The stylist told her that her hair was thinning and she had some bald patches.
She couldn’t believe that her hair, which used to be thick and healthy, was falling out.
"I couldn't accept it as my hair used to be thick and healthy and even though it wasn't long I was quite happy with it."
Patricia and Carole
She was in denial for a long time, going through different phases: from denial to shame, from sadness to hope, from anxiety to feel depressed.
Patricia felt embarrassed and ashamed to go to the hairdresser and was avoiding it for years, wearing wigs most of the time.
Since 2017, she stopped doing braids with extensions and shaved her hair a few times over the last two years.
"I feel ashamed about going to the hairdresser, I haven't been for ages and don't do braids since 2017 and I did several big chops from 2018 to 2019."
Last year, she agreed to model for a photo shoot with her shaved head.
She enjoyed the whole experience, feeling more confident to go out without a wig and rocked her shaved style for 2 months.
Patricia added that the support she gets from her partner helps her to feel confident when she doesn’t wear a wig.
Black Venus Beauty is more than an online beauty store. It is a space where we want to have conversations around hair and skin knowing that some topics are more difficult to talk about. Hair loss is one of them and we want to break the taboo around alopecia.
We believe more awareness should be raised, so anyone suffering from alopecia does not feel ashamed and knows that help and various solutions are available.
As part of Alopecia Awareness Month in September, we will cover the various causes and different forms of alopecia.
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1 comment
Hope all is safe and well….I have had alopecia Arcata for many years. When I was young, my mother used to take me to a hairdresser who told us that I was going to have hairdresser loss. Never thought on a million years that this would happen, but it did. This is proof that spoken words can become reality. I have a small island of hair in the top of my head and the rest is gone, shiny and smooth. Over the years, I have seen doctors and dermatologists, had injections used Rogaine, follicle stimulators and other products that promised som sort of hair growth. Nothing has ever worked. Its been at least 20years and I have given in to it and now at peace with what it is. I thank God for all of the options that are available.