About a year ago I saw two small bald patches on the part of my hair. I immediately went to my Gynecologist (who was my ‘regular practitioner’ at the time) and he said “uh I’ve never seen this before”. He told me to go see a dermatologist. My mom helped me pick out someone with the best reviews and they happened to be an hour drive away. I went in fairly certain that there would be a quick fix; they would give me some kind of drug or something and everything would be fine. At the time the patches were only about the size of a quarter, so I could hide them pretty well.

My dermatologist came in, introduced herself, looked at my hair and said “Yep, this is Alopecia Areata. We are going to inject some steroids into your scalp and give you a solution to use. It normally gets worse before it gets better. Any questions?”. Uh yeah! Obviously I had a ton of questions.

Her nurse tried to reassure me by listing off all the theories about why hair falls out: stress, genetics, autoimmunity. When she asked if I was stressed, I said no. (Spoiler: I was lying to myself.)

I drove home feeling numb. Hair had always been part of my identity—people always complimented me on it. Losing it felt like losing myself. I cried in my car, called my mom, took the rest of the day off, and collapsed on my couch.

Since then I’ve learned so much about Alopecia—what doctors know, what they don’t, how to advocate for yourself, how to tell your friends, how to find a wig, how to actually feel good about yourself again. When I started, I couldn’t find the information or the honesty I needed, so I’m creating it here.

This space is for anyone who needs straight talk, messy feelings, and practical tips. Over 200,000 people a year are diagnosed with Alopecia, and doctors still shrug and say, “We don’t know why.” If that’s you, welcome.

This space is for the 22‑year‑old who just found a bald spot, the 45‑year‑old who suddenly lost three quarters of her hair, the 14‑year‑old whose eyebrows disappeared overnight, the friend trying to understand, and the loved ones who don’t know what to say.

Losing my hair has changed my perspective on everything: how short life is, how much we take for granted, and how fleeting moments really are. Join me as I reframe what it means to be beautiful, hair or no hair. It’s going to be messy—and it’s going to be lit.

Liz