By Anthea

My life as a little innocent girl with alopecia was tough.

I lost all my hair when I was 6 years old my mum decided to get me a wig but when I would play on the monkey bars it would fall off leaving me humiliated in front of other kids as they would ask me where my hair was. I simply answered I don’t have any, so from then on, I refused to wear one. In Primary School I regained some hair but still had lots of patches all over my head, so I wore a scarf.

My confidence was at an all-time low. I became very quiet and shy didn’t really look at people when I was spoken too as I feared they would comment on my lack of hair or even worse, be teased. During High School I hung out with what you would call the in-crowd as they went to all the parties, which was an outlet for me as I would ride myself off on alcohol which became a comfort for me and gained me a little more confidence that I longed for.

I was lucky to meet my now husband when I was 15 years old. He helped me become the person I am today. He brought me out of my shell in so many ways, but I still had many insecurities. I became jealous of other girls that looked good as in my head I could never look as good as them as they looked normal and complete.  At 25 years old my alopecia turned into universalis. I watched my hair fill the drain of the shower and cover the bathroom floor. It happened so quickly. I lost everything – not only my hair this time but my eyebrows and my eyelashes, complete body hair. That shattered me.

I kept thinking, “Why me? How much more do I have to go through? Why is god so determined to take away any beauty from me? Does he want me to look ugly, so no one looks at me?”.

It was so hard to look at the face staring back at me in the mirror. It was so bare and so unattractive to me. I wanted to look like anyone but me.  I had no choice but to purchase a synthetic wig. It used to slip all over the place and never felt secure.  As I continued through my adult years I finally got my first real human hair wig which gave me a whole new lease of life as it looked like I had real hair.

I live with my husband who I have been with for 25 years and we have two children together. A boy, Max, who is 4 years old and suffers from autism. Because of what I went through, I will never let him feel different to anybody else. I make an extra effort to boost his confidence every day because I know first-hand what it is like to go through life not feeling confident and good about yourself. I also have a beautiful 2-year-old daughter, Olivia.

I now live as a 39-year-old woman with alopecia universalis. I wish every day I had hair, eyelashes and eyebrows. I know I will probably never get them back, but I am a much stronger person for it and have learnt to deal with the cards I have been dealt. Hearing my kids say, “don’t forget to put your hair on!” before we go out makes me laugh and both telling me I am beautiful with or without hair makes me smile every time. I have learnt there is no need to feel sorry for yourself about what you don’t have and how you look but to be a healthy, fit and a genuine person as it has so much more worth.

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This article was submitted as part of our #HealthyAlopecia Blog Competition which is running throughout 2018. One winner every month will be drawn to receive $2000 towards improving your journey with alopecia or creating a healthier you. Check out our post about the competition to find out how you can win $2000.