More Women Buy Hair-Loss Products

Women are becoming a new customer base in the market for hair-loss remedies. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, women make up 45 percent of people suffering from hair loss in Korea.

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Women tend to worry about their hair thinning rather than receding in a male balding pattern.

Products that purport to help them include helmets that emit laser into the scalp, and although they cost between W690,000 and W970,000, sales in the first half of this year increased by more than four times compared to a year ago (US$1=W1,210).

Online shopping mall Gmarket tallied sales of hair loss products from January to July and found that 60 percent of customers were women. That is a straight reversal from only five years ago, when men made up 56 percent.

Lim Jung-hwan at Gmarket said, "Dyeing, blow-drying and perming hair as well as strenuous dieting have cause an increase in young women suffering from hair loss. Among customers who buy hair loss products, 46 percent are in their 20s and 30s".