Living With Alopecia

Late last month I had a story run on Essence.com about women living with Alopecia. I didn't realize they'd already run it, so I'm sorry for being late telling you about it!

Sample of the story after the jump.

From Essence.com:

New York-based interior designer Sheila Bridges suffers from Alopecia Areata. At the time she was diagnosed with the disease, she was busy with her career, filming episodes for her design show.

Bridges, who choose to shave her head after turning 40, when the hair loss was at its worst, was very frank about living with the disease, admitting that while it is not life-threatening, it is "life-altering."

"I was in the middle of production for my television show at the time and I used to have really early morning calls for production. I'd start my day at five," she said. "I just remember being in the shower in the morning, washing my hair. I remember huge clumps came out of the front of my head. There was no hiding it in any way and I just remember it coming out in my hands. I got out of the shower and called my producer on the phone and saying there is no way we can shoot today. But it didn't register with people. Always having so much hair, it was almost like people didn't believe me. That was really very, very difficult."

Check out the rest at Essence Online.

Comments

[Toozi]

Wow! I have alopecia as well and my hair started falling off my senior year in high school. I wasn't bad though, just a little penny sized spot. I started wearing my hair in twists....the spots got bigger and bigger to a point where I had no choice but wear wigs and weaves. I didn't get diagnosed untill 2007. Now at 32 I've decided to go bold (my hair is falling off due to chemo therapy, but that's a whole 'nother story). There's so much ignorance out there....so much stigma. We women are truely victims to the standards of beauty out there...especially Black women. I'm slowly learning that I AM NOT MY HAIR and that my femininity is on based on my hair....

[Toozi]

Sorry for the typos....

[Melissa P. Jackson]

Yes... just like mental health issues, people can be so narrow-minded about issues like this. Society tries to tell us how we are supposed to look and myriad women, especially sistas of color, gauge their beauty by things like hair. But, thankfully, weaves and wigs are such a fashion accessory now.

[stephanie]

Thanks for sharing, there are alot of us out there.