Advice from the community

Hello, dear Alopecia family. We have spent some time collecting advice from our beloved community, so you could access our ultimate compilation of advice.

Some advice has been edited to allow us to feature each person and to create an enjoyable reading:

Be proud of yourself and everything about you including your bald head, but cover it up when in the sun or when cold. It’s ok to hide if you need privacy or aren’t up for having your uniqueness on display at that moment.

–Alana

There is always someone worse off than you. You have people who love you and you can achieve anything you want. I remember as a little girl my prayers weren’t for me but, they were for people worse off. In the long run, it’s devastating not having hair, but it’s only hair.

-Claudia

Never hide, you will only hurt yourself by pretending you’re something you’re not. I’m not saying don’t wear wigs; do what makes you comfortable, but don’t be ashamed or embarrassed, genuine people will be kind and the others don’t matter.

-Chloe

Acceptance is the key to living a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life.

Acceptance is gained differently for different individuals. Some learn peace through yoga and meditation, some need friends and family support, and others may benefit from counseling.

-Linda

My advice to anyone living with Alopecia is to be open about it. The amount of
people who have told me about their alopecia or a family member because I
openly talking about my wigs or because I take them off in front of people has amazed me.
The more open you can be, the more you will find yourself comfortable with
your own hair situation and inspire others to open up.

-Corinne

Be Bold,
Be Bald,
We are all different and that is beautiful.
Please accept yourself and remember your awesomeness regardless.
Learn to love yourself and follow your dreams.
Smile and be happy.

– Pauline

Learn to love yourself as you are and talk about how you are feeling. It may take time to come to terms with your alopecia, and some days you may feel sorry for yourself, but that’s ok. Above all, remember your hair loss does not dictate how you can approach life. Breathe, relax and share in all the beauty around you.

-Bridgette

Practice kindness to yourself, celebrate your differences and uniqueness. Surround yourself a positive, inclusive and supportive community. Acknowledge feelings, don’t try to hide from them. You are beautiful, you are strong and you’ve got this

– Zoe

Do what you feel is right for you and believe in yourself.

– Airlee

Wake up each morning and know that you are beautiful with or without hair.

-Sienna

Own it, take the power from anyone who tries to put you down, because bald is beautiful.

-Kayla

Smile at everyone you meet, then you will always be beautiful

-Michelle

Improve what you can change and learn to accept what you can’t.
You only live once, make the most of it!

-Anne.

Accept that some days you will feel fine with no hair, others you will feel freaky.
Focus on the positives whenever you can – no waxing, shaving, hair removal cream, no hairdressing salons (I use to hate reading magazines and doing a small talk at the hairdressers – haha) no grey hair, a 5 min shower, and the ability to change your style and color at any time!
Have your explanation, and various versions of it ready, so you are comfortable when other people mention your wig or no hair. (Have a version for kids, work colleagues, friends, etc
I used to worry about upsetting people, making them feel awkward when they find out I have no hair…

– Don’t –

Just explain it confidently and that puts them and you at ease.

-Helen

The first thing you are going to need is a strong support system. It is a rough emotional ride and there’s, unfortunately, no book out yet called “So you’ve just been diagnosed with Alopecia”. You may want to isolate yourself but what you need to do is find other people who have this condition and take your Mum or a trusted Best Friend with you. Find a support group in your town or city or start chatting online.
Start slow and try to learn as much as you can about different types of eyebrow wigs, eyelashes, eyelashes, tattoos, and wigs as there are many styles such as monofilament, human, synthetic, virgin, suction, etc! You may decide you don’t want to replicate what you looked like previously and are happy to be bold and brave and out there.

Being in denial is also unhelpful for your wellbeing; blocking out your condition and how you feel about it with any substances is going to do a lot of damage in the long run and it probably won’t help you to grow your hair back.

Be prepared for the unexpected when you tell someone special because others’ reactions can really impact your mental health.

In hindsight, what I can tell you now, is that it’s important to get to a point of acceptance as quickly and as healthily as you can. This happened to you but it doesn’t have to define you. Find out what makes you happy and continue to do those things with people you love. For me, it’s going fishing on the beach, and I sure could use a hat with hair for that!

-Tamara