So, the obsession begins again.

I look in the mirror as I brush my hair. I see the balding spots. I touch the top of my head. I feel my scalp and my fingers easily can feel it through the thin hair. I remember the time when I got my hair cut short to try to make it look thicker. My husband gave me a disappointed look when I returned home. Hes told me plenty of times how much he loves my hair and redhead in general. Don't get me wrong, he really is a great guy...but.....it saddens me…

Last week my daughter Olivia and I were at Sally beauty supply.  As we were checking out the clerk said to my 6 year old  "You have pretty eyes , despite your condition"  I felt my daughter deflate in front of me.  I led Olivia out of the store and turned around and reamed the clerk  "How dare you say this to a child"  We both left the store in tears.

Last week I called the corporate office and posted on their fb page.  They offered us a $10 gift card. LOL  I said no. I had briefly…

TODAY'S AFFIRMATION:

"I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent.  Caring for myself is an act of survival."

~Audre Lorde

I'm getting my hair cut on the 20th.  I've decided to go with a super short pixie.  I've been wearing my hair pulled back this week to get a feel for it.  No hiding!   I just went to the Wegman's  and a woman smiled at me pointed to her head, and said " I like your hair." Yeah!  Right now, there are a ton of women without hairloss getting undercuts and shaving off parts of their hair.  When you "own" a look it becomes part of who you want to be.  This is who we are. …

Please vote often and daily for my daughter who has been trying to break into the modeling industry with Alopecia Universalis. Vote Juliette V. You can vote more than once a day. THANKS!!

Link to vote:

http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/face-of-foothills-2016/voting/26.html?msg=voted

As a kid whenever I saw a fountain or a wishing spiral, I always asked my mom for a penny or a dime to toss in. When she gave one to me I would hold the coin, close my eyes and wish as hard as I could that I would grow hair. Every single birthday wish, fountain wish and falling star wish, was the same wish since I could remember. I didn’t wish for toys or candy or anything a normal kid would want. I think back to that little girl and I find my self smiling at how silly I was to want…

Well, once again my hair is at a level where I can get away with not wearing wigs, I even went to the hairdresser in the past weekend!

I notice my lifestyle and choices really do make a difference with the amount of hairloss I experience...caffeine, refined sugars,,,smoking..alcohol and a few others definitely make a difference.

The above picture is…

BuchananAppendixA_RecruitmentFlyer_6-03-15.doc

Hello,

I have been a member of this community for quite sometime and enjoy the blogs of those individuals seeking help from others with the disease. I am writing because I am a Doctoral graduate student at TWU and currently conducting research about Alopecia and it's impact on the Family System. In essence,…

I've had Alopecia since I was 8 years old and I used to look at it as rather a negative thing. As I am becoming an adult I am starting to realize that Alopecia has shaped me into a better person. I look back on everything and I wonder what kind of person I would have been without having Alopecia comparatively to who I am today....if I would have like who I saw in the mirror? No..I don't think I would have. Alopecia has given me my own kind of confidence while still maintaining consideration…

I had a spiritual awakening.

I notice my soul more than my appearance.

I am bald and I am beautiful.

So happy that this is the year, I'm so glad it has come. After 8 years, finally, I've been able to look in the mirror and not feel disgust. I am still bald, but I am still living and kickin. I'm not gonna let it bring me down anymore, 8 years is too long to be hating myself. 

I've grown to love who I am on the inside, not the outside.

I am different and I…

I feel like I am going backwards right now and I feel like this is a place where I can articulate and discuss these feelings. 

Last summer I had got to my peak of acceptance for my alopecia. I was happily alternating between my many wigs, scarfs and going bare headed, which I was particularly enjoying the freedom of with my new found confidence. I had another tattoo on my head (I already had one) and had come to a point of seeing alopecia as a quirky part of my identity. 

Then…

So my hair at the front and sides has gradually - oh so gradually - disappeared. And my hairbrush is forever having to be stripped bare. And for the first time in my life I have to use hairspray, just to hold down the carefully arranged styling to cover the seeming acres of flesh. Why does it matter? I am still the same person. I am 64, not young and needing to prove a thing. Who looks at older women in any case? We are universally invisible. So why should I care?

But I do. I care…

I am kind of lost for words…..  The nurse called and left me a voice message telling me I do have Lichen Planopilaris, that's it!  Prescribed Minocycline but have not received any other information from the doctor.  Thankfully, I found this site!!!  Thank you to everyone for sharing your story, advice, and support!

p.s. Does anyone know of a Specialists in Albuquerque, NM?