Women perceive sleek and shiny hair as healthier and more youthful, study finds
Justin Jackson
褋ontributing writer
Sadie Harley
scientific editor
Robert Egan
associate editor
Straight-aligned hair paired with higher shine evokes the appearance of greater youth, health, and attractiveness, according to researchers at The Procter & Gamble Company, which owns several brands of hair care products, including ones designed to make hair shinier.
Studies on appearance often center on facial shape and skin condition. Previous studies also note that skin topography and coloration can influence judgments of age, health, and attractiveness across populations. Facial studies often remove hair cues to avoid biasing feature focused framing of perception.
Hair holds social cues that observers can read quickly. Work with computer-rendered hair has tied diameter, density, style, and color to shifts in perceived age, health, and attractiveness, and some studies previously associated healthier-looking hair with the appearance of better reproductive health.
In the study, "Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations," in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, researchers conducted two experiments to test how shine, alignment, and volume influence judgments of female age, health, and attractiveness.
The judges
Experiment 1 drew female raters from Germany, Spain, and the U.S., with 500 participants per country, 1,500 in total. Ages ranged from 18 to 82 years.
Experiment 2 enlisted 2,000 US women, ages 18 to 87 years. Approximately 110 raters evaluated each of the 48 stimuli created for that experiment.
Stimuli relied on natural Caucasian hair wigs worn by one woman per experiment, with imaging designed to remove facial identity in the experiment. Raters used an online platform to choose which image appeared younger, healthier, or more attractive. Most participants used mobile phones to engage with the survey.
How the hair was manipulated
Experiment 1 contrasted high-shine and low-shine versions across 10 wigs spanning neutral blonde, medium brown, and dark brown, in short and long lengths, and in straight and curly styles. High shine followed clarifying shampoo, brush鈥揵low鈥揹rying, and heat straightening.
Low shine came from adding a thin dry-shampoo layer to the shiny version to mute optical cues without changing the style. Most participants in Experiment 1 (85.6%) used mobile phones to engage with the survey.
Experiment 2 built a factorial set of eight conditions by toggling high or low levels of shine, alignment, and volume on neutral blonde and dark brown wigs. Alignment was created via heat straightening and controlled product use. Volume varied via vent-brush drying for low volume and round-brush, plus backcombing for high volume.
Each condition was photographed in front, 3/4 front, and 3/4 back orientations under controlled lighting with a standardized capture system.
Combing through the results
Across all three countries in Experiment 1, high-shine hair drew more favorable judgments. For youthfulness, eight of 10 hair types favored high shine. For health, all 10 hair types favored high shine. For attractiveness, eight of 10 favored high shine. Exceptions appeared for dark brown curls, where youthfulness did not differ for short and long styles, and attractiveness did not differ for long curls.
Experiment 2 ranked straight-aligned hair as most favorable overall, particularly when paired with low volume and high shine. Patterns held across both hair colors and across viewpoints. High volume reduced favorable judgments, especially for youthfulness and attractiveness.
Low alignment combinations tended to score lower on health and attractiveness. High shine alone without alignment did not guarantee higher health or attractiveness scores, though youthfulness could still rise.
In parting
Findings point to a consistent role for alignment and shine together in shaping judgments of youth, health, and attractiveness for Caucasian wigs. Effects appeared consistent and persisted on small screens, given the high share of mobile participation.
Exclusive use of "Caucasian" hair with two-level manipulations for each feature, leaves open questions about generalizability to other hair types and ethnic groups.
The authors note that alignment may amplify perceived shine by organizing fibers to reflect more specular light, and that grooming practices that preserve alignment and shine might be associated with higher appearance ratings in these tasks.
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More information: Susanne Will et al, Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations, International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2025).
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