Eight years ago, I was thrown into the chaotic world of alopecia universalis. Living with alopecia areata since the age of 7 should have prepared me for this, but I soon found myself spending a great deal of time figuring out ways to just blend in.   My sense of individuality was disappearing.

 

I needed information.  I wasn't searching for a cure.  I already knew it was unpredictable.  I hadn't done anything to grow my hair back when I was 14, and it happened anyway.   Information came in the form of a seminar located half way across the country that was full of medical updates, support sessions, and meeting people whose lives had been touched by alopecia.

 

Attending that first conference was life-changing.  I found others who understood and who I could connect with.  Life started to shift as I worked to remind myself of who I was.  I stopped hiding and started writing.

 

Writing helped get me out of my alopecia funk.  Pages and pages of emotion 

poured out, and I soon realized how many other stories needed to be told.  

 

"Head On" is my effort to combine these fascinating stories and beautiful images to share with the world.

 

I'm unsure what my life would be like without alopecia, but I'm positive it has changed me for the better.  I am thankful for it, and can truly say I love how I look without hair.