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 Kaitlyn! I've been AU forever, if I can help in anyway drop me a line :-D

Kaitlyn, its nice that you want to make your teacher happy, but the most important person to keep happy is YOU! Teddybear fur?! I'd love to see that, I bet its kinda cute?! ;-) But seriously, it sounds like she is uneducated and fearful, perhaps putting her business and image before you and your feelings. If you are dancing in a group or troupe of some sort I can see her point for wanting to keep continuity, on the flipside - if you are center stage doing a solo dance I think that you should have the ability to present yourself in what ever manner is comfortable and appropriate for the event/venue. Life is all about compromise I've found, and you have to pick and choose your battles. I try to educate people about alopecia whenever I have the opportunity. The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the easier it will become for others to be at ease around you. I myself am still working on my confidence to go au naturel so I am no expert in that area ;-).
If you do go the wig route there are lots of options that look and feel great! Once you have a well fitting wig you will not have to worry about it "Flying off" during a dance routine. I wear mine for all kinds of sports including upside down yoga poses! For added security I use clear 2way tape or wig adhesive to keep things in place. Send me a private message and I can give you some additional tips and tricks for leading a perfectly normal active life with wigs :-D Hang in there, you will overcome this and become a stronger and more confident young woman!

Hey :) How are you?
I lost all my hair when I was 11, head, face and body complete. I'm fiffteen now, and still struggling with it about 80% of the time, lol. I've actually never met anyone with it after having it for almost five years. I'd love to get to know you and learn more about you, give you advice and understand you in any way. :) Feel free to drop me a line whenever<3

Hello Kailyn, My name is Maria and i have a daughter who is now 6 yrs old and has had AU since she was 3yrs, she lost all her hair pretty rapidly too, i think it was within 3 months, I am so sorry to hear how your friends treated you that is awful, I think it must be a little harder to lose your hair in your teenage years...Savanna is so use to being bald and everyone around is so use to seeing her bald i dont think any one pays attention to it....My Savanna takes dance class to she is in ballet and tap and loves it, i have her a hat made for every recital mainly because in ballet her teacher like their hair to be up on their hair (ponytail or buns) and you cant to that with a wig and make it look real and she doesnt like wigs anyway, I am hoping Savanna will be able to embrace her baldness when she reaches her teenagae years, but my heart aches to know what she might go through....I just want to wish you luck for the future....Maria

Yeah...That's why i'm so thankful for this site. I've actually never went without hair to school or out of the house really. I went wig-less at a couple amusement parks (just because i knew it would blow off) and a few times at the beach. When i do decide to go without hair, and people stare at me, most of the time they're smiling like crazy. Either because they think I'm sick, or I have cancer or something. Ofcourse people at school are shitty. Between the boys that have made comments about it being "the only reason they would never date me" and girls having called me a " no haired bitch" and "baldy". People in this world are so cruel, and you can only hope they experience something some day that will open their eyes a little.

Yeah, same here, lol. People are ignorant, but making it through something like this will only make you stronger, and just remember, this disease will only overcome you if YOU let it. I've let it almost kill me for 4 and a half years, and now im paying for it, it has to end somewhere, you know.

What part of Pa. are you in? My daughter is 18 ,AT, senior in H.S., we live in Pgh.

Maybe you two could get together. She doesn't want anyone to know. She only told 3 of her closest friends. She is, however ,handling everthing very well as far as I can tell. She has a ton of friends and will be going to Slippery Rock this fall. She use to dance and do cheerleading.

One other ?. Who is your Dr.? We use to go to Caserio. Very good derm.

Sam here. I mean, less than 2% of the whole population, were pretty damn unlucky! haha, but it's alright. it'll be alright, have faith<3

Haha, I can be. I mean, I really try to impact other people with or without this disease in the best way possible. Having this, Ive used some pretty bad things to deal with my depression from it. I've been suicidal, I've hurt myself, I've quit school, I've used drugs........and now I'm changing all that. I guess I just want to give people a heads up sort of help, a kind that I didn't have. And yes, I have mastered eyelashes! aha, I've been putting them on everyday since I was like, 12 or something.

Hi, I hope you keep doing what you love to do!

Hi Kaitlyn, I can't completely explain it but eventually I let go of my hair and gave up on ever having a full set of hair again. So after I mourned the loss I was left with the struggle of learning to live regardless of whether I grew my hair back or not. I am no longer living or longing for the day that it comes back.

Keep asking yourself the question, do I really, really need hair to do this or to get that or to experience this. For me it started, with do I really need hair to swim, then it was to go to the gym, then it was to wear a dress, to be feminine, to attract this guy, to get this job... eventually I challenged these everything and came to the conclusion that I really did not need my hair for any of it. I am really glad you are here kaitlyn and please feel free to email me anytime. I added you as a friend ;) Keep in touch.

Hey!
Thanks for the request :)
Hope you're doing ok, you seem like a really amazing person :)
And you're so beautiful! :D

Laura xxx

hiiiii, whats up???

thank you!!! :)

Heyy!
Yeah it's amazing :D
and I had the braids before I lost my hair :)
Hehe, I don't know really, me and mmy family just went on holiday there :D
I've just being in London for the weekend seeing a West End show :D :D
Had a good weekend?

Laura xxx

aww, im sure its not that bad...where u from?

i was kinda near there last year...i was at penn state basketball tournament and there was nothing there lol i hated it, but im from nyc so theres a lot going on around here...but dont worry im sure it will get better as u get older =)

Hey!
Yeah its an amazing place :D
Ooh and its my birthday tommorrow lol :P

Yeah I braided my hair at the time to keep it out of my face when I was in Africa cos it's a real pain, it was so much easier having it braided :)

Oh I loved London, I live in Leeds which is about 200 miles north of London :)
The show was hilarious, I haven't laughed that much in my life :D
And going round London with my best mate was amazing :D
It was my 16th Birthday present btw :)

You up to much this week/weekend?
:)

Laura xxx

haha i love where i live...i live on staten island which is part of nyc, but its not as busy and city-ish as manhattan...its still really busy and tons of people but not as crowded as the city is...i dont like some of the people here b.c they can be nasty but i love the location lol...you should come back some time =)

Omg London is amazing :D You'd love it :D
And thankyou! *hugs back* I had an awesome birthday :)
Can't walk now though lol, Ive ripped my hamstring in my right leg doing fencing (dont know if you have fencing over there, its like sword fighting).
Hmm...not much happens when you're 16 here really...its legal to like...yeah (haha) and to play the lottery, join the army etc etc. You ca drive here when you're 17 and drink when you're 18 :)
Not sure I'm doing that much this weekend now I can't walk :P Probably limp into town though :D
Have a good weekend!
Laura xxx

Hey!
Haha, I meant its legal to sleep with people at 16 :P
Hehe
Funny you said that about hamstrings, I really damaged mine last fencing lesson and ended up on a stretcher :P I can walk now, but I couldnt walk all weekend :/
But I'm ok now!
By the way, do you have msn?
Ah, yeah I don't mind talking about it :)
I lost a patch of my hair last january, and from then on it was touch and go with everything but it never got any worse and grew back, I'm so lucky for that, I really do feel blessed to have thaat one extreme of the condition.
How about you? :)
Ooh Ooh and I left school today :D
I'm starting college in september :)

Have a good week!
Laura xxx

Hey!
Yeah I'll do the whole aim thingy, just give me a while :P hehe

Yeah we leave school at 16 here, then go to college for 2 years, then to university :)
Yeah, wigs are great if you wanna change your hairstyle, like you dont have to worry with going to the hairdressers and getting hairdye and making a big mess of things and dying your hair green by accident etc etc haha :D

But yeah, I just have a month of exams and I've finished school forever :D
Then I start college in september :) Can't wait for that tbh :)

And I love that dark brown wig of yours by the way, you look totally stunning in it! :D
But yeah, got my first exam over with yesterday, my next ones on monday and its maths (urgghhh), but hey :)
A group of us are planning to go to London when the exams are over so thats something to looks forward to :D
So how are things where you are?

Laura xxx

hi! you have aim right????? what is your aim name?
if u tell me i can add u

- carly

Hey!
Sorry its taken me a while to reply :/
I'm on something called study leave at the moment, so basically I just go into school for my exams, and am suppost to spend the rest of my time revising for them...of course I haven't but I've had to do alot of work :(
My last exam is on 16th June, then I guess I've left school properly, then we just have the prom :D
Yeah I have myspace, I'll add you :D
Urgh, I hate pople who don't accept these things, theres a guy who left school who was in the year above me, and I actually got into a fight once with a kid who was saying stuff about him, he had worse alopecia than me, so of course I was gonna stick up for him, it just went a bit too far...
You're beautiful and don't let anybody ever doubt that!!
To be honest I can't tell the difference between you wearing a wig and someone with hair, I wouldn't have known if I didn't know you had alopecia. With or without the wig you're blessed with good looks hun!!

Haha, yeah I've had friends who've done that before, and refused to come to school cos they have bright green hair :) I've never dyed my hair really, I try to look after it so I don't damamge it in any other way, I get a bit paranoid about it really.

Oh I love to travel!! I speak a few languages so I get by in other countries, I just love seeing thw world, it teaches you so much about life, especially when I was in Kenya, I just thank God for being alive and having a house after beind there for a couple of weeks.
And the year before, I was in America, which was probably the most fun holiday of my life! Though I was constantly getting bugged to speak cos of my English accent which they all liked for some reason...ah I loved the attention really :D

Anyway, I hope all is well over there!
Have a good week!!

Laura xxx

hi
my aim name is

carlytreehugger

Thanks for the advice
i will add u on aim

=)

oh ya that comment was from me--carly
i am on my moms
woops


carly (who left the last comment too)

Hi Kaitlyn!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I think you are beautiful with hair or without. Of course you can still have boyfriends and get maried and have kids?! You still have your womanly parts now don't you? Har har. Believe me, anyone who cares more about your hair or lack of than you as a person is not worth marrying anyways right? Of course theres hope. There are sooo many people on this site who are in fulfulling marriages or relationships and lots of them have children too. I know it can be really tough. Especially when you're still in highschool and everyone is so caught up in looks and everything is materialisic and shallow. I was fifteen when i first lost my hair too. I was devastated, but things certainly have gotten easier since then. I've learnt so much about myself and lots about what's important in life. My boyfriend is amazing. He always tells me that i'm beautiful and assures me that he loves me for who i am and not what i look like. As long as you act yourself and continue doing the things you love, then you will definitely attract people into your life. And most importantly, make sure that you love yourself. Tell yourself everyday in the mirror that you love yourself just the way you are! Because you are great just the way you are:) And don't worry if you dont feel confident and optimistic about your alopecia. Believe me, i haven't always been this welcoming towards it. The first couple of times that i lost my hair i was a MESSSSSS. But time heals everything and as time goes on you'll learn how to deal with it becuase you have to. And things will get easier.
Well. We're all here for you Kaitlyn! Take care of yoruself.
Loooove zoe

Hey!
Urgh, yeah I used to have bad panic attacks in exams, so I had to take all my exams in the library, I'm better with it now though, and I've taken 4 exams with everyone else so far, so it's looking good :D
Ooh! Happy birthday for June 20th!!
Hope the exams went ok :)
I've got about 9 days off at the moment due to the school holidays so I'm just trying to relax :D
Ah, thats quite ironic, I was thinking about learning German :)
Do you know any good sites that teach the basics or anything? :)
I'm going to Austria next year so I'm trying to learn a bit of it, I think its just polite to learn the language when you're in another country. I guess because I wouldn't expect to speak another language in England, they shouldn't in their country :)
I speak English, French and Arabic, I used to speak Swahili, but Ive forgotton most of it since I got back from Kenya, I speak enough Polish to get by in Poland and I'm learning Swedish :D I think languages are facinating :D
Gosh, theres a huge difference between the accents :)
Theres difference in the mannerisms too. Americans are much more open and friendly, English people are very reserved and private, you'll see us rolling our eyes at loud Americans cos we're all miserable really :D
Ah, and if you came to England we love American accents so you'd get a ton of attention (especially from the guys ;). I met a guy from Chicago last week and could talk to him for hours because of his accent :D
Anyway, I hope you can relax more now you're finals are over!
Have a good rest-of-the-week!!

Laura xxx

hi i'm molly I was diagnosed with aa since I was two. when was you diagnosed?

where do you go? i haven't talked to you in a while, where have ya been? how's running? how's life?

Hey Kaitlyn:
I enjoyed reading about you. I think you could really be an inspiration to many children. My daughter is 12 and has had AU for 3 years. Maybe we could stay in touch. Do you mind me asking why you are home bound?
Terri

heyyy
whts up?!