My name is Dotty, I am age 43, and I lost my hair after a very traumatic experience. In retrospect, losing all my hair is nothing compared to finding out that the man I married molested my daughter. I put the monster in jail and tried to be strong.

I started noticing small patches of hair missing in October 2001. The patches increased in size and quantity, and by February 2002 I had lost most of the hair on the top of my head.

I wore a bandana for a while and at least looked “normal” to everyone else. I also tried a whole gambit of medical treatments, including chiropractic and naturopathic medicine, to no avail.

In the meantime, waking up each morning with a pillow full of hair and seeing huge clumps of my hair in the drain every time I took a shower was too much for me to take. So, I decided it would be better for me to shave off what little hair I had left and wear wigs.

It took me a few months to get used to wearing them and realizing that nobody was staring at me. At that time, I had been dating a man for about three years and he decided to wait until I was completely bald to tell me he did not want to see me anymore. His timing was terrible, of course, and I was devastated.

So there I was: A 39 year old bald woman! I did not like to look in the mirror as I hated the way I looked. How was anyone ever going to love me again? Who was going to want to deal with that?

I returned to the dating scene, telling the men up front about my hair loss. Most of them said that it did not bother them, but it really did, and they did not call back. That is, until I met Brett.

I met him online through a mutual friend, and I made sure she told him that I was bald. He said, “Hair has nothing to do with how a person is inside, and that’s what’s important!”

And he meant it. He is a wonderful man who loves me for the person I am and not my outward appearance. He loves my daughters like they are his own, and I love my 12 year old stepson dearly. It has been almost four years since I met him; we married on August 20, 2006, and are now all one big happy family.

I have not had any signs at all of my hair returning, but I am truly happy. I have also accepted my beautiful bald head. In fact, I tattooed it! I did this so that I would stand out and people would ask questions. I take that opportunity to educate them about alopecia and assure them that I do not have cancer (which is the first assumption people make).

People will always stare, but I gave them something cool to stare at. I like the reactions I get. I have even been seen in the neighborhood with pink or purple hair from time to time.

I hope my story inspires other people with alopecia and helps them realize that even bald women can live happily ever after. I also hope that more alopecians can stand up and be proud of who they are. I am still me, hair or no hair!

I have become very active in promoting alopecia awareness. In fact, September is Alopecia Awareness Month! I am also an assistant manager of an online support group for alopecia sufferers. The online support groups are the reason that I have come so far in my acceptance of this dreadful disease. My next crusade is trying to get the insurance companies to cover wigs.