Alopecian life

Hi, guys. I have an announcement to make. I’m going on...

baldandbold — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:42:11 +0100

Hi, guys. I have an announcement to make. I’m going on hiatus.
It wasn’t an easy decision to take, but the lack of contributions and my lack of inspiration, lately, as well as some personal problems and my involvement in some other projects, have taken away most of the time and enthusiasm I had for this blog.
It is possible I’ll come back some time in the future, and this place will stay open in case other people stumble upon it and may find the help and support they need.
In the mean time, my askbox is always, always, always open for all of you. Whatever you need, be it some advice, help, or just someone to talk to and to vent to, I am here for you. Don’t worry to be bothering me, because you’re not.
I wish you all some very happy and fulfilling lives, full of joy, success and love.
Love,
Alex

Alopecia Documentary

i-like-to-travel — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:21:40 +0100

Hey Everyone!

My name is Megan and I am studying film at a University in New Zealand.

I am nearly finished my final year project which I chose to make a documentary about alopecia. I wanted to show that bald can be beautiful and that just because someone is bald it is not necessarily because they choose or because they have cancer! I hope my documentary can inspire people with alopecia to realise they are beautiful no matter if they decide to wear a wig or be bald. There are so many people out there going through the a similar thing so to get that message across I am trying to get people with alopecia from all over the world to submit a photo of themselves. It can be a photo that makes you look like everyone else or it can be a photo that screams “hey I have alopecia! So what!”

I have seven photos of people so far from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA and I am hoping to get five more so spread the word please!

Any questions feel free to ask me and if you want to submit a photo go to my blog mynameismeganrose

Thanks!

Today, for the first time since I lost my eyelashes, I went out without wearing any make up. The...

baldandbold — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:48:31 +0100

Today, for the first time since I lost my eyelashes, I went out without wearing any make up.
The first thing I do every morning is to “fake” my lashes with a line of eyeliner, today I was supposed to be alone at home all day so I didn’t. Then I had to pop out to the shops to buy something for dinner and I completely forgot I don’t have eyelashes so I just went out without make up, just as I would have done a year ago.
It feels so silly to write this because it’s like “Yeah, you went out for like 20 minutes to go to the shops without any make up. Everybody does that.” and I always feel so vain when I think of my small confidence achievements as a big deal but today, for the first time in a long long while, I have completely forgotten I don’t have eyelashes and when it came back to me (namely, when I met a friend of mine in the vegetables aisle and I noticed the eyeshadow she was wearing) after three or four seconds of panic I couldn’t care less. And that’s the best feeling in the world.

matchwigs: Welcome to MatchWigs’ Reblog Contest...

baldandbold — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:44:09 +0100

matchwigs:

Welcome to MatchWigs’ Reblog Contest Giveaway!

Contenders, prepare yourselves!

Take part in our weekly reblog contest to win a MatchWigs.com store voucher! Sit tight, ‘cos if you win this, yea’ in for a wild ride!

WHAT YOU WILL WIN:

$30 matchwigs.com voucher coupon code which can be used to purchase anything in store (shipping is free worldwide!)

$5 additional voucher to winning entry who happens to be a follower AND inserts our reblog banner on your Tumblr. Instructions here.

RULES:

Simply reblog this post to enter!

Only reblogs count, no likes

You may reblog only ONCE per user

This contest will END on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH

The winner will be picked by random number generator

The winner will be contacted at the end of the contest and if you do not respond within 24 hours after being contacted, a new winner will be picked. So keep those ask boxes open and keep an eye on them!

Good Luck peeps!

IF ANYONE’S INTERESTED TRY AND GIVE IT A GO!!! GOOD LUCK!
<3

I love your blog. I am 15 and I've had alopecia since I was 2. While I was too young to care I didn't hide, I was myself. Later on, I started wearing hats. I loved that. Having thousand of hats is amazing. For 2 or 3 years I am wearing wigs, changing them every 6 months and it is fun. I am insanely emotional. I struggled for long, but i've learnt to deal with it. It's not a question, but i just wanted to share and say how amazing this blog is. I just wish this world was more aware of alopecia.

baldandbold — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 01:42:58 +0100

Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your story! Alopecians visibilty seems to be increasing, I am confident that in some years it will be recognised.

yarrximmacookie started following alopecianlife Hello! :) Welcome!

baldandbold — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:03:08 +0100

yarrximmacookie started following alopecianlife

Hello! :) Welcome!

I’m so sorry for my sporadic presence here, but I’m...

baldandbold — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:15:34 +0100

I’m so sorry for my sporadic presence here, but I’m running out of ideas!
This blog lives of your contribuitions, so keep them coming!
A big hug!

My Alopecia Story

isabelle-squared-deactivated201 — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:42:10 +0100

“Hi! My name is Isabelle and I have alopecia!”

I was diagnosed with alopecia the spring of third grade, around Easter. I was eight that time and it was maybe… 2007? and well, if you are too lazy to do the math, it’s been about five years since. Well… I can’t seem to remember but my aunt started noticing hair all over the shower drains, my hairbrush, and my pillow. I noticed a bald spot forming and was able to cover up with thick headbands for a while.

Later, I tried up medicine and it didn’t really work. I tried creams, gels, pills… but nothing seemed to work. Later, more spots formed and I had to wear bandannas. They were like, my life at the time. Being the little schoolgirl I was, my whole wardrobe had to match and I bought bandannas in every color of the rainbow. (They still do have to match) Later, about sixth or fifth grade… my alopecia progressed to totalis and the hair to skin ratio was a bit off. I continued my journey, not doing anything about it. You know, wishing I could tell somebody but knowing that it would be better that I kept it to myself. I continued to pretend there wasn’t anything wrong… ignoring that I no longer had hair. But I lived life, not depressed… but not dealing with it either. But then, BAM. The summer of seventh grade.

I met this wonderful girl named Taijha on a Spiderman ride in Universal Studios (Island of Adventure for you nit-picky people.) She inspired me and showed me that I wasn’t alone. She was the first person I’ve EVER met with alopecia. Seeing her made me realize that what she was doing was exactly what I was doing with my life. She wore a wig, didn’t tell ANYONE about her problems and she was constantly bullied. I felt bad, and I saw myself in her. I mean I was lucky enough to be acknowledged, but I don’t think I was exactly ACCEPTED. This was when I realized I was ready to tell the world. (This is a lie) I had a similar conversation with my friend dealing with saving the world, how we both wanted to make a difference.

THIS is where the fun part comes in. It was one of those “now or never moments”. We were riding in the car to Ridgewood with my parents and I kept on thinking. “I want to raise money for the NAAF” But there were so many things running through my head, the pros and cons. I thought: Why am I so selfish? There are cancer patients dying, and I’m worrying about a disease that doesn’t even harm me. But the most important reason: I didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want them to know I had alopecia. I didn’t want them to look at me like I was broken. That was my biggest fear. So on our way to get ice cream, I finally blurted it out. I wanted to raise money for alopecia. Of course, my parents immediately agreed… happy and proud that I wanted to raise money for a cause. But honestly, this idea scared the HELL out of me. I had no idea how I was going to tackle this little dilemma.

So it’s about 9 PM in the summertime and I’m typing away, feeling happy that I confessed. It was a load off of my shoulders. I typed away, emailing two people. Laura Ralph of the NAAF and Maggie. Those were the first two people I trusted. Maggie, was the first one to know simply because she was online first. But I’m glad she was there. So Maggie, if you’re stupid enough to read through this whole story. Thanks. I got a message three days after, and I got 30 bracelets and a few pamphlets. It was the happiest moment of my life. I called up all of my friends and told my little plan: to sell bracelets and ribbons in the little town of Ridgewood. It all didn’t work out, and honestly… we were getting nowhere. By the way, the 30 bracelets from the NAAF… my mother mostly sold them. We made over 100 dollars. I love her for selling them in her hospital. But then, the latest installment of my story… the Teens for Alopecia.

The three words that changed my life. We ended up illegally selling bracelets in the mall (oops) But nonetheless, we just solicited the mall asking for donations and selling two dollar bracelets we bought off of 24hourwristbands that said “I support the Teens for Alopecia” We raised over 400 dollars, just through that. It was a rough start, but overall it’s been fun. I can’t say that I’ve fully accepted my alopecia and I can’t say that I ever will… but I’m learning to deal with it and I mean, as my dad loves to say, “It’s only hair. It won’t kill you.” Through my ongoing story, I’ve learned about acceptance and how supportive my friends and family are. I mean, my friends would illegally sell bracelets with me. Uhm. How amazing are they? So Olivia, Maggie, Bella, and Owen… The original DPC/TFA loves. You are the best and I love you guys so much. You seriously are the reason I am writing this right now.

My alopecia’s a part of me, and I’ve learned to accept that fact that I have it. It’s shown me that I am strong. That life goes on. Everyone has a challenge in life, and this one is mine. But I like to think that my alopecia isn’t a challenge, but just something that makes me… me. My alopecia has helped me and made me who I am now. Honestly, I’m glad that I have it. I love and am happy wearing bandannas. I stand out in a crowd, and if you ever lose me… just say. “I’m looking with a girl. The girl with a bandanna.” and you’ll know that that’s me. I hope that you can agree with me when I say my alopecia story is pretty successful, because I’m pretty proud of it. I have a long way when it comes to all of my goals and hopes, but I’m halfway there. What I hope to do one day? I want to buy a wig, see myself just once with hair as a 13 year old girl. But I want to be able to go out in public, with no bandanna. I want to be able to straight out tell people I have alopecia… that I have no hair, not just shy away like I’m embarrassed… because I’m tired of people assuming its cancer. Its not. But honestly? I hope to be able to be the girl again that can braid her hair. A girl that hopes that she will be able to check off the word “black” in the hair color box. But most of all, I want to be the girl that made a difference and didn’t just excruciatingly “live” with the fact she has alopecia. I want to learn how to accept it. To love it. … and to spread the word.

”Hi! My name is Isabelle and I have alopecia, an autoimmune disease that has taught me and made me what I am at this very moment.”

Admin comment: Wow! You are amazing. When I was your age I would never have had the guts to do what you did. Your story is so inspiring and I wish you all the best. It’s fantastic to read how this disease is making us better and stronger people. Keep up the good work because you’re doing an amazing job! Lots of love.

It's story time!

baldandbold — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:48:00 +0100

I’ve known this guy for some years now, and we’ve always fancied each other. Since I’ve moved to another city we just see each other two or three times a year now and he’s never seen me without a wig. Or, to be precise, he hadn’t until yesterday.
Last week he asked me out and yesterday we went for a drink and I really couldn’t be bothered to wear my wig especially since it’s so hot right now. I was very nervous he’d be nasty to me especially because he first noticed me because of my red hair.

I was wrong. He was super nice to me and just mentioned it once, asking me how I am doing and telling me he was happy I am comfortable enough around him not to need to wear a wig just to “impress” him on a date. To be honest, I couldn’t quite believe it, it was such a massive confidence boost!

So, my dears, remember that it doesn’t matter whether you have hair or not, or whether you wear a wig. If someone likes you for who you are he/she’ll think you’re beautiful no matter what (and you are, trust me).

Loads of love,
A.

A short article from Cosmopolitan UK August Issue about a young...

baldandbold — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:45:49 +0100

A short article from Cosmopolitan UK August Issue about a young athlete with alopecia. It’s the first time I’ve read something about alopecia on a girls magazine, it made me so happy!
Side note: I’m back, please cluster my askbox with your fabulous messages and submissions, I can’t wait to get them!
Love,
A

Hi there! I’m back, kind of… I’ll be back full force next week but if you have...

baldandbold — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:11:33 +0100

Hi there! I’m back, kind of… I’ll be back full force next week but if you have submissions or asks feel free to drop them in my askbox!
Hi new followers! Welcome! :)

Hello, my dears! I know I’ve just come back but I’m leaving again, though not for good, obviously. I...

baldandbold — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 20:20:43 +0100

Hello, my dears! I know I’ve just come back but I’m leaving again, though not for good, obviously. I have to lock myself out of tumblr because I’m finishing my exams and I need to concentrate: I have already deleted all the tv shows from my laptop, so you can imagine how serious the situation is… Two of my housemates will be kind of blogsitting for me, anyway. I’m not sure how long I’ll be away, probably two or three weeks, please bear with me in the meantime, I love you and I’ll come back, I swear!
If any of you wants to send me a message I’ll still be able to read it through my email and Words or Ryn will pass along my answer, so if you don’t mind them reading our correspondence you can keep writing. For those of you who want to keep in touch directly with me, pop a question in my ask and I’ll give you my Skype, I won’t be there much either but I’ll answer your messages as soon as I can :)
I am terribly sorry for having to leave this blog and I’d like you to know that I love you all.
A

PS: If you’re curious, under the cut there’s a lengthy explanation of why I have to leave for such a long time.

As some of you may know I’m having some troubles both at home and at uni. It looks like everything in my life is going bad at once. I can’t fix most of those things because that would require bringing people back from the dead, confidence potions and magic in general. But there’s one thing I can at least try to fix and that’s my marks. I got a bad mark in one of my exams and now I have to get three 30s out of 30 in my next exams or I will be kicked out of the place where I live and where my friends are. It goes without saying that I can’t stand to lose them but there’s more than that. This place changes how you view things and I end up feeling like a loser because I can’t keep up with the marks requirement even though my marks are very good if compared to those of most people in my course. I know the faces people make when they talk about those who lost their place, I’ve heard the pity in their voices and I don’t want to be the target of any of it. I don’t want to be a failure and I don’t want to leave here, not even to move across the street and I will do my very best not to. I am very sorry that this includes leaving tumblr for a while because this place keeps me sane(r) but it’s sucking away too much of my time and I need to have no distractions right now. I hope you can understand. Again, lots of love.

hi :) I have alopecia but if I wear a hat it doesn't show and a few days ago I returned ti my home town and my old friends want ti meet up with me and I really want to meet up with them too but I'm just worried that one of them (their teenagers) will take my hat of for fun and they'll see my bald patch. I can't tell them about my alopecia because I don't really trust any of them and they'll spread it around do u think I should still meet up with them for fun? :/

baldandbold — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:18:30 +0100

Hello! My suggestion is that you shouldn’t let your alopecia ruin your fun moments and your relationship with others. I know teenagers can be idiots some times, but it’s not right that you have to renounce to go out with your friends just because of your alopecia. In my opinion you should go out with them all the same, maybe you could try to secure your hat with some bobbypins if the hair you have left is long enough. I don’t know how bad your alopecia is but if you have enough hair left and a bit of patience you can try and arrange it so that the showing of your patch will be minimum and in the chaos that usually follows when a friend “steals” you something you could be able to get your hat back without too many people noticing. Ultimately though, the decision is up to you: If you don’t feel comfortable enough and think this would ruin your day out with your friends maybe it’s better not to see them but if you think you’d have a good time I can’t see why you should give that up. Good luck and let me know how it went!

Hello everyone! I’m back! The past few days have been really hard on me, but I’m trying...

baldandbold — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:05:55 +0100

Hello everyone! I’m back! The past few days have been really hard on me, but I’m trying to keep it together. Asks and submissions are open as usual once again.
Love,
A.

I had a family emergency and I urgently had to go at my mother’s. I’ll be here until...

baldandbold — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:20:00 +0100

I had a family emergency and I urgently had to go at my mother’s. I’ll be here until Monday afternoon, which means my presence on tumblr will be scarce at best. I won’t be answering asks or accepting submissions for the next couple of days, but everything will come back to normal from Monday evening (GMT) at best, Tuesday morning at worst. In the meanwhile, the lovely Words will be blogsitting for me.

I love you all and hope to see you again soon,

I love this blog! I don’t have alopecia but when I was 14 I developed trichotillomania and...

michiamanolexi — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:36:20 +0100

I love this blog! I don’t have alopecia but when I was 14 I developed trichotillomania and destroyed the hair follicles in my eyebrows and they wouldn’t grow back. Kids at school used to call me a freak or ask if I had cancer and even I didn’t know what was wrong with me (or why I couldn’t stop pulling out my eyebrows). My mom got me covergirl eyebrow pencil and I had to learn how to draw them on myself. When I first started they weren’t very good but then I got the hang of it eventually. I’ll never forget, when I was a freshman in high school a senior boy came up to me and told me it looked like two caterpillars had died on my face. After that I tried every single hair re-growth serum I could find, but they wouldn’t grow back. I almost went and got them tattooed on because I couldn’t handle the teasing anymore. They grew back about six months ago (it’s been five years) and I really miss the way I used to draw them on. I can totally relate to your posts about smudging! Ugh that used to drive me crazy! Good luck with everything and keep the blog going! Everyone deserves to know how beautiful they are, no matter what they look like!

Thank you so much for your submission and best of luck! xx

Hello sweeties! Just a quick note to let you know we’ve reached 90 followers today! I’d...

baldandbold — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:29:25 +0100

Hello sweeties! Just a quick note to let you know we’ve reached 90 followers today! I’d like to do something special for the 100th follower, what do you think I should do?

whenever I think about losing all my hair I always think to myself "ah well at least I wont have to go through turning grey" xx

baldandbold — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:02:41 +0100

Nice thought, isn’t it? We’ll all grow out to be beautiful old women either bald or with perfectly coloured hair. My grandmother goes to the hairdresser’s every other week to have her roots dyed, I guess we’ll be spared the time and money ^^

I got my first grey hair when I was 19. Now I don’t have...

baldandbold — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:36:00 +0100

I got my first grey hair when I was 19. Now I don’t have to worry about that anymore ^^

Hi :) I have alopecia areata but before I got it I had very thick hair so now that I"be lost half the amount of hair I used to have, my hair still manages to just-barely cover all my spots and today one of my friends noticed one of my spots and my whole group of friends started teasing me about it (in a nice friendly way but it will really hurt). Do you think I should tell them about my alopecia so that they are more understanding about it?

baldandbold — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 08:43:09 +0100

Hi! I don’t know how old you are but I know from experience that close friends, especially if teenagers, will tease you about almost anything so I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean to do it in a nasty way. My suggestion is to do whatever you feel comfortable with. If you don’t feel like you’re ready to talk to your friends about your situation maybe you should wait a bit, but if you’re ok with having “the talk” I’d recommend you do it. Just sit your friends down and very calmly explain them what having alopecia means and what might be the results and I’m sure they will be very supportive and understanding.
People often don’t realise they’re being hurtful when they tease someone close to them because from their point of view they’re just joking and mean no harm, so it’s very likely that the teasing will stop once they undrstand the situation. Just be sure to tell them that you know they didn’t mean to hurt you but that you need more support and less jokes in this moment of your life and that alopecia is mainly about losing hair and doesn’t mean you’ll have serious health problems because of it so that they don’t worry. I remember not giving my friends explanations about it when I first started going around without a wig first at home and then outside and many people thought I had cancer and were very worried, so I think it’s always best to talk openly about it when you think you’re ready to approach the issue.
Let me know how it went!
I hope you have a nice day! xx