Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

It affects approximately two percent of the population overall, including more than 5 million people in the United States alone and is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with...
...one or more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis).

We are pleased to have Peggy Knight, owner of Peggy Knight Solutions, the leading provide of hair prostheses for medical hair loss, tell us what it has been like for her growing up with alopecia.

I lost my hair at the age of 14, and it was a difficult journey.  The first stages of alopecia areata are the most difficult.  You say to yourself, “What happened?  What did I do.  This can’t be happening to me."

After the initial spots appear, you begin the shedding stage.  Hair everywhere.  On the pillow, on the floor, and most disgusting of all... down the drain.  You start to hide from everyone and think of yourself as damaged goods.  No one will love me, and I will be alone forever.

You begin to come to terms with this condition somewhere along the way and start to take the steps to make yourself whole again.  This is when you accept the fact that it may be permanent and arrange for a suitable cosmetic solution.  The pain is still inside, but you no longer wear it on your sleeve.

At a certain point, and it is different for everyone, you come to a state of acceptance.  This is when you are truly at peace with yourself.  I have heard many times from evolved Alopecians that they are glad to have lost their hair.  It has made them a better and more tolerant person.

No matter what your loss, the journey is the same.  The sooner you get to the state of acceptance, the better for you, your family, and those who support you.