Hair loss has always been a sensitive subject, but it’s also a massive market. Roughly 50 million U.S. men live with male-pattern hair loss, and by age 50, 30–50% of men show visible thinning. What used to be whispered about is now mainstream: telehealth platforms like Hims & Hers reported 2.2M subscribers in 2024 and $1.5B in revenue (+69% YoY). Finasteride prescriptions have more than doubled in the past decade, fueled by the convenience of online delivery.
Finasteride itself isn’t new—it was FDA-approved for hair loss in 1997 after limited clinical trials. Those studies focused narrowly on hair counts, with relatively little emphasis on side effects. Today, millions of men take the drug, but real-world reporting on its impact is still scarce.
At SuretyNow, we’re not outsiders looking in. We’re men in the age group where hair loss becomes personal. We wanted to know the real story, so we asked men directly. Here’s what we found.
Real-World Effectiveness & Side Effects
Clinical trial summaries often list side effects as rare. Our survey shows they’re a lived reality.
- Side effects (users, multi-select):
- 69.5% mood/mental health (anxiety, depression)
- 53% hair shedding at the start
- 33% sexual side effects (libido, ED)
- 25.9% cognitive issues (“brain fog”)
- Only 12.6% reported no side effects
- Severity (if experienced): 64% moderate · 31% mild · 5% severe
- Effectiveness: 56% very effective · 38% somewhat effective · 5% not effective
- Resolution if stopped: 53% fully resolved · 47% partially resolved
Hair vs. Everything Else
If hair is just vanity, you’d expect men to trade it for almost anything else. Instead, the opposite is true.
Eighty-four percent would rather keep their hair than grow three inches taller. Six in ten would choose hair over a 10% raise. And more than half would even pick hair over five extra years of life.
Politics sharpened the split. Trump voters were nearly unanimous about picking hair over height. Harris voters, meanwhile, were far more likely to choose hair over money or lifespan.
Politics & Confidence/Hair
Hair loss doesn’t just shape appearance—it shapes identity. And here too, politics divides the story.
Harris voters were more likely to call the impact “very negative.” But they also had the highest share saying hair loss had “no impact” at all. Trump voters leaned toward “somewhat negative,” yet were also twice as likely to say going bald actually boosted their confidence.
The Bald Truth
Here’s what we learned: finasteride helps, but side effects are common. Men value their hair so highly they’ll trade money, height, even years of life for it. And politics shapes how they frame baldness—whether as a setback, a shrug, or a strength.
Methodology
We surveyed 1,000 adult men in the United States who indicated they were experiencing noticeable hair loss. Of these respondents, 390 reported having used finasteride and provided detailed responses on effectiveness, side effects, and resolution.
All figures reported in the Bald Truth Report reflect the weighted responses of these qualified participants. With a base size of 1,000, the survey carries a margin of error of approximately ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For the subgroup of 390 finasteride users, the margin of error is approximately ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Respondents were recruited through an online panel and screened to ensure they met the eligibility criteria. All participants answered the questionnaire voluntarily and anonymously.
