My Story

Five and a half years ago, this was me:





I was about to turn 25, I had a beautiful baby girl, and I had a full head of hair. By the time my daughter was eight months old, I had such thin hair and such a big bald spot that I never left the house without something on my head:





What happened?! Women lose hair all the time in the shower, in the sink when brushing, pulling it out at work, etc. Normally when a woman is pregnant, she gets super silky, thick hair. And she doesn't lose any. Then, after the baby is born and her hormones are readjusting, she can lose tons of hair at once, almost like making up for all that hair that didn't come out during the pregnancy. I figured I had a bad case of postpartum hair loss. One grumpy old crackpot of a dermatologist told me I had something called alopecia areata, and that it had nothing to do with my recent childbirth. He said he could tell because I was losing my hair in circular patches. He said I could possible end up losing all the hair on my head and body. What a quack!

To prove he was a quack, the spots filled in and my hair started growing back. I embraced my short look, knowing that it was only temporary:






My hair grew in, with blonde highlights this time around (go figure), and I put the whole experience behind me.





Well, it turns out the crackpot doctor was right. When my daughter was two I started losing hair again. Fast. I saw a new dermatologist--and got the confirmation that I had an autoimmune disorder called alopecia. As the hair on my head started getting patchier and thinner, I asked my husband to shave my head for me. I wish I had pictures of that evening. I was terrified, but it was actually a very freeing experience. I felt good about myself--until I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes, too. There's something about those features that really make a face, and without them I feel slightly less than human. At this point I don't have the nerve to post a picture of myself with no makeup--but I will get there.

For the past three and a half years I have experimented with lots of different "looks".

Turbans:











Bandanas:










Wigs:











And, my personal favorites, scarves and headwraps of all lengths, designs and colors:






So that's my story. Basically. Bald photos soon to come, I promise. I actually feel (almost) ready to go get a professional photo shoot of me in my skin. Maybe if Reese Witherspoon does it first...