Just diagnosed and scared about the wedding day

Hi everyone,

I'm 27 years old and was diagnosed a couple of days ago with AA. I'm getting married in 5 months and I'm also a bridesmaid in 3 months. I'm really shy and the thought of everyone looking at me on my wedding day was already overwhelming, so now I'm really scared about walking down the aisle with a big bald patch on the back of my head.

I've lost about 35-40% of my hair and had very thin hair to begin with. I'm blessed that it's not visible at first (because it's at the back), but if my hair gets wet or moves, it reveals the bald patch. My hair on top has also thinned quite a bit. I got very very sick in a foreign country 3.5 months ago, so I'm wondering if this is related.

I'm not sure if I'm going to lose any more hair, or if the hair's going to grow back and at what rate, so I'm wondering what I can do to cover it up in the meantime and especially for the wedding. I'm also nervous about going to the gym and running now, so what do you do for exercising? Any suggestions will help!! I'm pretty heartbroken over this.

Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Bananarama on February 14, 2013 at 2:58pm

Thanks Aimee! I'll look into wigs just in case. I feel a lot better now that the initial shock is over :)

Permalink Reply by Katelyn on February 13, 2013 at 5:57pm

Hi there,

My hair loss pattern sounds similar to yours and so far I've found a few things useful. Who knows how much hair we will continue to lose but in the meantime here are my tips:

1. different hair styles. Much like the one in my default picture. It looks very nice and I get a lot of compliemnts on it, but the trick is being able to situate my hair to cover the spot and then using the other hair and pins as anchors to keep it from moving around. Also hairspray!

2. Colored hair powder/dry shampoo/crayons. A lot of brands make colored hair powders and crayons generally to hide roots that need touching up, but I have used them to cover spots so that they aren't shining through. They can be messy, and sometimes expensive but to me they have been very helpful. Bumble & bumble makes my favorite colored hair powder so far. I use the black because my hair is very dark but it comes in different shades.

Hope this helped and I wish you all the best!

Permalink Reply by Bananarama on February 14, 2013 at 3:03pm

Thanks so much for these suggestions! They're very helpful. I'm realizing now how much you can do, so this is great!

Permalink Reply by Tallgirl on February 14, 2013 at 1:07pm

Wear hats or Juliet caps at both weddings; ones that match the dresses. Hairspray and pin what needs to stay put in any wind. A solid instead of net veil will cover up the back of your head.

Check out Turkish scarves, Jewish modesty scarves, knit caps and full-coverage baseball caps online for exercising.

Permalink Reply by Tallgirl on March 1, 2013 at 10:04am

Just put whatever you want to find in the Google or search bar, and a whole list of sites will pop up!

Permalink Reply by Bananarama on February 24, 2013 at 8:05pm

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I think I'm going to just going to brave it and head to the gym now that I've had time to process everything. I'm tired of feeling gross. Exercise will flow all those happy hormones again!

Permalink Reply by Alliegator on February 17, 2013 at 2:15pm

Hi,
Welcome! I'm sorry that you were diagnosed with AA. I have AGA. I wanted to say that I agree with Aimee. If possible, buy a wig NOW. That way, the stress of it is off your shoulders. However, before you purchase anything, do some research online or try to go to a wig shop and ask to try on all the types of wigs. Don't feel discouraged if you don't love anything right away. It took me 3 stores until i purchased a wig. You can save a lot of money by purchasing them online. However, you take a risk that you won't like the wig. Some websites allow returns/exchanges, but not all. One suggestion that I have that might work is called a topper. However, it works better for those who keep the same amount of hair. It attaches to your bio hair on the top of your head. That might be an option for you, but you might go ahead with a full wig instead. Good luck

Permalink Reply by Bananarama on February 24, 2013 at 8:06pm

Thanks, I haven't heard of a topper before. I'll look into it!

Permalink Reply by Cheryl, Co-founder on February 20, 2013 at 5:32pm

Wearing a scarf is probably the best idea for the running or going to the gym. You can do a couple of searches in the photo section of alopecia world under scarf OR scarves.

I believe we also have a few videos on how to tie them:

As well as there are a couple of scarf suppliers on Alopecia World if you are looking for something specific.

Permalink Reply by MaddiiBoo on February 20, 2013 at 9:20pm

I would say you get your wig or at least a top piece. I'd go with a wig though in case the condition progresses.

Permalink Reply by Patricia Gerbaud on February 23, 2013 at 11:17am

My son announced his wedding when my hair looked like rat tails because I had lost quite a bit. Then I had an inch regrowth and was so happy, hoping to have a nice hair cut six months later for the wedding but within less than a week I became completely bald : AU. Hardly any eyelashes or eyebrows left. I'm 58, never had that before and had really very thick hair, couldn't believe this happening now. I'm really terribly sorry for you, this happening just at that time of life isn't fair, much worse than in my case ... Buy a WIG, hope you've bought it by now, to make sure you like it and feel comfortable with it. Since I haven't got any hair left I'm looking for a really nice outfit for the wedding to compensate ;. I don't wear my wig much at home but headscarfs or just nothing.

I try to comfort myself by thinking that at least it isn't due to a treatment for a cancer and that there are so many other more painful illnesses around.

Have you got any idea why you've lost your hair ? shock ? it was in my case, too many problems for too long.

I'm sure you'll have a lovely wedding and will be a very beautiful bride. We'll want to see the pics :)

Permalink Reply by Bananarama on February 24, 2013 at 8:13pm

Hi Patricia, thanks for your support. I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I think the biggest thing for me was the shock of it all. I felt really insecure about the hair loss and started doubting whether my fiance still wanted to marry me, but he's been so amazing and supportive in every possibly way. Thankfully I haven't lost any more hair and it looks like it's coming back in! I got very sick while travelling a few months ago (with a fever and infection) and that seems to have been the trigger. I've lost my hair in the most ideal place possible, so I'm very grateful for that. Thanks to all the ladies here, I've realized that there's so many options for covering it up, so I feel a lot more equipped to deal with this. :)

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