Growing up, I was obsessed with Jim Carrey. His films like The Mask and Ace Ventura defined my childhood humour, and later, The Truman Show showed me his philosophical side. So when I heard he was starring in a TV series called Kidding, I was thrilled.
At the time, I was in my early 30s and losing my hair. It felt too soon; I had always had thick hair, and the thinning made me feel old and unattractive. I tried combing it over, but eventually there was no hiding it. Every mirror reminded me of something being taken away.
Then one night, I watched the first episode of Kidding. In a scene, Carrey's character, a children's TV presenter, argues with his father and impulsively shaves a stripe down the middle of his head with clippers. I burst out laughing, but I also felt something shift. It was an act of liberation, of taking back control. I paused the stream, went to the bathroom, and did the same thing with my beard trimmer. I looked ridiculous and laughed for a minute, seeing the absurdity of my anxiety. Then I finished the episode with that stripe, and afterwards, I shaved it all off.
The weight lifted instantly. The anxiety about my hair vanished, and I realised I had a nicely shaped scalp. My friends all said I looked better shaved, and even my mother approved. Now I keep my head shaved most of the time, and I'm comfortable with how I look. I know there's stigma around male baldness, but I try not to let it affect me. Losing my hair felt out of my control, but by shaving it off on my own terms, I turned it into a choice, and that made all the difference.
