Alopecia World
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The Perks
I’ve been so obsessed lately with the negative effects of my annoying condition; it’s no surprise that I’ve ignored the benefits. Yes, you heard me right. The benefits.
During my son’s swim date with two friends, I decided to come clean to their mommies about why I was wearing a dark headband in the pool. Well, actually, when one innocently removed one of my hairs from my little guy’s swimsuit, an ideal time to broach the subject presented itself. ‘I’ve lost most of my hair,’ I told them. ‘And,’ I added in case they noticed my bald left eye, ‘almost all my body hair.’
If they were taken aback, they hid it well. So much so that one of the mommies said, ‘You’re lucky.’
‘Lucky?’ Did I mishear?
She nodded. ‘I’m spending a fortune on laser surgery for hair removal. And it hurts.’ She made a face. ‘A lot!’
She was right. Each year, millions of women (and men) spend billions of dollars in waxing, shaving, bleaching, threading, and creams, all which give a temporary reprieve from body hair. Many still invest in the aforementioned laser treatments or electrolysis, painful and invasive techniques that permanently damage hair follicles. No hair removal technique is particularly pleasant, although some much less so than others. And, irritating hairs, particularly those found in the facial area, can cause quite a bit of stress and trauma for their owners. During my teenage years, I had many a desperate friend who struggled to hide their unsightly hairs.
I thought back to that morning. What kind of preparation did I do for the swim date? I simply put on my headband. No time-consuming bath with shaving cream and razor required. No need to worry about razor burn or missed spots. My body was suddenly very low maintenance.
Ah, I realized with some satisfaction, alopecia areata may be nasty, but it isn’t without its perks. So, for now, I’ll store my razor and enjoy a cost-free hair-free body.
During my son’s swim date with two friends, I decided to come clean to their mommies about why I was wearing a dark headband in the pool. Well, actually, when one innocently removed one of my hairs from my little guy’s swimsuit, an ideal time to broach the subject presented itself. ‘I’ve lost most of my hair,’ I told them. ‘And,’ I added in case they noticed my bald left eye, ‘almost all my body hair.’
If they were taken aback, they hid it well. So much so that one of the mommies said, ‘You’re lucky.’
‘Lucky?’ Did I mishear?
She nodded. ‘I’m spending a fortune on laser surgery for hair removal. And it hurts.’ She made a face. ‘A lot!’
She was right. Each year, millions of women (and men) spend billions of dollars in waxing, shaving, bleaching, threading, and creams, all which give a temporary reprieve from body hair. Many still invest in the aforementioned laser treatments or electrolysis, painful and invasive techniques that permanently damage hair follicles. No hair removal technique is particularly pleasant, although some much less so than others. And, irritating hairs, particularly those found in the facial area, can cause quite a bit of stress and trauma for their owners. During my teenage years, I had many a desperate friend who struggled to hide their unsightly hairs.
I thought back to that morning. What kind of preparation did I do for the swim date? I simply put on my headband. No time-consuming bath with shaving cream and razor required. No need to worry about razor burn or missed spots. My body was suddenly very low maintenance.
Ah, I realized with some satisfaction, alopecia areata may be nasty, but it isn’t without its perks. So, for now, I’ll store my razor and enjoy a cost-free hair-free body.
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Comment by Tiffany P on April 16, 2010 at 10:22pm
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Awesome blog and your right sometimes we can be so consumed with the negative we fail to see the positive. I talk to women all the time crying about the maintenance of their hair. Some of us feel un natural wearing wigs or feel fake when all the time i see women with no hair problems at all adding weaves and extentions, coloring their hair every other month to get a different look when all we have to do is pick another wig the next morning. i cant say i will ever say i am glad this happened to me because for the rest of my life i will miss my hair but sometimes you have to smile about our ability to change up our look and do it with such ease. :o)
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Comment by Clara S. on April 17, 2010 at 8:08am
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Nadine, great blog post. I get those comments too because when I told one of my friends that I lost my hair, she said, that's so cool you get to play with wigs because I have to spend so much time with my hair and it's unruly! Like Tiffany, I still miss my hair some days but it's true, it's so nice to be able to not spend that much time on my hair> i just shake out a wig, put it on and go! :)
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Comment by Galena on April 18, 2010 at 6:34pm
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Yes Nadine, I too have considered the positives lately. Acceptance of the positives comes with the journey to wholeness. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Hugs,
~Galena
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Comment by Drakes on April 21, 2010 at 10:39pm
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I'm a dude and you are correct.. not having a 3 O'clock shadow is great. I haven't paid for hair cut in a long time. I no longer need to really buy shampoo and hair gel etc.. Getting ready for work is under 10 minutes.. I don't have the shell out the cash for razors etc.. I get to wear cool hats and sunglasses a lot (incognito is the best :).. I even drop the "I don't have eyelashes so everything is so bright -- I HAVE to wear these sunglasses -- all the time -- that stuff works (gets you free drinks too :) Look like Ray Charles / Jackie O. etc :)
I think I even look 20 years younger cause I no longer have grey hair :) Depends on how old you are -- but you may be able to get away with youth fares :)
You can get roles in the entertainment biz cause you are good for 'make up' gigs... monsters, zombies etc..
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