Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
She was missing out on dates — by a hair.
After years of suspecting her hair influenced how men treat her, 23-year-old Abby, who has naturally curly hair, put it to the test.
The single Londoner, who did not provide her last name, created two different dating profiles on Hinge — one with photos of her with curly hair and one with pictures of her sporting straight hair — to see which profile received more likes from prospective bachelors.
She discovered she received more interest from men on the profile featuring strictly straight-haired photos — 142% more to be exact.
“When I was out, I noticed the difference in the male attention I’d get when my hair was straight versus when it was curly,” Abby, who works as an office admin assistant, told the Daily Mail.
“When I straighten my hair, I feel like it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll get more attention from men.”
And she isn’t alone.
In a video with over 12 million views, TikTokker Elizabeth McGovern said that hitting the town with curly hair “means I’ll be buying my own drinks for the night,” calling her waves “man repellent.”
“I do notice a difference in attention when I wear my hair natural, especially when I’m out,” the 22-year-old New York creator previously told Newsweek.
“I’ve noticed that I seem to get a lot of compliments from women, and it’s often a conversation starter with other girls who wear their hair natural.”
Men, however, are a different story.
“When I heat-style my hair, I feel like it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll get a lot of attention from men I don’t know,” she continued.
Abby started straightening her hair more than a decade ago, a habit that garnered compliments and stuck for years to come.
“When I was younger, I didn’t really know how to style my natural hair. I didn’t even know my curl type, especially as most of my close family and friends had naturally straight hair,” she explained.
“I’d get compliments every time I would straighten my hair, which I think subconsciously made me feel insecure and stopped me embracing my natural hair.”
While she has been leaning into her natural curls, styling her hair with heat is “more manageable,” she said, adding that “there’s less frizz so it’s easier to try out different hairstyles for dates.”
“Subconsciously, I feel like my straight hair looks more put-together so I’d say I do often feel more confident with straight hair,” she added.
She doesn’t think that her hairstyle will necessarily determine a second date, though, explaining that more dates are determined by connection, not appearances.
“If my hair is the deciding factor, then he’s definitely not the right guy anyway,” she said.
