My name is Corinne, I am 37 years old and I am currently suffering from Alopecia Universalis.
My journey with alopecia began when I was in primary school and I started losing patches of my hair. Alopecia was something my mum already had experienced herself so we knew what it was straight away. I recall trying different things at the time to try and help but eventually it all fell out. The biggest thing I remember about this time was that most people assumed I had cancer and that not many people knew what alopecia was.
At school I was allowed to wear whatever hats I wanted inside the classroom as well as outside and I thought this was awesome because everyone else had to wear the dorky school hats. During this time, I continued to play Netball and participated in Calisthenics. My hair grew back quite quickly and over this period I never wore any wigs.
Since then I would get the occasional patch over the years but it wasn’t until 2014 that it really started to disappear again. This time, I lost all my hair and eventually my eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair disappeared too. Because alopecia was something I had grown up with (my mum continued to have it come and go over the years and one of my younger sisters also lost her hair) I found it a lot easier to accept than most.
I started buying wigs and named my first one ‘Big Red’ (because it was a long red wig) and we had a lot of fun together. I have never shied away from the fact that I have alopecia but once my kids got to a certain age, I had to begin to factor in their comfort levels as well as my own. Slowly, their friends became aware. My son, in particular, found it funny to pull my wig off and say “my Mum’s bald!”.
Given I have a bit of a collection of different wigs, it also has become fun for kids (and sometimes the adults) to try them on. When explaining to younger kids I often say I have magic hair that can come off and go back on – sometimes it changes colour too. Its quite funny to then see them try and take their hair off too.
After several years of attending my daughter’s calisthenics competitions and concerts I started to want to get involved again myself. She was around 6 at this time and wasn’t keen for me to join and I think part of this was the fact that I would be on stage in front of people without hair. I gave her another year before raising the subject again and she was not thrilled, but my husband made her come around to the idea.
Joining the Masters team of Bendigo Calisthenics Club has been the best for my self-confidence. I have made new friends and helped spread some awareness within the club about Alopecia. Receiving this funding grant has allowed me to continue this year and will also give me a platform to spread further awareness throughout the calisthenics community.
Thanks to the Australian Alopecia Areata Foundation (AAAF), for funding my return to Calisthenics and for helping me spread awareness about Alopecia!
Love, Alopecia 
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