What’s happened since I decided to embrace the bald and cultivate a sense of humor about it is that I’ve found that people a.) Don’t care b.) Think it’s awesome or c.) Seriously — they don’t care.From there, it was a slow decline into baldhood, which included me shoving my hair this way and that way to cover up the bald spot in the back while not ignoring the receding part in front.
I held certain truths about being bald that would later prove false. I believed I would never get another girlfriend or get married or even hit on girls in bars if I were bald. I thought that no one would take me seriously at work. I believed babies and children would cry at the mere sight of my shiny pate.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
What’s happened since I decided to embrace the bald and cultivate a sense of humor about it is that I’ve found that people a.) Don’t care b.) Think it’s awesome or c.) Seriously — they don’t care.
I won’t go so far as to say there’s a brotherhood among bald men, but there’s definitely an inherent kinship. I’ve bonded with other bald dudes over the shared experience. We’ve discussed our bald heroes. I’m a Larry David/Jason Statham guy.
If you’re starting to lose your hair, I’m not telling you that you must start shaving it down today and suddenly your world will open up to the glories of being bald. But I will say that once I made that decision at Great Clips seven years ago, I haven’t had an ounce of anxiety over it.
If it’s not your time, do what you need to do. You have to be ready to take that step, and once you do, be confident about it. Your friends will support you. Women (probably not college-aged women, but women nonetheless) will still talk to you. Your colleagues at work will still want to hear your ideas, and your boss will still promote you.
And while it wasn’t my choice to be bald in the first place, it’s certainly my choice to embrace it today. And if I’ve learned anything about women in my 35 years, it’s that they think decisive men are sexy.