Hi Danna, 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

Wow! I lost my hair at 26 as well! It started then. Now I don't have any hair anywhere!
Where in Washington are you? I'm in Portland, OR.
LeslieAnn

Hi Danna, thanks for the support, I know I will be fine, but I do have my freak outs sometimes! I get my freedom wig tomorrow, will let you know how it is after then! I'm pretty excited....

Hi Danna,
Thank you for your support. It means a lot to me. You are not alone here. If you need any advice, feel free to reach out!

Just wanted to let you know that I updated my workshop/support group time for this Sunday - it's taking place at 5pm at my salon in New York City. Let me know if you can make it!!

Hi Danna!!! I'm happy to meet you!!!!

Hopefully next time then!

Ah another gamer, huh? LOL. How cool. So you're more of a PC gamer? I have a couple recommendations for the PC if you haven't already played them...Fable (The Lost Chapters) and The Longest Journey. ;o)

OMG I'm so proud of my friend Lauren for finally making a cd! She's always had this unbelievable voice. You can hear her stuff at www.cdbaby.com/cd/laurenhubert. You can even purchase the cd through that site if you like it.

Just wanted to say thanks for your kind words. Have a great week!

Hey danna,

I am liking my new freedom wig, it's very like what my own hair used to look like! It's going pretty well so far - the only annoying thing is it needs quite a bit of styling & I am quite out of practice at styling hair! I can wear it up though which is good. And when it's on properly (which took me a little while to figure out), it's not going to move AT ALL. I have even pole vaulted in it! The suction does feel weird at first, but it didn't take long to get used to it. It's much more comfortable than my other wig, which used to itch a bit.

Are you thinking of getting a vacuum wig? You do have to be completely bald to wear one but I think shaving what was left of my hair off was one of the best decisions I made in this whole alopecia experience!

Hope all's well with you.

Thank you for the compliment and you are absolutely right. I do not feel beautiful at all. I would love to chat with you.

Im laughing really hard right now because those pictures are actually my two sons. SO many people mistake the oldest for my boyfriend or husband. And he hates it. :) They are characters though, they keep me on my toes. I know what you mean about some days you feel like you look ok, others you feel like you don't. And I have a wonderful husband who adores me, hair or no hair, so nothing else should matter, but society is very cruel. I wish I could just "not care" but I can't.

So, according to your profile, you wear a wig?? Im not quite at that point yet but if this shedding and lack of growth keeps on, I'll be there before you know it. If your hair is a wig, the world would never know. It looks great!

Thank you so much for writing me. I needed that.
I appreciate you saying that I dont look old enough to have kids that age. I was 16 when I had my oldest son and 18 with the 2nd one. They are the light of my life.

Back in 1999, I went through a period of depression and started on an antidepressant. It made me feel like a zombie, and i ended up gaining 70 pounds in 4 years. At age 28, I weighed 256. When my dad was very sick, he had a stroke, I was laying beside him and he told me that my mom was worried about me being so overweight. I was so hurt and mad. I had acid reflux, my blood pressure was getting high and my blood sugar was high, so I decided then to lose weight. I immediately cut out snacks and started exercising. I lost 105 lbs in 8 months. I too got asked if I was sick or if I had gastric bypass. The answer was NO WAY. My stress relief is running. I love it. I started out doing 5 minutes of a Richard Simmons tape, now I can run 3 and a half miles.

I worry about my hair constantly. I dont want to do anything to mess it up. I feel so limited on activities. I worry about it being windy, or sweating or whatever. I have to use scalp concealer and style certain ways. My pics were taken in March, my hair still looks like that so its passable but who knows.

All I know is that, Im going to have fun at the beach. I will wear a cap out on the beach and even though I will not swim, I can get in the water. Thats good enough for me. :)

Hi Danna,

I also have alopecia and I had a hard time finding a good company that sold wigs, I got ripped off by many hair clubs so I decided to start my own company offering low cost wigs made out of 100% human Remy hair they look and feel like your own hair. The wigs that I offer are designed to be worn for weeks at a time without taking off and you can swim, walk in the wind or rain and not worry about it flying off. If you would like more information please call me at 1-321-256-0008 Toll free 888-332-7407 or visit my website www.realistichair.com I can also inform you on how you may qualify for a free custom made wig.
Jennifer

Its too hot to run right now. :) I dont know how much help I'll be.

I am just so sick of worrying about how much my hiar sheds and how much it doesnt grow back. Im tired of hiding, and Im tired of thinking about it. I know it could look alot worse, but I get sick of fixing it the same way every day. I wake up all night long each day when I know I have to wash it that morning worrying about how much hair will come out and if I'll be able to fix it .
It is truly maddening.

What kind of wig do you wear? Human hair, or synth? Do you use glue or tape or just straps? Im worried if I wear one, it will fall off or slide.

What do you do when you run?? Just wear a hat or bandana??

Sorry for all the questions.........

So do you use the tape every day? Im confused. Does the tape go on your head or the wig? I looked up the amore wigs. Very pretty. Are they human hair or synth?

Hi! Thanks for the blog comment. ;) It was REALLY difficult to get my hair up in that pony this morning to cover all my spots...it's probably perfect timing that I'm going to pick up that wig on Friday.

Hi Danna,
I think I'm still recovering from the climb. Every muscle is still burning. It will be awhile before I take that climb again. Look forward to meeting you, I will let you know when my new hair piece comes in, and we can meet up. I will be anxious to get it cut and styled. See you soon. Cheers to better weather! Donna~

You're my kind of gal if 60-70 degrees is too cold for you. I break out the coat as soon as the temp goes below 70. Of course, I've been in Houston all of my life.

Malinda, I have androgenic alopecia. I have lost a lot of my hair from the top and sides of my head. I am not totally bald. A lot of people would think, yeah I have some hair, but it is not like Universal hair loss. People confuse what is going on with me and make something out of what they do not understand. I have been asked really stupid questions and had so many people make assumptions. I too have had to look inside as to what really matters in a friendship. I dumped those friends who couldn't accept me for me. This world is wonderful and awful at the same time. What I think you and I have chosen is to build people up and see the good. Thank you for your friendship.

I have been totally smooth for a long time , now I am trying this wig thing as I venture into the single world. I have had a lot of fun with it so far. I will always be different with or without hair. I have tattoos that run down my legs of fairies and flowers. I love having that understand. Thanks Dana for adding me, take care.

I have certainly perplexed my sons by my descion to wear wigs. There whole life I lived in an unhappy marriage being told there was something wrong with me and my sense of adventure and fun. Tattoos were my way of expressing my difference. I already have lots of those. My eyebrows are tattooed ,very convenient ,I wake up with expression every morning.Now the different looks I can achive each day are fun in a new way. My Mother and Brother are estatic at my descion to blend in , my sons see it as selling out .....what do you think?..Lorena

Danna,

I'm still thinning and definitely have scalp show through if I pull my hair back on my forehead. I have to wear it to the side and carefully disguise. When did you decide your thinning hair was just not worth the effort anymore and switch to wigs? Did the wigs give you more confidence? Also, did you try the usual treatments of birth control and spironolactone? I'm on both but am ready to just let it be. Of course, this will bring on a shed from the drop in estrogen...not too excited about that.

Sorry so wordy. Just want to get a little advice from someone who has been there!