Men Would Give Up Money, Years of Life, and Even Confidence - Just to Keep Their Hair.
Hair loss has always been sensitive territory, but it’s also a booming market. Around 50 million U.S. men deal with male-pattern baldness, and by 50, nearly half show visible thinning. What used to be whispered about is now mainstream: Hims & Hers counted 2.2 million subscribers in 2024 and $1.5B in revenue, up 69% year over year. Finasteride prescriptions alone have more than doubled in the past decade, driven by the ease of online delivery.
At SuretyNow, this isn’t just an abstract trend - it’s personal. Our team is mostly men now hitting the age when hair loss becomes real, and we wanted to know what the experience actually looks like. So we surveyed 1,000 Americans, including nearly 400 finasteride users. Two-thirds reported mood or mental health issues, many mentioned brain fog and sexual side effects, and politics even shaped how men described their experiences. Most striking: despite the downsides, plenty said they’d trade money, height, or even years of life just to keep their hair.
What Men Really Experience
Clinical trials have long described finasteride side effects as “rare,” usually affecting just 1–2% of users. Our survey tells a very different story. Nearly seven in ten men reported mood or mental health changes, more than half noticed shedding when they started, a third experienced sexual side effects, and one in four described “brain fog.” Only about one in eight men said they had no side effects at all.
Why might the numbers differ so much? Trials are short, selective, and only measure a narrow list of problems. Real-world use is broader, longer, and less tidy - so experiences look very different.
- 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
Does it Work? What Happens When You Quit?
Despite the side effects, respondents found the drug effective at combating hair loss and none reported long term side effects once they stopped finasteride.
If you’ve used finasteride, how effective has it been for slowing or stopping your hair loss?
- 56% indicated very effective
- 38% indicated somewhat effective
- 5% indicated not effective
How severe were the side effects at their worst?
- 5% indicated severe
- 64% indicated moderate
- 31% indicated mild
Once you stop taking finasteride, what happens to your side effects?
- 53% indicated fully resolved
- 47% indicated partially resolved
- 0% indicated persisted
Hair over Everything Else
What would you trade for a full head of hair? According to our survey, almost anything.
Eighty-four percent of men said they’d rather keep their hair than be three inches taller. Six in ten would pick hair over a 10% raise. And more than half would choose hair over five extra years of life. That last one stops you in your tracks - men literally valuing hair more than time.
Hair Splits Across Party Lines
It gets more interesting when we layer in political beliefs. Trump voters were almost unanimous about picking hair over height, but it was Democrats who stood out for how far they’d go - overwhelmingly choosing hair over money and even lifespan.
And the confidence numbers back it up. Harris voters were much more likely to say hair loss hurt them socially - about 42% said it made a dent in their dating or social life, with nearly one in five calling the impact “very negative.” Trump voters, on the other hand, seemed less fazed. Almost half said the effect was only somewhat negative, and the biggest group (28%) actually claimed they felt more confident without hair.
So the story’s consistent: Democrats worry more about losing it, while Republicans are more likely to shrug it off.
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.
