Hi Jenn I love your pics you, are absolutely gorgeous I recently went through what you going through. It's hard,but shaving my hair for me was getting rid of the problem of loosing it. Of course other problems arise ,but they're within YOUR control Can't wait to see new pics
Take Care

Thanks for the firend request and the nice comment I was going to tell you before ,but didn't ."You remind me of Nathalie Portman" What a smile :) xox

Hey Jenn
Just checking to see if you are having a better day! I know the ups and downs that come with this disease! Hope things are going better for you.

Hi Jenn
Glad to hear today was a better day and you had a good wig experience. Just take it one step at a time. Like I said it took me over a year to finally wear mine, and it wasn't until school started that I made myself wear it!! It's almost time for me to get a new wig, and I want to look into some new styles. Just take things at your own pace--you know yourself better than anyone. Good luck!

Hi Jenn! Thanks for accepting my friend request :) I read your blog about wig shopping and I wanted to let you know that I, too, am going through the same process! I went looking for my first wig yesterday and I tried on a full lace wig with human hair- I felt absolutely beautiful, like I how I felt before my alopecia started getting bad. I'm really torn about whether or not I want to just shave it off, get it over with, and start fresh with a wig, or if I want to keep waiting a while longer....I have enough hair left that I can wear it back in a ponytail with lots of bobby pins keeping my bald spots covered, but I would love to be able to go outside on a windy day and not worry about my spots showing. And I would love to feel like I have feminine hair again! Sorry I am writing so much, but it sounds like we are in the same boat and I would love to hear what your experience/opinion/feelings about it are and share thoughts.
Cheers!
Natalie

Ahhhh thanx! They are so much fun to do once you get the icing out of your hair! LOL>..

hey! Thanks for the add :) I am in MB too.. what are are you in? i don't actually first hand know anyone else here who has it, I understand a lot of what you are going through and would love to talk whenever. Keep positive!

hi jenn
we are far enough out in the boonies that we just get regular snow melt runoff. still having to pump out our yard tho, but its slowly going. would sure be nice to have some sunshine tho.
ive been hairless now for a little over a year, really is no big deal to me lol i do miss the facial hair ALOT but ...
just starting to search around for someone in Wpg that does the eyebrow tattoos.
as far as head hair goes, i wear wigs in the winter, bought loads of them from China so can be different style and color anytime i want lol when i had hair it was very fine and wimpy and i couldnt do a thing with it so this is kind of a nice change, can wear all the styles i couldnt before. in the summer i wear my scarves. i designed a style that looks pretty but just slips on, no tying etc. its to hot to wear a wig, plus the whole menopause/hot flash thing, so scarves fit the bill!! at home i love in hoodies, can have hood on or off depending on the temperature. at the beginning of summer last year i didnt horseback ride much. was to hot for wig but was scared my hat would blow off and show off my bald head. by the end of summer i didnt care lol all my close friends that i ride with are used to seeing me bald now so i can just throw on my hat and away i go.
the best thing is, no more shaving, anywhere!! lol very liberating!!!

Im just in the process now of getting an experienced hair dresser out here to makeover all the wigs i imported. should be lots of fun!! i need to turn my spare room into an actualy spare bedroom, so time to take stock and get some out of here!!! im sure ill find some in there that i forgot id even ordered.

Hey Jenn, Just thought I'd leave a quick comment. I find the best place in Winnipeg to get wigs is at Gisele's Hairloss Solutions. She has just moved her store and is now on St. Marys. She is excellent. She knows her stuff and can give you advice on just about anything. She too has Alopecia so she speaks from experience plus she's really outgoing and friendly which always helps.

If you want to talk more just let me know.

Hey Jenn, I had never heard of Alopecia either when I first got it, let alone know of anyone that had it. It took me quite a few years to actually come across someone else that had it. So these support groups are good for that. I'm always here if you have any questions or just want to chat.

Hey Jenn, Through my work I have the extended Blue Cross which covered 6 wigs maximum. Needless to say that coverage ran out long ago. I'm not sure of any other coverage out there. I haven't really checked into it. You can claim wig expenses on your income tax as medical expenses. I claim the wig, the shampoo, the styling gel. Everything I need with regards to my wig.

For years I wore a synthetic wig. There really wasn't much in the way of human hair wigs. I didn't mind them, but I never really had anything to compare them to. And then a few years ago, I became allergic to a certain kind of elastic that they were using in the synthetic wigs (not all of them, but I had no idea which ones used it). I would get a really bad itchy rash on my head at all the pressure points (like being bald wasn't enough). So Giselle suggested I go to a human hair wig. I was reluctant because I liked the ease of the synthetic wigs, just wash and go. But I got a human hair wig about 3 years ago and I love it. You can blow dry it, curl it, dye it, just about everything you do with real hair. The one thing I didn't like about it was that it was a lot hotter than the synthetic wig and there isn't really any cloth on the inside to soak up sweat, so I would drip sweat down the back of my neck. However, I have a new one now that was made specially for the dimensions of my head and it hugs nicely and it uses much more cloth on the inside so I am hoping this will solve the heat problem. Right now I have 2 human hair wigs that I use, plus I have old wigs that I use for different occasions (like bike riding or swimming). I found with the synthetic wigs you were kind of restricted to the one hairstyle, whereas with human hair you can style it whatever you want because it's real hair. If I were you, I would try on both the synthetic and the human hair and just see which one feels better for you.

I hope I haven't confused you. I'm always open to questions.

Hey! Thank you! Yes I am near Brandon, did I already say that? haha. anyway I am a nail tech and actually also have my hairdressing, I most;y got it to do wigs though, I used to order them through a place here but is is insanely expensive, like more than the reccommended so I know am getting them through my business and do them myslef usually. I am hoping to slowly sell and do them as well, I think since I understand it will be good. And I know what it is like to be in that position. Anyway that is where I get my wigs now. Where have you been going? are they pretty good. I never found a place in Winnipeg to get them so stuck with the one here until the prices went up and up.
Anyway you and your kids are beautiful :) if you ahev any wig questions I can try to help. are you wearing one yet?

Hi Jenn - just thought I'd drop a wee line to let you know there MAY be a light at the end of the tunnel. I developed AA October last year and shaved my head in January this year as most of my hair was gone. I have been wearing scarves. UNTIL THIS WEEK - I now have a full head of hair. Apparently if you are over 30 and have never had AA before there is a good chance your hair can come back and stay back. I never had any treatment - just let nature run it's course and I appear to be out of the woods. I do think I'll always worry it'll come back but right now I'm just dealing with today and today I have hair. :)

Hi Jenn! I'm glad to know that I was able to help you a bit :) You are going to love Karen! She is so friendly and very knowledgeable. I can't wait for my Freedom wig to come in! Let me know how it goes with her and if you order one. Keep smiling Jenn :)
-Natalie

Thank you Jenn. I've learned so much since I had this condition - if it meant losing all that to get my hair back now - I honestly would pass! I believe that I'm a much stronger person now, and I have way more confidence than I did when I had hair! You will get through all this too. God is in control and He knows what's best for us, even when it seems like total disaster.

Hi Jenn, Thanks for the wonderful wishes. I read your profile and am so glad to see that you "see acceptance working it way through" Once you get that, then alopecia is not a problem whether you grow your hair back or not. Focus on that and you will come out standing either way.

How do I get to Karen's website?

Hi Jenn! Did you meet with Karen yet? How did it go? I just wanted drop by and say hi and I hope that all is well :)

Good luck with the styling tomorrow! I'm sure it will turn out great. I loooooove my wig! I don't wear it everyday (I am really loving the bald look lately) so I only have to wash it about once a week, which is so convenient. And the wig has a natural wave to it much like how my old hair used to be. I'm really excited to get my vacuum wig, though. It will be nice to just pop it on and off my head. I look forward to seeing pics of your new wig soon :)
Cheers,
Natalie

So here's something exciting. I emailed city TV, to see if they could maybe do a segment on AA, they phoned me today and they want to do a story on Kyler..I'll keep you updated on this. I so happy that I am going to get some awarness out there..

Hi jenn,

Just found your page. Love your blogs - reminds me of the time of the dreaded shed and coming to terms with it coming out. That was me this time last year. I've had a lot of regrowth recently, just as I came to terms with my wigs and thinking that it was all on its way out! It's weird the difference a year makes. Just like you, when I got my first wig, it was a great feeling. I did get a dip in emotions a couple of months later when I came round to the idea that I'd be wearing them for the rest of my life but a year on and who cares?!? Not me, well not as much as I used to anyhow. It's a great feeling when it all starts to feel better and I loved living it again through your latest blog. Keep thinking happy thoughts.

Hi Jenn! Snow? It was something like 80 degrees here yesterday. All of our trees and shrubs are blooming. Very colorful but a lot of pollen is triggering allergies. I love all the pics you've posted. I need to post some more. I'm doing pretty well, thanks! Hair's a bit thin but not falling out too much now. What's left is getting longer (though a lot of it's gray now). By the way - I'm getting psyched for the soon to be released Corner Gas DVD of season 6. I didn't get to watch any of this season, so I'm hoping the final season is a good one!

Happy Belated Mother's Day! I have been out of town at a class or I would have responded sooner to your note. Thanks for your support. I have to update my photo with the absence of hair because there really has been a change... good and not so good from an aesthetic point of view. My feelings about the eyelash and eyebrow loss is significant and I was not expecting it to have such a dramatic effect on my outlook about myself. But it has. Actually its kind of funny, but in meditation I have asked for help in healing and I asked for a prize to let me know that it has occurred. Can you guess what it is? All I want are the eyelashes and eyebrows!!! I guess I have resolved the loss of my hair on my head. Its a blessing not to have to shave body hair or pluck and waxed facial hair. Such attachments run deep and I wonder if its tied really tightly to our egos... probably since its the ego that has protected us or we think it has from the things that have hurt our emotional base so greatly. Wow... that came out of nowhere...

Now... How about you...You are beautiful physically and that will withstand the change if you lose all of your hair or not! Lucky you!! From your writings you have a spirit that equals the outer you, and that in truth is what endures. From my personal perspective, if I did not lose my hair I would be on a totally different path and possibly would never get to encounter my real self ... maybe what I am trying to say is that it was time to work on the things that have held my spirit from moving forward on its path... I think a Christian perspective of what I am trying to convey is "finding the Christ within." So in other words... the hair loss has made me look at myself from many perspectives and confront my fears. So in the vernacular... let go of the crap! Think of this as being so positive for your children and you know what I learned while away... I can look great in less than 10 minutes... no fussing over blow drying my hair ... all I do is fill-in eyebrows and put some eyeliner on and go!!!

My thoughts, love and light of spirit go with you................ Meg

lol, Jenn, I love your blogs, especially "got wiggy with it" it's good to have a happy and positive outlook on life, especially when you have Alopecia. Life is soooo much Grander, lol, when you live it with a smile! Stay Blessed!

Just wanted to let you know that we are going to be on monday big breakfast TV talking about AA hope you can catch it take care

Hi Jenn,

You're welcome.
Things will get better with time and a little liquid doesn't hurt either.

Jeffrey

Is your sister on here??

Hi Jenn,
We started this journey at almost the same time, and now you've joined the ranks of the bald and the beautiful. Honestly - you look wonderful. My hairloss seems to be at a fairly stable point. With enough hairspray I can still cover the front, top, and sides pretty well, but the back of my head sometimes looks a little mangy. While there are minimal signs of regrowth, it doesn't seem to be getting worse at this point so I am at least cautiously optimistic. Whatever happens, I think I'm prepared to deal with it. I've really enjoyed reading your blogs and they exemplify the right attitude with which to handle this. If my hair does take another turn for the worse, I hope I'll handle it with the same strength and courage as you have.
Best wishes!
Jeff
By the way - only a couple more weeks until I can get my season 6 Corner Gas DVDs!

hey jenn! things continue to improve with me which is a great sign, but i am still cautious because who knows what may happen tomorrow! i love the pics of your new look! rock on!

Hey Jenn, Sorry I haven't been on here in such a long time. I don't know if you remember but you wrote me about doctors and wig places which from reading some of your blogs I see you no longer need. Anywho just in case you want more options I'll fill you in on my resources anyway. I see Dr. Wallace at the Sheps office. I have gotten some wigs from a lady in Lorette but most of them I actually have gotten online. I like the Rachel Welsh wigs, never bought one I didn't like. I know it's hard when you don't get to try them on but by that point I pretty much knew what I liked. You should also look into getting your wig cut by a stylist who deals with wigs. I know you like your wig but you may like it more after getting it touched up. I'm a hairdresser and I have cut or at least thinned out every wig I've bought and it really helps to make it feel more natural. Also it's a good thing to explore once it starts to get a little run down. It can extend it's life span by months :) Anywho sorry again I wasn't much help earlier. I also have chosen the bald lifestyle lately. I took off my wig about a month and a half ago. It was liberating and maybe the scariest thing I've ever done lol. I wore that wig for three years and now I'm free. Let me know if I can help you in anyway.

Hey Jenn! Thanks for the sweet comment! You are beautiful. I am sure after shaving the last bits of your hair off you feel liberated! I did when I shaved mine yonks ago! If you still feeling down about it think about it this way, at least you save up on hair products! ;) Sal xx

Hey Jenn
Just wanted to say Hi and see how things were going with you!!

Hey Jenn,
I'm a teacher too, don't worry about that side of things, kids are so resilient, curious, but nothing much worries them.
HOpe you're doing ok! xx

Hey Jenn,
I'm a teacher too, don't worry about that side of things, kids are so resilient, curious, but nothing much worries them.
HOpe you're doing ok! xx

hey jenn. thanks. its good to know when someone is going through the exact same thing as you. what makes me feel even better is when someone writes me a note like that. you have no idea(unless you do...:D).
awesome wishes,
kayden
p.s. i have exema too!

Thanks, that was sweet of you to say. Getting comfortable came in waves. I eventually gave up on it coming back a second time (lost hair at 7, grew back at 12, lost again at 18) but if it just happened its definitely worth trying a few things. Eventually i stopped with the wig and moved to San Francisco where nary a kid in a supermarket bats an eye - there are far stranger people in SF than a bald guy with an eyebrow piercing ;) Now, truly, i think i would have a major adjustment period if the hair grew back. Its a hard change, no doubt, especially because I imagine you didnt think much about hair until now, except maybe removing it from unwanted zones. Whats strange for me is my AA has been stable for two decades now - eyebrows, right underarm more than left, etc - chin hair is growing a bit more now that i am 40+. No rhyme or reason to this condition.

I haven't had the courage to show anyone my bald head yet. I think that's what I need to do though to relieve some of my stress! Today was my first official day of summer--YEA!! But I am going to teach summer school which starts in a week. Its only 3 weeks so I can handle it. I too am losing my eyebrows and eyelashes, but I have some eyebrow growth, so like you I am crossing my fingers that it grows back. I'm sure your kids are so happy that you'll be at home with them full time. That's great! You sound like you are handling this really well. That's great!!

Thanks so much for your support. Best of luck with everything. God Bless.

Ooooo not sure if I'm ready to go au natural in front of my students. I'll make it a summer goal to do so in front of friends first--how's that??

I am sorry for not getting back to you,,,I just now realized I had mail.. I live IN Orange County Ca. and there are teachers that go in to the wig shop I do and students from our district,,I guess Im not suppose to know but I do from conversations with the owner of the wig shop ,,,again im sorry for not realizing I had mail

Gotcha!! You are true that kids do have some interesting hair dos. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll get up enough courage to snap pictures of my head! Thanks again!

Go to Evelyn's Wigs! She is fair, and not too expensive and VERY helpful and well informed about Alopecia. Its in Lorette, MB.

Thanks Jenn. You keep posting so many great photos I was shamed into adding some more current ones myself. Love the fish picture. Your hair looks stunning!

Hi Jenn - I love both of your wigs, but the Codi really caught my attention. I love that cut. Is it synthetic and do you like it? Did you order it online? Thanks!

thanks for your comment! i think you are beautiful no with or w/o hair. i'm envious bc you seem so much braver then i am and you just got it. i hope one day i can let people see me, or even tell them i have it for that matter

thanks! i actually get them at a place by me, i've been going there for maybe 7 or 8 yrs. there great and they help me a lot.

hi there jenn thanks for that it is so nice to talk to people with the same condition and to know it is normal to feel like i do some days are better than others i went to see aspecailist about a month ago and she diagnosed me with alopecia totalis because i had only lost my hair on my head but since then i have noticed my eyelashes getting thinner another thing im finding hard to accept i love to wear mascara but eh theres always false ones im used to my wigs now i call them flossy i feel almost normal when i put them on any way hope to speak to you soon sharon

No, wasnt me. On Fathers Day I was driving back to Winnipeg from Regina.

Not a problem, would have rather been there lol