Also known as Lady Alopecia.
I’m a freelance copywriter, part-time yoga teacher and fancy dress fanatic. I’m also slightly obsessed with yellow. And glitter.
Oh, and I’ve had alopecia areata for most of my life. So I’ve got really smooth arms and legs. (Yay!) But I’ve also got big bald patches on my head. (Boo!)
Alopecia used to get the better of me. But recently, it’s led to the best of me. 😉
Now I’m here to help fellow alopecians fight their own Battle of the Bald.
I used to have a mop of unruly, very curly, auburn hair. Even as a kid, it was my trademark. Of course, I hated it, not realising how lucky I was to have such unusual hair.
Or any hair, for that matter.
I got my first bald patch when I was 11. My mum had just died from Lupus – another autoimmune condition – so maybe the shock of losing her shocked my body into another loss. Although there are lots of different reasons for alopecia.
I had a receding hairline. At 23. Those peekaboo patches had spread inwards, from my forehead and the nape of my neck, until my supply of stretchy headbands couldn’t stretch far enough.
It was a slow, steady and calculated process. Some alopecians lose their hair overnight – a shock I can’t imagine. But watching clumps of hair fall out, on my pillow and in the shower drain over the next few months, was another kind of torture.
I felt like I was responsible. And yet, totally helpless.
Of course, the more I worried about it, the more hair fell out. It was a vicious cycle of hair loss → anxiety → hair loss that I couldn’t escape.
I’d been wearing stick-on extensions and a full wig for 2 years. I felt like I was lying – to my colleagues, my friends and myself. And I needed to come clean.
So my boyfriend Andy shaved my head. Right before I went on my first solo backpacking trip, he made me look like an egg. And despite the initial shock – to myself and no doubt, to those I met on my travels – I felt so free. So relieved. Like myself, for the first time in years.
Now, I know that lots of alopecians prefer to wear wigs. And they look amazing… I mean, changing up your look every day with a different hair style/colour?! How cool is that??
But it’s not for me. Instead, I wear my floppy mohawk like a badge of defiance to alopecia. I get mixed reactions to my look. Some people stare, others point, a few laugh. Most think it’s a personal style choice. Happy days. 🙂
I set up this site as a “f**k you” to hair loss. A way to put myself in control when everything else was out of my hands (or shedding into them). It was a cathartic thing – I could tap out my frustration in words.
But that led me to some great alopecia resources – which hadn’t existed when I was growing up. I realised how many others were going through the same thing. And I saw first-hand the support, the community and the hope that can arise from this pain.
So I felt inspired to help others, too. To show solidarity through my stories. To empower through my experiences. And to share the adventures you can have with alopecia.
Lady Alopecia is an ongoing record of living with alopecia – the highs, the lows and everything in between. It’ll help you rock your alopecia with style, whether that’s with or without wigs and other hairwear.
Most of all, it’s about owning alopecia. And not letting it own you.
Well, unlike many other hair loss websites, I share information that people can actually understand. No confusing medical jargon, whenever I can avoid it.
Instead, you’ll find:
Over the past few years, I’ve found a strength and confidence in myself that I never knew I had. Hair loss has turned me from shy, insecure Emma into a bald-headed badass called Lady Alopecia.
I don’t know if my hair will ever grow back. If it does, great! If not… well, that’s ok, too. Because I’m finally comfortable in my own skin. After all, there’s much more to me than hair. (Thankfully!)
Every day, I show alopecia who’s boss. Who’s the lady in charge. And I’d love to help you do the same. So you can live a full and happy life – with or without hair!
PS: I don’t have all the answers. (I still have alopecia, after all!) Plus, there’s new research emerging every day. It’s a learning curve. So these resources might shed light on whatever I can’t.
alopecian: someone who has alopecia
alopecist: someone who’s hateful towards alopecians
hairbearers: ‘normal’ folk – the ones with hair
hairlossers: those with thinning hair, but not bald spots
hairwearers: people who wear wigs and extensions
Hey, fellow alopecian! Stick in your email address below to receive free and infrequent (but highly entertaining) updates about my hair-free adventures.
I’m Emma – a bald optimist who’s had alopecia for 20 years – here to inform, advise and hopefully empower people like me. FYI: What I’m not is a doctor. Any advice I give is based on my own research and personal experiences with alopecia. I also participate in a couple of affiliate programs, check out my disclaimer page for info on that.
