The characters in The Simpsons have very peculiar looks, and one of Homer’s main physical characteristics is that he’s bald – but why did he lose his hair? Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons started as a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, but it didn’t take long for it to be developed into a proper TV show. The Simpsons made its official debut on Fox in 1989, and has since become the longest-running American sitcom, and has successfully expanded to other media, most notably comic books and film.
The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family and other notable citizens from Springfield, though always with the Simpsons at the front and center. The family has become part of pop culture, and their image is very popular – and with good reason, as they were made to stand out, to the point where they are the only citizens of Springfield with yellow hair. However, that doesn’t really apply to Homer, and not just because he’s bald, but because he has brown hair. Homer has been bald through most of the series, but various flashbacks have shown him with hair – so how did he lose it?
Homer didn’t go bald prematurely, as he has been shown with abundant hair in his teenage and young adult years, but the stress of life and looking after a family eventually took a toll on him. The Simpsons has shown Homer gradually losing his hair, and all those years working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant could have also provoked hair loss, but a flashback to Marge’s pregnancies gave a more memorable and on-brand reason for his hair loss. When Marge told him she was pregnant with Bart, Homer ripped out his hair in shock and fear, and he did the same when he learned about Lisa, so by the time Marge was pregnant with Maggie, he was left with just three hairs.
Homer has regained his hair a couple of times through the series, such as in season 2’s episode “Simpson and Delilah”. In it, Homer buys a hair restorer he sees in a TV commercial and which is branded as a “miracle breakthrough”. The product works and Homer’s hair grows overnight, which helps him get a promotion at work. After Bart spills the formula, Homer loses his hair again, and even though he continues to be a great employee, he’s not taken seriously anymore. Homer got hair again in "Treehouse of Horror IX", in the segment “Hell Toupée”, where he gets a hair transplant from Snake, who is executed for his crimes. Luckily, the Halloween episodes are not canon, so Homer didn’t really have to go through the experience of being possessed by the hair of another man.
Homer losing his hair out of shock and fear of becoming a father is a very Homer thing to happen, but at least he learned a valuable lesson after regaining his hair for a while: his worth is not based on having hair, and his family will always love him no matter what. Perhaps Homer will continue trying to grow his hair back in future seasons (canon episodes or not), but it’s unlikely he will find a permanent solution, as being bald is part of his signature look.
