Tanya

Female

Vancouver

Canada

Profile Information:

About Me:
I've had alopecia since I was 10. I'm mostly AT/AU, though sometimes I can grow a mohawk ;)

I've come a long way from keeping my alopecia a secret and feeling ugly, to to loving how I look bald while also enjoying over 40 wigs! I've also been running a support group in Vancouver since 2009, raised awareness on TV, and held a charity fashion show donating 100% to alopecia.

Life should not be any less colourful because of alopecia. It should be more colourful because of it!

In our alopecia support group, we laugh, share stories, and sometimes cry. We always leave feeling better and inspired.


If you're in Vancouver, Canada (or nearby in Canada or US), I'd like to invite you to join our meetup!

We are on Facebook: (It's a closed group for your privacy)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/alopecia.vancouver/

And here on Alopecia World: (More activity on FB)
http://www.alopeciaworld.com/group/vancouveralopeciasupportgroup

If you are not in Vancouver, check out my alopecia videos:
htttp://www.alopeciachannel.com

On my birthday in March 2013, I posted my "coming out" alopecia video on Facebook. Some of my friends learned about my alopecia for the first time that day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0BGIqMCD1Q

xoxo
Tanya
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://alopeciachannel.com

Comment Wall:

  • Cheryl, Co-founder

    I wanted to welcome 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

    Mar 18, 2008

  • kastababy

    Hello, and welcome!!! I hope you find lots of love and support here in our community!!! I can't wait to get to know you!!!

    Mar 18, 2008

  • Roger

    Welcome.

    Mar 19, 2008

  • Baldboi

    hey there fellow van girl!

    Mar 19, 2008

  • Karen

    Hi Tan,

    it is nice to see a fellow asian on this site. I was hoping that my daughter is not the only asian that has this condition. It is good to see you so confident and outgoing in your photos. Hope my daughter can have the confidence like you when she grows up.

    Karen

    Mar 20, 2008

  • Katie

    Hi Tan :)
    Thanks for the note. Love your pic too! It's nice to meet you - whereabout in Van are you? Maybe sometime we can meet up for a coffee/drink sometime.

    Mar 20, 2008

  • Baldboi

    Hey Tan, iam in Coquitlam and yourself?

    Mar 20, 2008

  • Karen

    Hi Tan,

    Your advice is very helpful and I guess with the unpredictability of the condition, I have to concentrate on building her self esteem more. Did your mom buy you a wig when it happened or did she just let you wear a bandana. What about bullying? Did you face any teasing? I looked at your photos and you look just so so beautiful and so so confident. I guess I want to know excatly what your mom did so that I can do exactly the same thing. Confidence is the key. I guess if Amber is confident with her hairloss than she can combat any comments that come her way. By the way, your hair looks so real. Can you be active whilst wearing it.

    Thanks

    Karen

    Mar 25, 2008

  • Katey

    Thanks for the nice comment on my pic! I like your photos too!! :) Wow... do you sky dive?!? Impressive... Nice to meet you! Have a good day! Peace.... :)

    Mar 28, 2008

  • Daria

    Tan....LOVE your photo gallery! Sure looks like nothing gets you down. Good for you!

    Mar 31, 2008

  • Daria

    Yeah, I got him that for Christmas! My sister-in-law always wears one that says Everyone Loves an Italian Girl so I also got one that says Everyone Loves a Bald Girl to wear next time I see her. Got it on Cafe Press.com.
    My kids are great - thanks. They're a lot of fun and keep life chaotic but interesting, for sure!
    I see you've got the tattooed eyebrows. I'm going for a consultation with a lady named Susan Davis at Permanent Cosmetics of Maryland next week to check out her work. If I like it, I think I'm just going to go ahead and do it right then and there. I'd also like to do the eyeliner, but am more nervous about that. Ouch!

    Apr 1, 2008

  • Daria

    Well, I did it!!!! Got the brows and the eyeliner tattooed this week. Am soooo glad I did. I can go back in a couple of weeks and she'll tweak anything I want tweaked. I love the brows, but I think I might actually get her to do my upper eyeliner a little thicker. It looks good, but I think a little thicker will look more like a lash line. Anyway, I'm so happy....thanks for the advice and support. I'll post pics as soon as all is healed up and looks perfect!!!

    Apr 13, 2008

  • Kristen

    Hi Tan - so good to see another Asian on this site. I love the picture of you in the washing machine. That's hardcore girl! I'm going to have to pick your brain once I get more serious into wigs - the ones you have look great. :-)

    May 5, 2008

  • JeffreySF

    Hi Tan,

    I love your pics. You look like a fun Gal.
    Is the close up pic of your eyebrow the tattoo? It looks great!!!
    I see you have the San Fran Background on your page like mine.

    Jeff

    Nov 3, 2008

  • James

    I had to laugh when I saw your pic of you in the dryer....it reminded me of trying that once but in a large laundromat dryer for a few seconds....what a nut! I know it's really cold out west right now so keep warm!!

    Jan 22, 2009

  • Stephanie Jacquelyn

    I too have had alopecia since I was 10... :D

    your pics look great.. and it's nice to see someone living their life to the fullest and on their terms. i'm working on coming to terms w/ alopecia and loving me for me. maybe I too can fit in a dryer....

    thanks for the add!

    Jan 24, 2009

  • James

    I'm not really on the coast, I'm near Toronto, but i'd say it's colder than normal but not as cold as last year. I was out in Fernie the summer before last and saw the mountains for the first time. Even though they were just the foothills of the east cootaney mountains to me they were big and made me feel small and insignificant....you know. I'll post some pics from there. Hey are those your horses?

    Jan 26, 2009

  • Liz

    hey! just wanted to drop by and say 'hi' the first pic of your wig looks really natural (I was wondering if you got it from the same site) and your pics are really funny! I'm afraid of ordering online because I don't know what I'd end up with, but its so much easier!

    Feb 3, 2009

  • Pat

    Hi Tanya I remember you from a few years ago at the other alopecia site. How are you? Looks like you're doing great! You look fantastic in your toplace wigs - what density do you go for?

    Feb 6, 2009

  • Pat

    Yeh it was yahoo...I believe you bought your toplace a little while before I did and it was looking at your pic that sealed the deal for me. 85-90% would be far too much for my pin-head...in my profile pic I think it was 80% and I thinned it out even more.

    Feb 7, 2009

  • Liz

    I don't think I'm ready to order online yet but gosh that's such a nice wig! and purple?! Nice, I can't wait to see pics (if you do put them up). I really like that picture you took with the horses :) I'm actually waiting for my wig to be finished in a month but those on toplace is significantly more affordable!

    Feb 8, 2009

  • Ally

    hi lol yeah i'm on a bit of wig research! my hairloss has really got to me and so trying to be proactive! I hope you don't mind me asking some more questions, in your first photo your hair is v.straight and long, is this a lace wig!? If so it looks great! I'm really looking for something like that. Is this from Toplace as well? Would you be able to tell me whether it is european/chinese/indian hair and what type of lace and density it is? Did they ask you about hair direction and parting?
    Thanx Ally

    Feb 8, 2009

  • porcelinh

    i love your eyebrows! i want to get mine done again. the first time i got them i didn't know any better and just wanted them done trying to cope with AU and then all of my eyelashes and brows were gone. now that i am older and wiser i want that illusion of eyebrow hairs on my fadded eyebrow tat. love your pics and your sense of humor. Holly

    Feb 17, 2009

  • Heather

    Hi Tanya! Thanks!
    Amy's Presence is amazing, I'm so thankful that I found it!
    I was trying to describe my wig to someone else and I realised thatI really dont know much about it. You use adhesive tape to keep it from falling on, which you apply to the underside of the edges of the wig which is sort of plasticky. The rest is netting (I'm not sure what it's made of) and at the back there are little hooks where you can tighten and loosen it. There are all sorts of different hair they use, but nothing real I don't think. Mine is called cyberhair which is aparently the most real acting synthetic hair around. From what I've been told, it was rather expensive, though I'm only 14, so it was my parents who bought it. I hope this helps! Ask anytime. Do you think by missing out in those activities in High School you actually missed out on anything big, or was it not really that important?

    Feb 17, 2009

  • Liz

    Hey Tanya, so I was looking at the site and it said that if I want to order a piece longer than 6" it would cost extra. The length in your first pic is an ideal length, how much did it cost for a piece around that length? Ahhh, I'm sorta freaking out about this but I should definitely get going on an order because I have my grad commencement in JUNE! I might even be too late to that =/ anyways, thanks for the recommendation because most places I've looked into are much stricter on their returns and less flexible.

    Mar 11, 2009

  • Jodi

    hello. happy birthday!

    Mar 28, 2009

  • Liz

    Hey! I just wanted to tell you that I got a hairpiece from this other place last month! I'm still contemplating on that site where you get urs since mine moves a lot but currently low on funds so i might wait a while. When I emailed them they said that it would cost about 590, was that around how much you paid for yours?

    Apr 22, 2009

  • Galvin

    Hi Tanya, are you looking forward to the Winter Olympics? Must be
    cool having them in your hometown.

    Feb 4, 2010

  • Chris Jeffer

    Hi Tanya,
    I live in Vancouver as well and wondered if you belong to any kind of Alopecia support group - if so which one and if not, would you be interested.

    Chris

    Feb 14, 2010

  • Chris Jeffer

    Hi Tanya,
    I would love to hook up with and anyone else you know with alopecia - I have only met a couple of other people here in Vancouver with this condition and would love to share stories.

    Let me know if this is something that you would like to do and when a good time to connect would be for you.

    Best,
    Chris

    Jun 6, 2011

  • Nikki

    Hi Tanya:
    I am very interested in your eye brow tattoos. I have had mine done with the permanent and I don't like how they fade to that blueish color that you mentioned. Please give me some more info on where you got yours done and how much. And how long they last. Thanks so much. Hopefully we can meet one day. I know a few in Vancouver with alopecia. Perhaps this summer. Cheers Nikki

    Jun 13, 2011

  • JBean

    Hey Tanya, I saw your post on Chris's wall. I live in Vancouver as well, and have never met anyone with alopecia. I would love to meet some others with AA and swap stories and advice. Please keep me in the loop!
    Thanks!
    Janeen

    Jun 26, 2011

  • elenore ahlsten

    Sure, would love to meet with you. My summer is rather hectic but let's see what we can do to meet up. I live in the West End so downtown on Denman somewhere would be good. Let me know.

    Jul 4, 2011

  • elenore ahlsten

    Ya, sure, that will work. See you Sat. at 10

    Jul 4, 2011

  • Sabina

    Hi Tanya, I've been following all your posts with interest. Unfortunatly I won't be able to be there, as I live out of town, but grew up on the North Shore. Hopefully I'll be able to attend in the future. As I'm sure you saw on my page, my 8 year son also has AT, so any fresh perspectives are always welcome. Thanks for starting the group, something like this would have so supportive at the time my hair fell out ( over 20 years ago)

    Feb 1, 2012

  • bertha price

    Hi Tanya:

    Good Look!

    Mar 6, 2012

  • Cindi

    Agreed!! Thanks Tanya!

    Jul 8, 2012

  • Jennifer

    Thanks for the warm welcome, Tanya. My non-screen name is Jennifer. I would love to join the meetup! Unfortunately I am going to be out of town for a couple of weeks in early October so I'll be missing any local events taking place at that time. but please count me in for the future for sure! I'm looking forward to meeting more people who have this condition in common. :)

    Sep 29, 2012

  • Erin Leach

    Thank you Tanya!

    Sep 29, 2012

  • Diana Linde

    I actually haven't been to a meet up yet but am interested in going to the next one! Love meeting new people :)

    Jul 25, 2013

  • Mido

    Hi Tanya. I have never been to a meet up yet, but I'd like to come to the meet up this Saturday.

    Midori

    Jul 3, 2014

  • chris for hair

    Hi Tanya, Thanks for your reply. I won't be at NAAF this year, but hopefully next year I can make it. If you are going have a great time! Chris

    Jun 17, 2015

  • Rach1992

    Thank you! You are too :)

    I am so sorry! I somehow mixed you up with her perhaps because of your youtube presence but after clicking the link you two don't look alike at all! 

    If I don't already follow you on youtube I will now! (I think I do). <3

    Dec 31, 2015