Brittany

33, Female

Brooklyn, New York

United States

Profile Information:

Relationship Status:

In a Relationship

About Me:

My story from Self Magazine
https://www.self.com/story/what-its-really-like-to-have-alopecia

Article by: Sarah Jacoby

"At the age of 10, I had one bald patch that came and disappeared. I didn't think anything of it until age 12, when my hair started coming out again, but that time it was falling out in clumps. As a child you don't understand why you are going bald; I hid it from my parents because I thought I had cancer and I didn't want to worry them.

"After losing a good percentage of my blondie locks my mom realized I was losing my hair and something wasn't right. I was brought to the pediatrician by my mom. The pediatrician examined my scalp, said this is probably a case of alopecia areata, and referred me to the dermatologist. After meeting with the dermatologist, I was given an official diagnosis of alopecia areata. We started treatment immediately, which was topical ointments and injections into my scalp.

"After finding out my diagnosis, I became depressed. Losing my hair and being in junior high school wasn't easy—I was a huge target for bullying. My hair loss became so severe I had to begin wearing a hairpiece, which my fellow classmates pulled off of my head on a couple occasions. There were also rumors going around that I had cancer. The bullying that I experienced caused me to be self-conscious of my appearance and insecure. I was frustrated as well because none of my treatments were working, and the injections were giving me major headaches.

"Eventually, alopecia caused me to have complete hair loss on my scalp, loss of eyebrows and eyelashes, and complete loss of all body hair. A side effect of having alopecia is also ridges and brittleness in both fingernails and toenails.

"Every morning I wake up, pencil in my eyebrows, and apply false eyelashes. You never realize how important eyelashes are until you lose them; airborne particles can be a pain. After applying my makeup, my last step in getting ready is applying my wig. Then I am set to conquer the day. The hardest parts of having alopecia areata are finding wigs that are stylish yet affordable, dealing with the heat in the summer (it causes your wig to itch and your eyebrows to sweat off your face), knowing that your children could also inherit your alopecia, and being prone to other autoimmune diseases.

"I dealt with years of depression until I attended my first National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) conference at the age of 16; I realized after attending the conference that I am not alone with this disease. There are thousands of others also facing this disease, and meeting others with alopecia areata helped me to finally accept what was happening to my body. I became a support group leader for alopecia areata because I know this diagnosis can be difficult to handle sometimes. I host an annual event at my local minor league baseball team stadium for alopecia areata awareness.

"A diagnosis of alopecia areata is not the end of the world. If you are struggling with this diagnosis, please know you are not the only one. ♡ Find a local support group meeting or find support at naaf.org."



The Tyra Banks Show in May 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03FnS5YROyw&sns=fb

The Steve Harvey Show in October 2012
http://youtu.be/yzcQRn5QGkg

Today Show August 2017
https://www.today.com/video/4-women-open-up-about-losing-their-hair...;

Self Magazine May 2018
https://www.self.com/story/what-its-really-like-to-have-alopecia

Do you have alopecia?

Alopecia universalis

Are you age 18 or older?

Yes - I am 18 or older

Your Website (Leave blank if you don't have one):

http://Instagram.com/brittany_kayxo

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