Comment by doodler on June 3, 2015 at 5:16pm

You look Great! I'm also a genX-er and I feel happy looking as good as I do.  I was so much more critical of myself when I was a teenager -- yay to be older!

Comment by Bridgid Weber on June 3, 2015 at 11:18pm

I'm so with you on this one.  I'm trying to have fun with this because it beats hiding and crying.

Comment by LarraineDenise on June 10, 2015 at 9:37pm

I'm doing a lot better than I was. I'm enjoying wearing my wigs....it's fun and different! I still have never told anyone I have Alopecia though (other than my mom & grandma).

Comment by youarebeautiful on June 10, 2015 at 9:38pm

There are ups and downs.  This week is an up! 

I've been enjoying the variety of wigs lately.

But being ok with 'where you are' is better than hiding and crying.

Wearing wigs (even for those without alopecia) has become popular.  Certain tv personalities have made wigs popular.  At first I was offended, but now I realize this was one way this personality dealt with her hair issues.

I would prefer to keep my hair secret, but people are more inquisitive about wigs these days.

That does not mean that I'm gonna answer a bunch of wig questions from strangers, but at least I can hold my head up high as much as I can.

Comment by Chris on June 10, 2015 at 9:57pm

I'm really not sure what I'm going to do eventually (get a wig or not), but either way, I've been pretty open about having alopecia. It helps me to talk about it. I feel better when people know. Then I don't have to worry about if they can tell or not. It's no secret. No one can hurt me with what's right there in the open. It was a good thing one morning when I had a major eyebrow wig malfunction right before a team meeting. We all still giggle about me grouchily repainting my eyebrows at my desk while facilitating the meeting. My team already knew about my situation, and they were super supportive.

Comment by ataloss42 on June 10, 2015 at 10:04pm

I haven't quite discovered my coping strategies...At the moment, I'm still in denial I think. I slap a baseball cap on top and try not to look at it...I know this is the worst kind of denial as opposed to facing it, but it just depresses me. The hard truth is that this hair loss battle is showing me who I truly am-and I'm not proud of it. It's showing me that I've allowed it to steal my joy; to dictate where I want to go in life. It's showing me that I really don't like myself. I think that your approach is great-to confront it full on. I hope to get to the point where I can laugh at myself and the situation, but for now, I'm still seeking my way.

Comment by Pam D. on June 10, 2015 at 10:05pm

Sometimes I wear a wig, sometimes I wear a hat. I'll talk about the condition with anybody...today it was my pool man...I just walked out with a hat on, no eyebrows, no eyeliner. For me, "hiding" all the time is too exhausting. I have no ritual, never had. I have accepted the condition and am thankful it doesn't hurt, won't kill me, and with a little effort, I still look pretty "normal". Heck, AU is better than a lot of other things I could be dealing with.

Comment by Coco on June 10, 2015 at 10:17pm

I'm a female with adrogenetic alopecia - diagnosed at 18; finally started wearing a "topper" last year, after years of Toppik and some other cover-ups (I'm 47 now).  

I get bouts of the sads because when I take "Her" off (as I call the wig), I see what little hair I actually have left on my head. I am completely open about the wig - when I started wearing Her,most people didn't notice, yet some I still told - and they have all been completely supportive.   I agree with youarebeautiful, celebs are making wigs more common, and I agree with you, Chris, talking about it helps me immensely - and I, too, have supportive friends and family.  I also have a plethora of hats that I do wear on a regular basis when I don't want to wear the wig. I say go for it - wear it proudly!

Comment by HairSuper on June 10, 2015 at 10:32pm

You look Great! I've been enjoying the variety of wigs lately.

Comment by Tim Irvine on June 10, 2015 at 10:33pm

Chris, I know it won't be a magic pill, but I came to terms with it a long time ago, having grown up with it, when the time came that I "accepted it"; I was mostly "over it". I once told a girl who referred to me as weird that I wasn't weird, I was uniquely different. I am come to understand over time that is more likely truer than I could have imagined when I first said it. Alopecia is something we have been made to feel ashamed of due to the way society can be so superficial. However in truth, I believe it is more of a gift; only we do not always see it that way because we are so busy trying to get by with our sadness. My hearing is awesome. I have good sight. My sense of smell is overwhelming and I am a people watcher  in more ways than one. Alopecia allows us to weed out the people from our lives who aren't real. Soak that up a second. You see, people who only see the exterior of a person may not hang around to get to know you. Long ago when I hid my Alopecia, and would meet someone nice, I would dread the day I had to tell her about Alopecia unless she found out first. One by one the story would play out the same. They find out and go. I was bitter for the longest time, but then I accepted how lucky I was to have this thing that was more like a BS detector. Yes I know that is a stretch, but it actually works. I will say this, I can't imagine being a woman and having Alopecia, but I would hope I see it the same way in time. It's just part of who I am, and I will not apologize for how God made me. 

This is who we are, and it's not a bad thing. :0)

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