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…

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It amazes me how many people share their stories and triumphs about their alopecia.  I recently found another one that I think the community would benefit from.

 

By Lennox Bishop

...Fast forward to a few weeks after I decided to shave off what remained of my hair—surrounded by friends and with many…

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She is a very special little girl. She is a beautiful princess with big purple-blue eyes and pink heart-shaped lips! She wasn’t any ordinary princess; she was very special and an amazingly brave little girl! Ella was born with no hair, and this made her unique. She doesn't like the way she looks and hates looking into mirrors.



I wrote a book and illustrated it, to…

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If you are interested, I recently gave a TED talk in Richland, WA. It's about creating a document of self-definition.

Hope you enjoy it.

I recently came across this poem and it just spoke to me, so I thought I would share it with you.

Stepping up to Happiness

Everybody Knows ~

You cannot be all things to all people

You cannot do all things at once

You cannot do things equally well

You cannot do things better than everyone else

Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.

So ~

You must find who you are and be…

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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…

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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…

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I've never "blogged" before so be patient as I must learn as I go.

I feel like I'm an outsider in Alopecia World, which saddens me because I thought here was a place where I'd find people who would be more accepting and understanding than anywhere else. Please don't misunderstand; I'm not making accusations, nor am I criticising anyone in here. I am "different" from most people with or without alopecia. I've always marched to the beat of another drum, not concerned with what others…

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I am a freshman in college and have personally had Alopecia for almost 5 years now. I would say that it doesn't bother me anymore, but sometimes I find myself staring in the mirror and wondering what I would look like if I still had my long, brown hair. I think the hardest part of having Alopecia is that my twin sister does not and I have a constant reminder of how things should be. I know it's not her fault, but I feel like that is almost natural to feel. Fortunately, these moments of…

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Recently I've been having some issues with my AU, after 4 years I still find myself upset and torn up (not all the time though). Believe me, I wouldn't change my trail and my struggle for anything, it's my story. My friends always tell me "alopecia doesn't define you" but in a way, I believe it does. Its made me who I am: strong, caring, compassionate, and very understanding. It's helped me look past a persons exterior and see into their heart. But unfortunately it hasn't exactly helped me…

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Everyone on here has those days when they wake up, wash their hair and think "hey, I think it's getting better!" And I for one, being the naturally anxious person that I am, starting getting a giddy, flippity-floppy feeling in my stomach.

This happened to me this morning. To be truthful...I suspect there is some improvement in my hair. And being that I don't know what exactly is going on, there might be for a bit. But I suspect that won't last forever. I sense genetics are against…

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Wow - This was hard and at the same time soothing. IT made me re-think of where I was and how I got to where I am now. ( yes- even made me re-think the bad times too)

My dates may still be fuzzy for I went thru several depressed states and try not to remember some things....



Bear with me --

Thought I would post it here as well as putting it with the VERY extensive paperwork for the MD. Anderson Research… Continue

Have you ever considered why your eyebrows are such an important feature on your face? Consider this - almost 50% of communication is done non-verbally. We tend to use many parts of our body to communicate, however, our face is arguably the most expressive part of our body. Our eyes alone can reveal many emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness but one feature that is often overlooked is the important role our eyebrows play in our ability to communicate non-verbally. Our eyebrows are actually… Continue

All over the world, there are women blazing a trail towards more acceptance for women with medical hair loss. Danielle Baer is one such brave beauty from ‘across the pond’. Danielle, who lost all of her hair at age 18, speaks on British television about the impact Alopecia has had on her. She explains that she grieved the loss of her hair but now actually likes the way she looks bald. Sadly, though she feels comfortable with her baldness, she feels… Continue

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…

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It's so funny how God works - everything has its own time and only He knows when the time is right. God comes along and says "OK, you're ready to receive this change and grow." I don't always want these changes. And sometimes, I have been praying for them for years and wondered why they were taking so long to happen. My journey from AA to AU started at four. Bald spots and thinning were a part of my life pretty much every spring of my childhood. I had no idea though, that ALL the hair on my… Continue