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Curly vs. Straight: Which Do Men Prefer?

First impressions count. Many closet curlies are married to a flat iron because they think men prefer the smooth, straight look over curls or kinks. And when you can maneuver your mane in either direction, you have the option of changing your visual impression when meeting someone new.

But should you? And would it really make a difference?

To find out, I embarked on an unscientific social experiment. Newly single in New York City, I joined a popular online dating service and posted two profiles. They were identical in every way—except one. The first profile included a picture of my hair flat-ironed straight. For the other, my hair was naturally curly. After one month showcasing the straight profile and the next month curly, more than twice as many men responded to the straight look.

More Details:

The straight profile was viewed 1,606 times for the month, while the curly one received 1,063 views during the month it was posted
The flat-ironed look 181 emails, compared with 60 for the curly profile
On the flirtatious side, the stick-straight profile received 120 winks, while curly locks caught winks from 60 men
In about 10 percent of the dates, hair made a difference, while confidence was the driving factor in the remainder of the connections

But this experiment is far from over. There’s a twist. On my dates, the plan was to find out what they really think when I show up as the opposite of what they expect. If they reach out to my straight profile, I would meet them as a curly, and vice versa. Would my hairstyle really affect their attraction? It was an adventure that was full of surprises. My one rule: I vowed to only date men I was truly interested in. This is the real deal, real dates, real men. Here’s a snapshot—you be the judge.

Bachelor #1: Financial-Services Executive
This is my first date. I’m nervous on the entire cab ride to the restaurant, wondering if my date will even recognize me. He expects stick-straight locks. I’m curly. I quickly phone a friend for reinforcement. I’m connected to voicemail, hang up, then glance at the cabbie. He seems nice enough. I bend his ear.

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Comments

I think natural look is what suits us best. If you're naturally curly that's what suits you best; however if you are unhappy with your curls, then you're not very confident. If you think you're gorgeous if you straighten your hair, then flattened hair will suits you best. But if you just respect the nature of your hair, learn to love it and do the best of it, it will be the look that suits you best.../Kenza13 (very curly, no longer flattening my hair)

Surprise. So easy to pick a feminist/liberal out to rig a "survey". At first, I didn't even think it was fair to have an attractive straight-haired girl compared to a more "ethnic" (oh, I'm gonna hear it for that!) and also less attractive lady with curls. They still don't look like the same person. It's like when a top-of-her-game Billie Jean King played an old, out of shape, playing it for laughs Bobbie Riggs, and she beat him. And it was hailed, by the media, as the proof of "equality of the sexes"! Hey, I'm a white guy, and my high school time in the 100 meter dash beat the woman's world top time that year. And I only placed 5th in my conference! Physically equal, of course not. Btw, "Vive la difference!"

This whole thing is ridiculous! I can hardly believe I actually spent the time reading this, let alone responding to it! My daughter has alopecia areata (NO hair) and must wear a wig. She's happilly married to a man (10 yrs now)who also has no hair (bald) and wears a custome toupee. She has two children. It's her third marriage, (but nothing to do with hair). She's an entreprenauer who started her own business a few years ago and is gorgeous, well dressed, slim, confident and successful. Straight, curly ?? - the only ones THAT matters to are people who haven't got anything more important or meaningful to worry about in their lives except hair..... like, teenagers and immature, unmarried twenty-somethings. If they examined the important stuff in their lives, and got a l REAL life, they would probably be far happier and sure of themselves. But given the context of the responses - it probably wouldn't help very much, so it wouldn't matter about curly or straight at all!!! /j/

I dont feel this is exactly right. More than the hair is different, you look more attractive in the straight hair picture because of the way the light hits your face and the angle, making your face appear slimmer.

I'm Irish/French with blonde curly hair so I've always wondered if I should try straightening it. Thank you for doing this research. It really helped in my decision. =)