Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease, causing hair loss on the scalp, face and sometimes on other areas of the body. In fact, it affects as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. with a lifetime risk of 2.1%.
People of all ages, both sexes and all ethnic groups can develop alopecia areata. It often first appears during childhood and can be different for everyone who has it.
Madeline writes:
Not before long my eyelashes and eyebrows also fell out. Looking in the mirror became extremely confronting. It was a new face. It was like another person was staring back at me. My confidence took a huge battering. I felt like an ugly duckling. How could my husband still love me with this condition?
My Experience:
This condition has touched my life: my own daughter lost her hair at age 4. I had never even heard of this Alopecia thing before. People (well meaning) suggested she was stressed, or maybe cancer! As a mom I felt guilty that my daughter through genetics was experiencing this. I got educoated. I drew on her eyebrows and painted in patches on her head when she was little. Shes a wonderful grown up now. I am blessed with two grandchildren. If she never chose to do a thing about hair loss, that is fine with me. She is beautiful. But I had a fire born in me to help others who want to have brows, eyelashes and hair. I have even worked with a beauty queen who has total alopecia.
And Jenna hit alopecia in the gut with her new brows and lash enhancement!
