"I had to wear a hat on my wedding day!"
Written by Guest Contributor Kristina
It was during my early teens that I first noticed my hair was starting to thin. At the very beginning, I didn’t really think much of it, putting it down to the stresses that came with being a teenage girl living on an island. I didn’t know what the future had in store for me.
But when the comments then started, “Have you got cancer?”, “What’s wrong with your hair?”… that was when I started to think, OK something isn’t quite right here. Perhaps it was denial, as it wasn’t as though I hadn’t noticed, but it took others bringing it up to me to secure in my mind that my hair needed my attention.
I was referred to a dermatologist who diagnosed me as having alopecia. Probable cause? Stress.
By this point I still had hair on my head, but not a lot. Jumping ahead, the majority of my hair actually fell out when I was pregnant with my first son. I was extremely ill physically, awaiting open heart surgery as soon as my son was born. So, this strain really did affect my hair loss. It felt like a vicious cycle. I was stressed about my hair, and because I was stressed it fell out even more.
When I was 19, I got married to my husband. The reality for me was quite different to the things I had seen growing up, and as it drew closer, I was plagued with thoughts about how I couldn’t have the “perfect day” because I was too stressed about what my hair would look like. After a period of dread that I just couldn’t shift, I ended up buying a cheap wig and wearing a hat on my wedding day!
All in all, no it doesn’t matter what I looked like, I was marrying somebody I loved and that meant more than how I looked in the photos, but I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t feel like my hair loss took something away from me on that special day.
I turned a corner when I booked myself in to have a custom-made hair system made especially for me. The experience changed my whole perspective on wigs, on hair loss in general. The concept of having a visible disability changed the moment I realised wigs don’t have to look like “wigs”. You just need the right one. Since I married 18 years ago, wigs have upped their game massively. You can now access wigs so realistic that even the wearer forgets they’re wearing one! I don’t necessarily wear wigs to hide the fact that I have alopecia, more to embrace it. Wigs allow me to feel… well… like me.
Saying that, it has only been in the last six months that I’ve felt confident enough to show myself bald to anyone other than my immediate family. So, if you told me a year ago that I would be walking the Trendco Fashion Show for charity. I would have laughed. However, here I am, about to do just that.
Being my best self, in the hope that I can inspire and help others.
If what to do with your hair on that special day is on your mind, don’t let hair loss hold you back and tap into your nearest Aderans salon, where a stylist can help you achieve your dream look. Believe me when I say that anything truly is possible…
Sending love,
Kristina
