Masked Men

Men who fear that a facial mask can take away their masculinity have yet to discover its secret as a fountain of youth.

- Wilson Lim

Girls’ pyjama parties and Jim Carrey’s The Mask come to mind when masks crop up in men’s daily conversations. There is something about a bunch of women, with facial masks on, gossiping in bed that puts facial masks in a box labelled “For Her Only”. Perhaps the possibility of turning into a rambunctious green-skinned Casanova after putting on (any) mask might also be too much for men to handle, but The Mask did score the bombshell, Cameron Diaz, in the eponymous movie, did he not?

Coincidentally, this is also known as the masked-man fallacy, which infers that since men know that women use facial masks, the benefits are only for women. Men are constantly plagued by “this-is-not-for-me” syndrome when it comes to grooming, seemingly sure that a better version of himself is impossible. When Mr Perfection becomes Mr Wrinkles, Botox and other costly cosmetic procedures would then be the only viable solutions for the reversal to Mr Near-Perfection.