I am a 57 year old bald hairdresser. I recently have come "out of the closet" with my disorder. I have been fortunate enought to find a collection of realistic wigs and to master the art of glueing and painting on my facial hair. I can't say that i am thrilled about having no hair, but i have always tried to find the bright side to a bad situation, so you could say that i am coping.

Today, I totally by chance came upon 2 new clients who both were suffering the affects directly and indirectly of hair loss. The first lady had no eyebrows. I admitted to my baldness. I could tell that there was a sadness to her which later i found out she had lost a husband at 20 some years old and also a brother to suicide. Her haircut was secondary to our deep conversation about life and loss. I think I brought a smile to her face just by playing up the positive things about the life we were dealt. I am hoping to see her again.

Then again, totally by chance comes a second lady later on in the afternoon. Upon her commenting on my cute hairstyle, I admitted to its being a fake and of my condition. That immediately opened a dialogue about her husband who had earlier this year been diagnosed with AU. His inability to cope with his new appearance was affecting their life and his place in the business world. Spewing out all the knowledge i had aquired about what i had learned about alopecia, I asked her about his medical history. Stress, thyroid, iron levels.......skin allergies...his AU began when he started donating blood frequently and his iron levels dropped. Maybe this is something, maybe it is nothing. I think she felt good to talk to someone who first handedly was surviving this.

I guess what i am trying to say, is that I hope that i can find some meaning into the reason why I was selected to have this disorder, that if someone needs a word of encouragement that i can rise above my own pain and help them make some sense out of this. It is so mysterious how God puts people in your path.