How men can overcome their haircut anxiety

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

DO YOU HAVE ‘HAIRCUT ANXIETY’?

ONE IN FIVE MEN SAY THEY FEEL NERVOUS ASKING THEIR STYLIST OR BARBER FOR A NEW HAIRSTYLE, ACCORDING TO A NEW POLL. 

THE SURVEY OF 2,000 MEN FROM SPORT CLIPS HAIRCUTS SAY ANOTHER ONE IN FIVE HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO ASK FOR A SPECIFIC HAIRCUT, EVEN WHEN THEY REALLY WANTED IT. 

A THIRD SAY THEY’LL GET AROUND IT BY TRYING TO SHOW THEIR STYLIST A PICTURE OF WHAT THEY WANT AND 17 PERCENT THEY’LL JUST ASK FOR A MORE ‘WATERED DOWN’ VERSION OF WHAT THEY REALLY WANT. 

CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH, THE SURVEY UNCOVERED SOME OF THE BONDS MEN HAVE WITH THEIR HAIR STYLISTS, INCLUDING THAT A THIRD SAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS SO TIGHT THEY CONSIDER THEIR STYLIST TO BE ‘PRACTICALLY FAMILY.’

SO WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR HAIR ROUTINE! IS YOUR BARBER YOUR BUDDY OR DO YOU GET ANXIOUS BEFORE VISITING THE SALON?

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American men; the survey was commissioned by Sport Clips and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 23 and July 28, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.