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Permalink Reply by Tnabugg on July 21, 2009 at 12:08pm

A lot of factors come to play. Self esstem, society.. In stories women's hair has been written about.. in the bible women would dry men's feet with their hair..

For me it's a little of everything. I miss my hair because of looks, the feel of my hair, I don't like looking like an odd ball in the crowd. Men aren't really rushing to my door wanting to date me cause of my looks. I live in a country where looks and being thin are prized.

Without hair, I feel like I have no identy. The person I knew is gone. I can't just throw up my hands and go oh! well!
my hair is gone and I'll just deal with it.

For some having no hair works and more power to you. If inner beauty really was the normal then we'd see more normal looking people on screen, magazine ads but I don't live in that world.

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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 21, 2009 at 12:14pm

I'm with you, Vicky!

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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 21, 2009 at 6:02pm

Just think about how recent it is that bald men became "trendy" and sexy. I remember in around 1990 when it was a big deal that the new captain of the Star Trek TV show, Next Generation, was bald! I remember seeing a billboard for the show that had a picture of Patrick Stewart as the captain, and it said "To Baldly Go...." , instead of "To Boldly Go...."

More and more guys started shaving their receding hairlines and going bald, and now they're all over the place. All it took was more men doing it. That was my whole point with starting the National Bald Out - to get more bald women to give it a try. Let's make next year even bigger - Saturday, July 17, 2010!

Mary

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Permalink Reply by Alexandra on July 21, 2009 at 11:50pm

Personally, I'm pretty excited about shaving my head and going out into the world as a bald woman! I love experimenting and trying new things, and this is definitely something new for me! I can't wait to see what happens! I hear so many stories of women with bald heads being perceived as more "interesting" and having guys cross a room to approach them because they're attracted and intrigued. Granted, bald women aren't everyone's cup of tea... just like red heads aren't, and blondes aren't, and different hair styles aren't, etc.. One thing I've learned is that it's impossible to please everybody, but that's because we're all so different! I believe that there's always someone out there who will fall for us, be madly attracted to us, and think we're way sexier than women who haven't had alopecia a day in their lives. I'll be joining the bald sisterhood in a month and a half, when I go back to school! =)

P.S. - I agree with you, Vicky - the fashion industry is fake. I work in the beauty industry too and I see the magazine pictures before and after they're retouched. What a difference Photoshop makes! Sometimes the models come out looking like a completely different person. 99.9 percent of the time, they're never as flawless and "perfect" as they appear in the images we all see. They're people too, warts and all. That's why I don't pay attention to the media's ideas anymore.

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Permalink Reply by vicky on July 23, 2009 at 11:48am

IF USA IS FOLLOWING THE TRENDS, SOUTHERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES DO IT 1.000.000 TIMES MORE, SINCE FASHION GREW UP HERE (ITALY, GREECE, FRANCE, etc) AND STILL IS GENERATED FROM HERE.

GREEK WOMEN ARE AFRAID TO NOT LOOK GORGEOUSLY TRENDY AND THEY GET ABSOLUTELY AND TOTALLY SHOCKED WHEN THEY GET ALOPECIA. THUS, THEY PREFER TO HIDE UNDERNEATH THEIR WIGS EVEN IF THERE IS 40 DEGREES CELSIUS OUTSIDE...ISN'T THAT CRAZY??? I DO NOT GET HUMANS...MAYBE THAT’S WHY I LOOK LIKE AN ADORABLE SEXY “ALIEN”... I AM BEYOND MY TIME

I ALSO BELIEVE THAT ALEXANDRA IS TOTALLY RIGHT BY SAYING "that it's impossible to please everybody, but that's because we're all so different". OR WHEN MARY SAYS THAT IT WAS THE SAME HARD FOR MEN IN THE PAST AND NOW THERE EVERYWHERE AND THEY ARE OFTEN BETTER LOOKING THAN THOSE WITH HAIR. I PERSONALLY WAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED TO THEM…IS THAT FAITH???... ;-)))

AFTER ALL WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS NOT ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK, IS HOW YOU FEEL AND WHAT YOU PROJECT. IT IS NOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN THAT TAKES ALL THE MEN...IT IS MAYBE THE ONE THAT PLEASES THEM SEXUALLY BUT THEY PREFER SMART INDEPENDENT WOMAN TO RESPECT AND HAVE THEM FOR LONG TIME NEAR THEM.

MEDIA ARE JUST TO GENERATE MONEY FOR SOME PEOPLE AND UNFORTUNATELY, THEY FOUND A HUGE CROWD THAT FOLLOWS WHAT THEY SAY. I PREFER TO MAKE MY OUR RULES AND FOLLOW MY OWN VALUES.

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Permalink Reply by Rose Marie' on July 23, 2009 at 5:05pm

Hi

I think most who have alopecia areata do come to terms with it all. But it is a process and for some it takes more time than for others. This is dependent on environment, culture, personality etc. Many here are new to this condition so some of the posts can be angry, sad and upset. Understandably. Time and great attitudes like yours do go a long way to help.

Rosy.

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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 25, 2009 at 1:15am

The solution is to not care about being bald. I am what I am and other people can just deal with it!

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Permalink Reply by Ted Michael Morgan on August 4, 2009 at 5:00pm

Beats me. I do not understand.

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Permalink Reply by Tuesday on September 1, 2009 at 10:29pm

I completely see what everyone is saying ... but I wish of you was physically with me to shepherd me into the world. When I first went AU, I went out bald a few times. Now, I'm just not strong enough to deal with the stares. I don't feel proud. I don't feel ashamed ... just don't feel like strutting my bald head. I wish I could get to that point ...

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Rosse on September 1, 2009 at 10:51pm

Tuesday, I'm only 8 months into my AU, I'm getting to know myself all over again, this new person who is looking back at me in the mirror, this bald gal who's reflection I'm getting used to seeing.
I have just started going out ah natural, of course having triple digit heat helped me decide a bit faster.
The decision to go ah natural or not is yours, you must be in your comfort zone. When your ready you will slowly begin to go out ah natural.
Were getting to know ourselves all over again.
Hang in there Tuesday you will get to the ah natural point when your ready.

Pam

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Permalink Reply by Tuesday on September 1, 2009 at 11:17pm

Thanks for the supportive words, Pam! I think the heat DOES really speed things up, doesn't it?!

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Permalink Reply by Annette Shuford on September 13, 2009 at 2:16am

I think that this is such a great attitude to have! I think that it is all about the mindset that we have, as well as what is accepted with our looks and personality. Even for those that do have hair, self-esteem, looks, etc are still an issue... so why not just love who we are no with or without the hair? This is what I have been trying to tell my daughter...

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