Hi Samantha,
I have universalis too.
I'm letting everyone know that advance copies of my book, "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing!" are available! Check out my page for more information, and if you want to order it online, go to: www.leslieannbutler.npauthors.com.
I know it's a bummer now, but you will be great!
LeslieAnn

Hey welcome! I hope you find the support you need here like I have. It's a great site. Hopefully talk to ya sometime, keep up with the positive attitude.
-Drew

Welcome.

Roger.

P.S. my neighbor is from Chicago =)

Welcome Samantha. Hope that u enjoy yourself here:D

Hi Samantha, I wanted to welcome you to Alopecia World. I can honestly say that we are a great community here and I hope you enjoy the time you spend with us. Cheryl, co-founder

Hi Samantha -

We all know what you are going through here and just know that you will be fine and you have tons of support here. I hope you have a nice weekend :o)!

Thank you Samantha...you are gorgeous and look like you are doing your best to love life!
LeslieAnn

Samantha

Thank you for the compliment, as a matter of fact, next week I turn 39!! I can't believe it myself because I don't feel like it. Your pictures are so cute!

That's cool about the whole PE thing. I've jumped around from major to major during my first two years of college, everything from Physical Therapy to Social Studies teacher. Then I got a job at my old school coaching soccer and basketball and I loved it and one of the parents who's also a PE teacher said I should think about it. It's the only thing I can see myself doing for a while and I haven't really second guessed it so its a relief.

What grades do you teach?

It really doesn't matter to me what age group I teach. I'm leaning towards middle school because thats the age that I coach and I really enjoy it, but I've worked at camps with younger kids and like that too. I'm also an assistant on a varsity soccer team too so I could even see myself teaching HS... we'll see it may depend on where I can get a job.

Hi Samantha,
Yes, I have NO eyelashes or eyebrows. I have found some great alternatives, and I cover that in my book!
I have to warn you -- I don't recommend tattoos around your eyes! VERY BAD! I talk about that. I actually have ink in my iris from a needle gone astray, and lots of scarring on my eyebrow area...
Talk to you later! LeslieAnn
www.leslieannbutler.npauthors.com

Hi Samantha! Thanks for joining my Chicago group! I hope we can get lots of people to join so we can start getting together!

Hugs,
Mandy

Hi Samantha,

How are you? Did you find someone for your brows?

Jeff

Hi Samantha,

How are you coping? Mine happened very fast too I was like WTF...OMG...Things do get easier.
I'm happy there are places like here for support.

Jeff

Hi Samantha,
Well it wasnt easy at first.
It started with one small patch which grew bigger and then more patches appeared and everytime I took a shower loads of hair would be everywhere. Within 2 months it was so drastic I shaved my head which I thought would give me some control. It did but took a couple more months to really accept my condition. I am lucky to have my partner and friends for support.

I hope you have a support network too.

Your Friend,
Jeff

Hey :)

Thank you so much!
so do you have alopecia totalis or areata?

Hi Samantha,
Instead of getting your eyebrows done, try the temporary tattoo brows by "Beauti-Full-Brows." I was going to tell you about this before but I wanted to make sure the spelling was right. These are great -- they last for 2-5 days and look natural. Get them on the naaf.org marketplace web site! Or ask for a catalog. They have lots of different styles. I wear the Liz Brow.
LeslieAnn

ugh thats miserable!
i lost everything as well...but i have gotten almost all of it back:D which is AMAZING! but keep being positive because most people dont even notice you have it:)

Good, let me know how you like them! I think they are AB FAB!

hello! Im in the same boat...not a hair on my body...not one ! lol Its actually pretty cool now that its summer here...cause i dont have to shave. ; )

yes i have/ had AU but all my hair has grown back except for 2 spots in the back...no big deal
im so happy it came back...i have had it for 3 years and it takes alot out of me most of the time...but hopefully everything turns out well...i still wear a wig but im getting SO tired of wearing it...what about you?
do you wear wigs?

lol my name is becky. and i got my wig from this one place called "Because Of you".

yeha oak-lawn.

Hi Samantha! I am still able to wear my hair up, but I don't know for how long. I haven't looked at wigs yet, but am hoping to go this week sometime.

Hi Samantha! I am so sorry to just be getting back to you! I just got married last month so I have been so busy with the wedding and honeymoon that I haven't come on here in like a month!!! I am so excited you are in communication with Jeff he really is the BEST. I would definitely recommend him...as far as the eyeliner question....Jeff uses a numbing Novocain liquid that numbs the area pretty good so it was not painful for me….the eyebrows don't hurt at all and the eye liner really wasn't very painful for me it just takes more concentration because you have to work with him on moving your eye to look in different directions so you can‘t completely zone out…..lol.......the recovery time was sooooooooooo short...I was back to work the next day...I may have been a little puffy but not noticeably. Let me know if you have any questions at all! I had so many questions before I got it done so really don’t hesitate to ask me anything! : )

Sorry I forgot to answer how long it takes....it took like an hour ....he told me it could take up to 2 and a half hours for both the brows and the eye liner but it went so well it was very quick....so I would say it took like an hour...maybe a hour and a half.....at the most for both the lashes and the brows. I was very pleased with how skilled he was he did a great job in a relatively short period of time :)

Hi! I got mine done by Susan Davis of Permanent Cosmetics of MD and I loved her. As far as the pain goes....it really wasn't all that bad. She used two different topical ointments that sterilized the area as well as numbing it. Her brow technique was to do individual strokes first, then to fill them in or "feather" them, as she called it. The individual strokes DID NOT HURT AT ALL!!!! The fill-in didn't exactly tickle, but it really didn't hurt too much at all. The eyeliner was different. That didn't hurt...it just felt weird. Sort of like a giant mosquito buzzing around your eye that you just want to swat at, but can't! So I won't say you won't feel any discomfort, but you really shouldn't feel any real pain. And honestly -- getting this done was the best thing I ever did. It looks so good I've got friends asking me if they should get theirs done -- and they've got hair!!!! I love it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Hope that helps!

I understand completely. It's funny....I wasn't scared about the brows at all. I guess I just don't think the forehead is a real tender area. But the eyeliner terrified me! Honestly, though...it was more annoying than painful. Just a really weird sensation. But it's really the best thing you can do....I'd step out of the shower in the morning and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror with no eyebrows and I'd feel so weird....like I looked like an alien or something! Now, I don't feel that way at all. And having the liner (1) gives the impression of a lash line from far away and (2) just gives you one step up when applying makeup. I can get ready now in no time flat.....love it!!!!! Take care.

Hi Samantha!!!

I'm so happy Becky is making friends on this web-site. As for the wig......We did get it at a place called Because of you in Oak Lawn on 95th Street. A lady named Joyce helped us out and she's wonderful!!! It is not a human hair wig because Becky is still young and we wanted to have one that was durable so we went with synthetic. Joyce was awesome with the color matching. My daughter absolutely looks exactly like herself when she had hair. It actually brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it on her. I hope you find what your looking for. Give this place a try.

Cool photos!

By the way. My neighbor here in Stockholm comes from Chicago!

Roger.

No appt. was needed. I just walked in. This wasn't easy for us either. Becky at first wanted no part of it and actually started crying. My heart broke for her. We left and I let her decide when the time was right. It was about a couple weeks after that when we went back and we met Joyce. She put us in a private room and brought in about five different wigs and let us just have some fun with it. The one Becky is wearing is the third one we tried and was brown with blonde highlights. Becky wanted no part of the highlights (can't blame her). She wanted her color and style. Joyce matched it up and we ordered one. It took about a week and it came in. As far as upkeep. I brush it every night with a detangler and conditioner and put on a stand. Once a week I wash it. That just consists of a light soaking in the wig shampoo then a light soak in a wig conditioner. Brush out and let dry overnight. You can't put any heat on a synthetic wig or it'll melt. If your into styling with flat irons or hot rollers you'd want to go with a human hair wig. Again, I really recommend Joyce. I would call first to make sure she's available. Not that the others weren't good I just felt that Joyce was more sincere and very good at her job. Hope this helps. Please mention my name when you see her. Let me know how it all works out.

Hi Again!

Becky started with only one bald spot perfectly on the top of her head at the age of 4. That one grew in quickly. After that it seemed that every year usually around spring she would have a few more bald spots but would always grow back around fall. She tested positive for hypothyroid when she was 10 years old. I thought that we had the answer to the hair loss but since her thyroid is now maintained through meds she still had hair loss. This year being the worse. Becky only has very little hair left but refuses for me to shave off the rest. Again, I'll let her make up her own mind on this one. Becky does also have severe allergies and asthma all which are pretty much controlled. As for the wig it does shape itself. I haven't tried it yet but I know that if Becky would like to put a curl to it we could put velcro rollers in it when wet and spray it lightly to keep the curl.

I think its called Cicero? I know its downdown Chciago =)

He also lived in NYC.

Roger.

Hi Samantha

I am happy for you.....getting the tattoos will make your life so much easier!! I know exactly how you are feeling about the whole wig situation. When I started losing my hair I was convinced it was going to come back. I figured I just needed to see the right doctor with the right meds or cream or injection or whatever to bring my hair back.....but after seeing a lot of doctors and exhausting all methods to get my hair back and still seeing no results I started to think maybe it's not coming back but I decided to live in denial a little longer...I did not want to wear a wig.....I wore hats over what little hair I had left and thought my hair probably looked thin but it was fine with the hat....it was not until I went shopping at my favorite clothing store and stood in front of the three way mirror to check out a outfit that I got a glimpse of the back view of my head and saw I looked bald with my hair all pulled to the front ....all I saw was bald spots....I quickly went back into the dressing room through on my clothes and got out of the mall as soon as possible I was shocked at how bad my hair looked but I always just saw it from the front so I didn't know....it was that day I decided to get a wig....now I love my wigs! :)

Shut up? Im swedish. Are you mad at me now? He is very old =) But I have met lots of his "Chicago friend" here in Sweden.

Roger.

Hi again!

He also lived in Lawndale, Albany Park, South Shore, Hyde Park och Uptown.

Roger.

ok, your pic cracks me up! how are you doing with your hair loss? i have au and have finally come to accept it. did you ever get your eyebrows/lashes tatooed? i am thinking of doing that. jenn

i had my first child in august of 06. about 6 months after i had him, it all came out. i never had aa before in my life. i was a mess for a very long time, but have finally accepted it. so do you still have your lashes?