The 3rd Annual "Be Aware, Shave Your Hair" fundraiser will be taking place again on August 31st! I hope you can come and help us in raising awareness and funds to give to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

We are planning on the following:
$10 donation for a head shave
Mary Kay Rep on site and a portion of her proceeds will be donated to NAAF
...Baked goods and soda/water will be available for a donation
Barry County Black Heart Maidens will be on site for a meet and greet and derby demonstration
Face painting by Doodle Liu
Silent Auction

Alopecia Areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp, and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with one more more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress ...to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete loss of body hair (alopecia universalis). For more information, please visit http://www.naaf.org/.

My history in short – I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata when I was 17 years old (1997). I was a senior in high school and honestly, I was totally devastated by this. What girl doesn’t want their hair for prom? What girl wants to be made fun of because she looks “different”? Please tell me what girl doesn’t want their hair, period. When you find her, I’d like to shake her hand. ;o) Anyway…over the next few months of my AA, I went to dermatologists, I tried natural supplements, I saw different types of docs (medical, holistic, you name it). Nothing provided me with a long-term “fix” to my hair loss problem. Treatments ranged from topical ointments, pills/vitamins on a daily basis, to having cortisone shots injected in my scalp. Let me tell you, THAT is painful. I decided to stop all treatment because nothing seemed to be working for me. I had patchy hair loss then, this form is most often referred to as Alopecia Areata. It progressed in to Alopecia Totalis which is complete loss of hair on the scalp. Eventually it grew back. In 2003 I started losing my hair again. This time, it was the worst case, Alopecia Universalis. Alopecia Universalis is the rarest form of AA and results in total loss of hair on the entire scalp and body. I was a nervous wreck because I was getting married that year. Lucky for me, I had a full head of hair through September. It was falling out worse and worse everyday. Eventually my eyebrows, eyelashes, and every other hair on my body disappeared. It was to the point of not being able to hide it anymore and like everyone knows, I decided to take matters in to my own hands. In November, Mike shaved my head for me. It was a very emotional experience for both of us. You see, AA doesn’t just affect me…it affects everyone around me. Everyone that loves me. I tried that night to wear a wig and it was THE most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever done. Not only was the wig itchy, but I felt like a complete fake. Because I’m not a fake person, about two hours in to the evening, I decided to take it off. I went to our vehicle, took off my wig, and came back as a new woman. Please, don’t for one minute think that that was easy for me. Even today, 6 years later, I struggle on a daily basis with my hair loss. I have gotten used to the stares, the snide comments, the poking of fun behind my back. Through all of this though, I couldn’t have made it without my parents, my siblings, my husband, and my friends. As strong as they all make me out to be, THEY are all my backbone…

We look forward to seeing many of you, along with some new faces, at our next event! If you have any questions, please get in touch with Mallory Crowner, Brooke Jacobs, or Amanda Lipsey. You can also contact us as a group at BASYHF@gmail.com!!