Alopecia World
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Let is grow, let it grow, let it grow
It started on a whim….OK, that’s not totally true. I was sitting next to the woodstove Sunday night watching a football game (in between resting my eyes) and was just too dang comfortable to get up & shave. Monday was another day I told myself, reasoning a nice hot shave would start the week off right. Well, Monday morning brought snow & cold so, not wanting to shave before going out to the barn, I decided to wait until I came back in. Of course when I came in I had to have a cup of coffee to warm up, then a hot shower…oh, forgot to throw in a load of wash, cat needs to eat…dang, time for work.
Yeah, there’s a thousand and one excuses…er, reasons leading up to now which marks the 6th day without a shave… beard or head. Used to be a week long hiatus from shaving my face gave me the ‘rugged’ look. This was….errr, umm…different with the spots sprinkled in. Hmmm…almost like puberty all over again when a few dozen hairs, even if they are a 1/2” long, didn’t make much of a beard.
My head hasn’t seen this length hair since April when I first shaved what was left off. Feels…funny, kind of like the material on the couch…smooth one way, grabby the other. Got the Dalmatian thing going too between the vellus and terminal (regular) hair. For the first time in a while, I can see the extent of the AA. The spots are very obvious as they now reside next to dark hair rather then smoothly blending into a shaved scalp. Some spots seem smaller then before with new growth around the fringes. Other are larger than I remember …still, others are new. Ever evolving, ever changing…the only constant is change.
My head is almost always covered with a hat these days due to the cold weather. It’s cold enough I'm not alone and my head becomes just another in a sea of hats when I’m out. No stares, no whispered comments or awkward glances. Work is another story…head coverings are taboo so the dome goes au naturale. Sadly, I think my new doo caused more than a few cases of whiplash with folks snapping their heads around to get a second look. Oddly enough, I find people’s eyes focused on my head more now than when I was clean shaven.
I suppose it’s natural curiosity. Maybe that’s why I didn’t shave…you know, out of curiosity. I mean, what does ‘it’ look like? Is it growing in or falling out? Are those vellus hairs or are the gray ones coming back? And the million dollar question…if I let it grow, would I be able to hide the spots? In my case, unless may hair was long enough to wrap around my head a few times in the world’s biggest comb over…uh, no. No sweat, I’ve grown comfortable with the AA thing. Hair or not, I’m still me inside.
Well, that’s that. My curiosity is satisfied…for now. Suppose I’ll shave tonight…or tomorrow…
Yeah, there’s a thousand and one excuses…er, reasons leading up to now which marks the 6th day without a shave… beard or head. Used to be a week long hiatus from shaving my face gave me the ‘rugged’ look. This was….errr, umm…different with the spots sprinkled in. Hmmm…almost like puberty all over again when a few dozen hairs, even if they are a 1/2” long, didn’t make much of a beard.
My head hasn’t seen this length hair since April when I first shaved what was left off. Feels…funny, kind of like the material on the couch…smooth one way, grabby the other. Got the Dalmatian thing going too between the vellus and terminal (regular) hair. For the first time in a while, I can see the extent of the AA. The spots are very obvious as they now reside next to dark hair rather then smoothly blending into a shaved scalp. Some spots seem smaller then before with new growth around the fringes. Other are larger than I remember …still, others are new. Ever evolving, ever changing…the only constant is change.
My head is almost always covered with a hat these days due to the cold weather. It’s cold enough I'm not alone and my head becomes just another in a sea of hats when I’m out. No stares, no whispered comments or awkward glances. Work is another story…head coverings are taboo so the dome goes au naturale. Sadly, I think my new doo caused more than a few cases of whiplash with folks snapping their heads around to get a second look. Oddly enough, I find people’s eyes focused on my head more now than when I was clean shaven.
I suppose it’s natural curiosity. Maybe that’s why I didn’t shave…you know, out of curiosity. I mean, what does ‘it’ look like? Is it growing in or falling out? Are those vellus hairs or are the gray ones coming back? And the million dollar question…if I let it grow, would I be able to hide the spots? In my case, unless may hair was long enough to wrap around my head a few times in the world’s biggest comb over…uh, no. No sweat, I’ve grown comfortable with the AA thing. Hair or not, I’m still me inside.
Well, that’s that. My curiosity is satisfied…for now. Suppose I’ll shave tonight…or tomorrow…
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Comment by JeffreySF on December 12, 2008 at 7:11pm
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Hi Tony,
Thanks for sharing your story.
Jeff
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Comment by Mari on December 15, 2008 at 11:07am
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Tony- what a great approach! and thanks for giving me an idea of the "flip" side lol
Mari
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Comment by Maygensmom on December 16, 2008 at 2:30pm
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I, like you wonder what the natural or normal progression is with AA to AU. My daughter suffers from AA. She is loosing many spots and other spots that are getting larger. I am wondering if this time it is not different. If she will loose it all again, like she did when she was 3. I dread this because she is 13 now. However, I remind myself that her beauty on the outside is illuminated by that which is on the inside. So with hair or without it, she is as lovely as ever. Keep up the great attitude!
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Comment by Kristen Viveros on June 11, 2009 at 11:04pm
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I am new to this site... so I just found this blog today while looking at your page. I found you on the home page where they list what everyone is posting. I love this post because you sound like me. I was just too lazy, busy or curious to shave my head for a few days. Then I noticed that the spots I had on the sides where completely filled in. So I decided to let it grow a little more to see if the one in the back was going to have any progress. I am now seeing regrowth in that spot as well. So, I have decided to let it grow and see what happens. But, you are darn right about one thing for sure... me is me, hair or no hair! I guess I never really thought about hair so much before because it was just normal to have it. But, when it started to fall out I was a little worried that I had female pattern baldness. When I went to the doctor for something else I mentioned to the doctor about my, then, one bald spot, right away she said Alopecia Areata.
I have a friend who has Alopecia Universalis, so I am already familiar with this. Her and I have been friends since I was 12 and I am now 28. So, strangely, I was happy to call her and inform her that I can now relate better to her since I have the same disorder. Anyway, I think that my family and friends were more worried about me having a bald head than I did. For some odd reason it's not that bad for me to be bald. I mean, I am not that worried about it. I have been bald for one month and I do not wear wigs, but instead I wear bandannas. I am hoping to get to the point (if i go completely bald again) where I can take off the bandanna and feel comfortable leaving the house with a naked head.
I really like to read your posts. You have a perfect attitude about being bald and you so far, just with the two posts that I have read of yours, inspired me to be even more comfortable with myself and this condition.
I hope that everything is working out fine for you.
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