in their looks). 

Under conditions like that it can be very difficult to focus on your professional duties, and your work can suffer as a result. 

While androgenetic alopecia is more prevalent in men than women, research shows that women find the issue more distressing. The study recognizes that women place more importance on their overall appearance than men. Which is why hair loss tends to affect their psychology more. 

It also mentions that women tend to view their hair as a symbol of their identity and femininity and as an indicator of reproductive potential. Thus, as a result, even the slightest sign of alopecia can make their work life suffer by bringing down their professional confidence, self-esteem and personal attractiveness. 

On the other hand, men suffering from alopecia tend to embrace their condition by going completely bald. However, it is important to note that plenty of men in this survey reported a high degree of concern over their hair loss as well. Meaning that it must have a significant impact on their careers as well. 

Corporate/Office Jobs

While corporate jobs don’t actively put any importance on your physical appearance, losing hair can still impact you negatively in the workplace. 

In cases like this, you become your own worst enemy, allowing your inner feelings to surface in the office. 

In other words, the psychological impact of hair loss can start affecting how you look at yourself during work hours and shatter your confidence during meetings, presentations and team-building exercises. 

Entertainment and Media

Looking and feeling attractive is almost a requirement in the entertainment and media industry. Whether you are an actress, news anchor or even part of the on-set management team, your looks make up a huge chunk of your resume. 

So, it becomes kind of obvious why hair loss of any kind is frowned upon in the industry and why it is nearly impossible to continue working in entertainment and media if you’re suffering from alopecia. 

Sales and Marketing

Much like the entertainment and media industry, the sales and marketing industry is all about looking presentable and confident while pitching a product or service to a prospect. 

Unfortunately, not only does hair loss affect your appearance and attractiveness, it also dents your confidence. It can divert your focus from your job, which eventually results in your losing the sale. 

Customer Service

Customer service is all about appearing confident about the information you are providing to each customer. A customer service rep’s main responsibility is to make every customer feel like they’re being heard and to answer their queries in a calm but confident manner. 

However, according to the studies we’ve mentioned, losing your hair can significantly lower your confidence while raising your stress and anxiety. 

Therefore, even though your physical appearance doesn’t matter in the customer service industry, this loss of confidence can greatly hurt your career progress. 

Fortunately, your hair loss doesn’t need to be permanent since there are plenty of treatment options available. This section will evaluate each treatment option with respect to its impact on your career success. 

Hair Transplants

Seeing as how hair transplants can help you regrow your hair and subsequently improve your professional confidence and self-esteem, they are considered one of the best treatment options for hair loss. 

Keeping that in mind, we at Medihair conducted a study measuring the emotional impact of the procedure on our users. The results showed that around 41.5% of our users wanted to get a hair transplant as soon as possible. 

Plus, 55.7% of patients recorded a marked increase in their confidence and sense of personal attractiveness as a result of their hair transplants. Thus confirming that hair transplants can have a huge impact on your overall career success as well. 

Medication

Unlike hair transplants, hair loss medications can only stop your hair loss from intensifying further. That being said, FDA-approved medications like Minoxidil and Finasteride may just help fix your hair growth cycle by preventing any further hair loss. 

At the very least, they should mitigate your stress and help you focus on your work, which could lead to advancements in your career. 

Cosmetic Solutions

While cosmetic solutions will not exactly treat your hair loss, you can use them to hide your thinning hair. Wigs and hairpieces, for instance, can cover your entire head or specific areas of your scalp where the thinning or baldness is extremely visible. 

These should help you take your mind off of your hair when you are at work at least, which might even lead to your being productive and performing better.