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Comment by msamwald | Hacker News Reader

The one scientific text on the matter I found via a quick Google search suggests that a shaved head increases perception of dominance and confidence, but decreases attractiveness: http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/DPlab/papers/publishedPapers/M...

Oddly, but not surprisingly, the public press over-represented those findings as also suggesting that fully bald men are perceived as more attractive: https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/4469188/bald-men-perceived...

Which is quite a common thing in this kind of discourse. People are quick to suggest that being bald is really okay and nobody should care, but give the same people 100 pictures of men and they will end up rating those with full hair more attractive than those with hair loss or baldness without further reflection.

Startup idea: creating some kind of stylish, fluffy headgear that somehow replaces hair while still not trying to pose as fake hair / a toupee. This could be huge fashion market.

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“Startup idea: creating some kind of stylish, fluffy headgear that somehow replaces hair while still not trying to pose as fake hair / a toupee. This could be huge fashion market.”

Hats. You’re describing hats.

How about an EEG headset.

https://goo.gl/images/WHEVhB

So... the Uber for Hats then?

No, hats usually have a completely different aesthetic and function than hair, they don't complement the shape of the face in the same way at all. Hats are also mostly worn outside, but seem improper to wear while simply sitting at a desk or lazing on a couch. Someone who would like to cover up a bald head most of the waking time is not well served with most types of hats.

> Hats are also mostly worn outside, but seem improper to wear while simply sitting at a desk or lazing on a couch.

There are many different types of hats. Baseball caps, berets, cowboy hats, beanies, ascot/flat caps, fedoras, boonies, Panama hats, etc. That's mostly just the traditionally male ones too.

Some work better indoors than others. I don't often wear hats anymore, but if I'm wearing a baseball cap type, I'll slide it around backwards when indoors most times.

If I'm lounging on my couch and don't feel Co for table exposing a portion of myself I'm sensitive about and it's not temporary, I've made a major mistake at some point.

What you're suggesting might be useful, but it would just be another type of hat.

This also depends on someone's body type (are you overweight or fit?) and facial bone structure. Having a well-defined jawline and facial symmetry helps. There are people who look good bald (see: Dwayne Johnson), but it's not for everyone.

A whole lot of guys end up losing all of their hair trying to get muscles like Dwayne Johnson.

The rating of the 100 pictures thing misses a very subtle point...

Most women aren't attracted to bald guys. But, a small fraction are.

So, assume there is a bar with 100 women in it. 99 of them dislike bald guys (or are indifferent). But 1 of the chicks is absolutely crazy about bald guys.

Now, if you're the only bald guy in the bar, you are almost guaranteed to score... the one nutty chick who lusts after bald guys will be all yours... no competition (as there aren't that many bald guys in your cohort.)

The guys with hair, though? They will be competing with one another. The girls will be ranking them according to other factors besides hair... it's a confused stressful mess over there with the non-bald guys.

But you? The second you walk in, the baldophilic chick makes a beeline for you.

The morale: you don't need all people to think you're not unattractive. Instead, you just need one person to think you are extremely attractive. The latter is more likely if you have some odd defect.

In this case you also need to be attracted to those persons for it to work in your favor.

Are we HN readers known for high standards when it comes to women? Perish the thought. When your pick-up lines involve references to Python or Containers, you take whatever's available.

I participate in a rewards program and they recently started a daily "survey" that asks dumb questions in the form of "Do you prefer X thing or Y thing?" And I click either X or Y so I can get my stupid 10 points, never mind that in a high percentage of cases, the answer is "Are you freaking kidding me? I wouldn't do either of those two things!"

I have two points in bringing that up:

1. The older I get, the more skeptical I am concerning the value of any and all survey results.

2. Real relationships aren't based on some "hair or no hair?" quiz.

I'm a woman. My ex was slightly shorter than me. Post divorce, I have known a couple of men that I would have happily dated if they hadn't had a chip on their shoulder a mile wide about how women will not date them because they were too short. I actually spent considerable time trying to find some way to let the first guy know that I was interested in him without it somehow going weird places. But it just wasn't possible. He made it absolutely impossible to tell him "I find you attractive" without it coming across like "I'm offering you a pity fuck because I have zero self esteem myself and really enjoy eating shit."

My policy these days: I'm not your therapist. If you have some enormous hang up like that, it isn't my job to help you get over it.

I strongly suspect that a lot of people have trouble getting dates not because of X trait, like baldness, but because of the boatload of baggage they carry around about it. I get it: You have that baggage because people rejected you or criticized you over it.

But, IMO, there are better ways to handle that than to take a drug that can permanently impair sexual functioning. Or covering it with some fluffy fashion wear.

Plugs do a good enough job. There are a few actors with them that you would never be able to tell.

A shitty plug job looks horrible though. You get what you pay for.

In the UK you can get a tattoo that looks like stubbles.

Including a link to an image would really help shed some light on your comment.

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