Parenting has difficult moments. When a child is diagnosed with alopecia, the whole family is swept up into a whirlwind of change. There are doctor appointments, questions, treatments, and you are just looking to assure your child will live a happy life in a world that can be very cruel. Through honest conversations, we are…

I teach the English Learners in 5 schools in my district.The other day, I was walking through the kindergarten hall and a boy started laughing and pointing and shouted that I looked like a boy. I have alopecia universalis and seldom cover my head.I knelt down and had a gentle but honest conversation about what would be a better way to express his interest and observations. A little girl next to him joined in and asked if I had cancer. I explained that I didn't and in five to six year old…

So for some time now my Mum has been asking me when am I going to be giving her grandchildren, this terrifies me... Like A LOT!

I want children one day but first I want to be settled down in a steady relationship but when you are twenty two with thinning hair your hardly attractive to most lads.

I know it's not about looks and what not but you try telling that to a lad you've been trying to get to know and then you eventually meet and he's opening question is 'what happened to…

I haven't attempted at a new relationship since my last. 

And I'm scared to try.

Should I tell you later?

Say I do open up and get to know you, but the constant thought of my secret is on the tip of every word I've said.

I don't want to reveal my secret just to have you run the other way.

But if you run then that lets me know it wasn't meant to be, right?

No?

Yes?

Should I tell you sooner?

Well I've asked that question to a ex bf…

I met the bald woman of my dreams on MySpace.com in the spring of 2007, and I can't tell you how grateful I am that she didn't summarily dismiss me as some creepy dude who simply had a bald fetish.

When I saw her photos on MySpace at the time, I thought she was as fine as they come and I let her know it. Yes, I knew she was bald due to alopecia areata because that was one of the first things her profile stated and she was bald in all her photos. However, it didn't matter one bit: She…

While I continued to go about my stressful life as usual including breaking up with Jonathan (more on that in the book), I met Aaron* shortly after the New Year.  During our lunch hour, I happened to sit across from him in the courtyard at WMA.  We ended up chatting about surfing, yoga, and self-reflection of all things.  He told me that he believed in working on oneself and growing as a person.  I remember noting that I liked the way Aaron thought.  It also didn’t hurt that he was lean from…

It will be four years in December since I shaved my head. Attempting to balance school, beauty standards, shame, and being in an emotionally and mentally abusive relationship, finding self-acceptance while having alopecia has not been easy. After one huge argument with the guy I was dating, I decided I just needed to be free. While the option should have been to break up with this guy forever, I decided to buy a pair of clippers and loose myself of the beautiful natural hair that I often…

Hello Everyone!

First of all I would like to apologize for not being on the site more often. You are all wonderful people with interesting and inspiring stories to tell.

A little about me. I was diagnosed with Alopecia 10 years ago when I was 15. Its been a tough road for me and my loved ones. For the past month I have been walking this crazy earth without a hair piece and have been feeling pretty confident about it. Still some ups and downs. Now, I have tried this 3 times…

Early lessons in life have an impact. If you are surrounded by people, even in your own family, who put Hollywood standards of air-brushed, coiffed and "bought" physical beauty as the value of a person, then I guess you will be totally freaked out by alopecia. But if you learn a lesson early on in life, or repeatedly so it stays with you, that accidents, illness, war, or any other change can change the outside but maybe not the inner core of what makes you lovable to someone, then you will…

What a year its been so far. Unbelievable and Im totally gobsmacked. Im grateful and humbled that all that has transpired in the last 7 months. Curious as to what the rest of the year will bring.

Lets start this with the article that was written about me and voyages to the gym, which was issued in my local newspaper in late April. This was after I approached the marketing director of the gym I go to, about the possibility of raising some awareness about alopecia. I had been approached…

Driving home tonight from work, something struck me. For the first time since I was first diagnosed with alopecia at the tender age of 8(28 years ago) I can actually feel the emotional scars fading. No longer do I feel restricted or ashamed of having alopecia. Yes the scars will always remain but fading they are. From all the years that I hid having alopecia, from the shame and embarrassment I felt, the lack of feeling "normal" or even "beautiful" and feeling totally alone. Of doing the…

I just wanted to start off by saying I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Looking back on the year pass, I amaze myself by how genuinely happy I have been. Yes I still have bad days but dont we all? And yes I still have hair memories. But how can you not when you see commercial after commercial with hair flipping all over the place. We definitely need to see some fabulous bald ladies in commercials. But during those moments I just rub my smooth head and I feel better.…

I heard this on some home and garden TV show today, but I feel like it really applies to all of us here who are dealing with some form of alopecia....especially if at one point you had hair and unexpectedly lost it.

"Let go of your old self image so you can start loving yourself as you are today."

This quote really stuck with me. One of the hardest things about having female pattern baldness for me has been remembering how thick and blonde my hair used to be and…