One in Five Men Have Haircut Anxiety (Yes, It’s a Thing)

Turns out, it’s not just teenagers rolling their eyes in the salon chair — grown men are secretly sweating bullets at the barbershop. A new survey of 2,000 men revealed that 21% feel “nervous” asking their stylist for a new haircut.

And honestly? Same. Asking for a new ‘do can feel like negotiating international trade: high stakes, complicated vocabulary, and the constant fear you’ll leave looking like a rejected Backstreet Boy.

The Struggle Is Real

• 23% admitted they’ve been too afraid to ask for the haircut they really wanted. Translation: they walked in dreaming of Ryan Gosling and walked out looking like their uncle Gary.
  
• 17% tried to soften the blow by asking for a “watered-down” version of their dream cut — like asking for a mullet, but, you know, tasteful.
  
• A brave 36% have found success by showing their stylist a reference photo. Which is cute, because it usually goes like: “Can you make me look like Brad Pitt?” and the stylist has to politely manage expectations.

Stylists = Therapy with Scissors

More than half of men (57%) have “their person” when it comes to hair, and 74% say trust in a stylist is everything.Forget Tinder — the real soulmates are found in barbershops.

In fact:

• 32% say their barber is practically family.
• 16% consider them part of the inner circle.
• 29% call them “friends”… but only during haircuts. (So no, Dave, you’re not getting invited to poker night, but thanks for the fade.)

The Comfort Zone Haircut

On average, men get a trim 10 times a year but keep the same style for a whopping seven years. Seven! That’s longer than most relationships, gym memberships, or Netflix passwords shared with your cousin.

And most men are fine with it:

• 84% feel confident rocking their current style.
• 55% have never even considered switching it up. Because why risk it, when the worst-case scenario is a three-month awkward grow-out and a toque pulled low until March?

RELATED: Toothpaste Made from Hair Could Be the Next Big Thing in Fighting Cavities 

The Haircuts Men Think They Can Pull Off

Here’s the top 10 cuts men believe they could rock (whether reality agrees is another story):

1. Letting it grow out – 28% (translation: hockey hair incoming)
2. Fully shaved/bald – 22% (the “Bruce Willis chic”)
3. Middle part, long hair – 13% (aka “The Shawn Mendes starter pack”)
4. Hard side part – 13%
5. Spiked hair – 11% (2002 called, it wants its gel back)
6. Highlights – 11% (Frosted tips, anyone?)
7. Greased-back hair – 10% (The mafia uncle vibe)
8. Mullet – 8% (the Canadian classic)
9. Mohawk – 8% (because why not?)
10. Bleached buzzcut – 7% (the “Britney 2007 special”)

So, next time you see a guy nervously waiting his turn at the barber, just know he’s not planning a bank robbery — he’s just working up the courage to say: “Could you maybe make me look like Ryan Reynolds… but chill?”