I don't believe that's actually true, and I'm not a "helmet person" given that I've only worn it a couple of times in the last two weeks.

I realize that there was one study that demonstrated risk compensation, but it was deeply flawed in a basic assumption IMO. They only observed the first few hundred feet of the ride, assuming that a rider would do the same things after many miles.

I am not aware of feeling any greater security with or without a helmet, after the "this is different" feeling wears off. The first minute or so, I'm sure you would observe some difference in how I ride. After that, I doubt it. Analogously, I'd be surprised if people who don't want to ride without one would be riding any differently after 10 or 15 minutes. They'd be riding "normally" for them.

BTW @Matthew2121 my personal take is if you're going to splurge on a nice helmet there's nothing wrong with that, and I'd look for something with more style than the ubiquitous mushroom tops. Some of the Giro helmets look pretty sharp.