In high school, I had a full head of thick black hair. I have the pictures to prove it. In college, I started losing my hair. I remember sitting at my desk reading textbooks, running my hand through my hair, and seeing clumps of hair fall onto the pages. 

For many guys, male pattern baldness is just part of the deal. But that deal is supposed to happen when you’re older. It sucks when it happens to you at a young age. Sometime in my early 20’s, I noticed the transition to being called “sir” by hostesses and other service people. I was always pegged to be a lot older than my chronological age, which has its advantages and disadvantages.

I never did anything about my hair loss. I did not want to take any medication, and I was not interested in special shampoos or formulas to slow down hair loss or even regrow hair. I certainly was not going to spend the time or money on hair transplant surgery. I just took the hit and relished the savings from not purchasing hair care products other than shampoo.

Someone asked me one time whether I’d ever wear a hairpiece. I don’t even like wearing hats, so a hairpiece just seems like a lot of hassle. I tend to run hot, so I know I’d be sweating all the time and it would probably not stay in place. More importantly, though, how do you transition from being a bald guy to suddenly a full head of hair? 

My theory is that there are only two times per year when you can dare attempt this and one is this week–Halloween. If you really want to legitimately wear a hairpiece, Halloween is the perfect time to try it out. People will freely comment, and you can get a sense of whether you can successfully make the transition. If it doesn’t work out, you can just say it was part of your Halloween costume. By the way, the other day when you can try this is April 1st and pass it off as an April Fool’s joke if things don’t work out.

Thankfully, going bald or keeping hair very short became so fashionable that even guys with full heads of hair are shaving it off. Maybe I was ahead of the curve after all.