Best Things To Do – The Bald and The Beautiful

by Y on October 7, 2007

Best Things To Do - The Bald and The Beautiful

Accept yourself, let it go and laugh. You’re not “suffering” from baldness. You’re suffering from sadness brought on by your attitude towards being bald.

I first exhibited Alopecia Areata in 1984 at age 10. My hair all grew back by age 14. At age 26 it all fell out again. May 2006 all my body hair fell out and that is where I stand today. (Pretty convenient on my legs and bikini line).

The biggest challenge that I’ve had since first losing my hair is learning to like myself despite my baldness. I still struggle with that sometimes. But learning to laugh at your baldness and allowing others to laugh at it
makes it so much easier to deal with.

If you are bald with no life threatening conditions, count your blessings. Yes, it sucks that I have to draw on eyebrows daily and that my head sweats when I wear a wig, but thank GOD I’m healthy.

So much of your hair loss is driven by your attitude. Choose happiness and choose peace. And don’t worry about hair – you get to sleep in 10 min. more because you don’t have to blow dry or curl it! 🙂

– The Bald and The Beautiful

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Dear The Bald and The Beautiful,

Thank you for writing and sharing your incredibly positive attitude with everyone. Everyday I work on accepting myself because I know with that, I will be able to take back control of my uncontrollable hair loss. It’s very hard, but I’m better than I was before. It’s so important to hear positive stories like yours. What you have achieved is so invaluable, you seem to have reached a place that so many of us strive for… self acceptance.

~Y

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Arsh October 12, 2007 at 10:51 pm

happiness i have learned in life is a state of mind, and sometimes your mind can be your best of worst enemy.

hair loss is very traumatic, and since i have losing my hair since 19, and since about 22 after i had a car accident, and i got really depressed because of deaths in the family, compounded with the fact it was my last year in uni, the hair loss got really ba. it has been very hard for me to deal with it. i still struggle with it, not so much that i lost the hair, but i sometimes feel like if i date a guy and he feels a topper or fake hair that he will dismiss me, and think i’m some sort of a freak.

but then common sense comes in. everybody deserves love and will recieve love if they love themselves.

i know that how you live life is very much determined by the attitude you have chosen to have. i work in social work and i have worked with people who have experienced traumatic events-from being in a war, seeing family members hacked to death by mobs and then being raped and getting aids– that was just one woman i worked with, and every day she chose to smile and to be happy. i would often look at her, and feel like crying, for i could not understand how she could be so optimistic in life considering the fact that she lost so much. and then i realized it– she knew her time on this earth was limited and chose to live it with as much happiness for as long as she could.

even though this is a completely different topic, this experience and working with other individuals who lived through abuse, mulitiple disabilities/handicaps etc made me realize, that yes, losing hair really sucks and i would give anything to have a full head of hair but i am so fortunate because even though one day i may not have any hair, i still have SOO MANY OPTIONS

and writing this post, it’s cathartic… the truth is it is all about empowerment: researching, talking to others and experimenting to find out how i can live with this hair loss and what method i would like to choose to covering it up.

also, i know technology is advancing day by day. just because there is no cure yet, does not mean there will not be one in the future.

so i remain hopeful and will fight this battle one day at a time!

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admin October 14, 2007 at 2:15 pm

Arsh – you are so very right, Happiness is a state of mind. There used to be a guy that ran the local seven eleven near me and he always looked so dirty, after talking with him I found out he lived out of his car that was parked behind the store. He had no home. He was always so positive and happy, always smiling, I used to think to myself, please give me some of whatever he’s on. The truth is is was just at peace with his live and who he was. So he was happy. Some people live a whole lifetime and never come close to the place this guy reached.

I am glad you pointed out all the sadness you see in your line of work and the optimism and positive outlooks some of these people have maintained through all their struggles. Things far worse than losing hair. Trying to figure out a way to get ourselves to truly realize and believe that we are fortunate for all we have today is sometimes easier said than done. I have a tendency to drift back into my self wallowing and sadness when I look in the mirror or comb my hair or shower. But… I can walk, see, hear… all things that some others cannot do. That makes me lucky. I took my hair for granted when I had it. I didn’t realize what I had till it was gone. I want to be thankful now in the present for all I do have. I want to reach that place of peace and happiness. I want to be okay with me however I look, with or without my hair.

Thank you for sharing your comments they really do cause us to think and to be grateful for the things we have today. I’m with you, I search for hope each day even when it seems hope as abandoned me… and I fight the hair loss battle one day at a time.

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Kathy January 27, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Thank you for writing this. You have reminded me of all that I have to be grateful for.

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Carolyn December 4, 2013 at 9:30 am

I have suffered from alopecia areata for most of my life. A couple of months back I also got diagnosed with so-called ophiasis pattern alopecia. What a word?! Basically, I have a huge bald spot right at the edge of my hairline on the back of my head. The only way to deal with it is to get a new fully-shaved look. Unfortunately, this is not a choice which is going to be tolerated by my colleagues and peers. The whole situation is just killing me. I also catch myself thinking most of the time that I get stared at excessively, especially by young women. I used lots of products, and hormonal topical solutions to get rid of this spot. I also underwent several hormonal procedures and a short course of intrascalp injections. None of the above helped. Just to make a long story short. I came across a product manufactured by Military Grade Nutritionals called Hairgain Formula (90 capsules). The description said, this product is the only nutraceutical which possesses prostaglandin D2 blocking properties. At first I was very skeptical that a dietary supplement product could help, but I thought why not give it a try considering that I had nothing to lose. After using it for two months, I noticed the growth of new hair right across my bald spot. Anyways, I’ve been using this product for the last four months and really happy with my current result. Moreover, I started to pay less attention to people’s stares. I also feel more confident and a little less self-conscious.

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