Bald Life Magazine

In the voice of Geeme Schantella Dixon

My journey as an Alopecian is a story of loss, healing, courage, and self-love.

After losing my son, Cornelius, in a tragic car accident, I faced grief while also experiencing hair loss. In 2020, I shaved my head, but I wasn't ready to be seen bald. I hid behind wigs while trying to find myself again.

In September 2023, during Alopecia Awareness Month, I finally said, “I'm ready.” Ready to stop hiding. Ready to embrace the woman in the mirror.

Today, I proudly embrace being bald, bold, beautiful, and free. My hair loss taught me that my beauty and worth were never defined by my hair.

My journey inspired me to create BABE — Bald Ambitious Bold Empowering, a vision to educate, empower, and support those experiencing hair loss.

I am not my hair. I am an Alopecian, and I am proud.

Baldlifemagazine.com

In the voice of Lashawn Turner-Whittie

From Shame to Healing

I am a Black African American woman who has lived in California since 1975.

I was raised in the South by both parents and am the oldest of three children.

My struggle with trichotillomania began when I was seven years old.

It started when my cousin pulled a hair from a bump on my head. The relief felt so good that I began pulling my own hair and eventually my eyelashes.

When my mother noticed, she told me to stop, but I couldn't. I continued pulling in secrecy, carrying shame that followed me into adulthood.

I am a survivor of childhood in**st, mental abuse, and physical violence.

I kept my childhood trauma hidden, and I believe the little girl inside me found comfort through pulling.

Later, during my addiction, I pulled excessively, especially after being physically abused by my pimp.

Hair pulling became a way of coping with emotions I couldn't express.

Today, I am grateful for my recovery. As of February 2006 I have been in recovery for 20 years.

Through my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God, I have found freedom from addiction and that abusive lifestyle.

I am a sister, an auntie, and a loving wife.

However, I still struggle with pulling in secrecy. I wore wigs for years to hide my hair loss. Although I once told my husband about my pulling, I never fully explained my struggle because I feared he wouldn't understand.

Today, I want to embrace that little girl inside me with compassion instead of shame.

My journey toward healing continues.

I am learning that my hair does not define me, my trauma does not define me, and my past does not determine my future.

I am La Shawn, a survivor, a woman of faith, and a woman who deserves freedom.

Baldlifemagazine.com

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Dawn and I live in Ontario, Canada

I have been a dedicated social services caseworker for the last 22 years.
I have been married for 18 years, and I am a loving mother to 14-year-old triplets - 2 girls and a boy.
I am no stranger to personal growth, commitment and dedication, as I have lived with alopecia for 34 years - almost my entire life! I have faced many struggles to find self confidence and self esteem facing many highs and lows.

I am a mentor, and the wig lending librarian for CANAAF the Canadian Alopecia Areata Foundation, www.canaaf.org which helps support people in Canada that experience hair loss.
I bravely raise awareness about what beauty truly is, actively speaking out about the Alopecia community.

Since young, I have advocated for diversity and inclusivity by helping in my community and I still continue to do so, as I sit on several community boards within my hometown. There is a phrase that says, ‘Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Kimberly Johnson

My journey with alopecia started when I didn't know anything about alopecia. I just knew I looked different from the other girls in my class—and I didn't like it.

As a young girl, my imagination would take me into being someone else, someone with hair. I knew my reality, but I wanted no part of it.

As I got older, my hair—or lack thereof—went through stages of here today and gone tomorrow. This was my world for a really long time.

I didn't know how to love me…the bald me, the me that God loved with and without hair.

Today, I can look back at my 9-year-old self—the Kim who ached to have hair like the girls in my class—and now I can see something I couldn't see then: God was walking with me the whole time.

Thank You, Lord, for this thorn in my flesh that I tried for so long to remove so I could feel accepted and “beautiful.” I understand now that You have a bigger purpose for my alopecia journey, and it doesn't end with me.

My assignment is to help other girls and women see themselves the way God sees us and to create representation of bald girls and women living life to the fullest.

So, to my beautiful bald sisters: our journeys may look different, but what we've walked through can help another sister along her journey. We can encourage her. Inspire her. We can remind her that she can still dream BIG and live her life unapologetically!

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com



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Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Carrie Hudson

Hair Is Just An Accessory

One of the things I have always loved about being a female is having beautiful hair. I believed hair revealed a lot about who I was. For me, it represented beauty and if my hair didn’t look right, I didn’t feel right.

Years of chemicals in my hair and then finally going natural, I was settled in my relationship with my hair. I felt good with less. No need to tarry in the mirror for long. Just a weekly haircut and I was good to go. I fell in love with the natural look and never looked back.

Then came 2017 when my hair began thinning out. This was immediately noticeable with an already short haircut. I met with a dermatologist and was diagnosed with alopecia areata. Turns out that living 27 years with Type 1 diabetes helped create a pathway for this new autoimmune disease. Needless to say, I was devastated.

This wasn’t simply hair loss. It was a loss in identity. A crisis of faith. A revealing of bo***ge. God uprooted something deep in my soul – a wrong perception of beauty. As a minister, spiritual director, and Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist®, I would not be able to hide this. My soul and my work demanded authenticity and truth. Time came to move forward without hair. It was now an accessory, not a requirement.

And so, I scheduled a private photo shoot the day I decided it would be my last visit to the barber. No more scalp shots or sprinkled follicles. Nine years later, I couldn’t be more fierce! Armed now with a God-confidence and Holy Ghost boldness, radiance was the outcome. A liberation I’d never known was birthed and a deeper love for myself with a natural and naked head.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Belinda Gordon

Unmasking My Beauty

I would like to thank God for guiding me through this journey of healing and self-discovery.

For years, I carried feelings of shame, embarrassment, and unworthiness—believing I was not beautiful inside or out. Trust me, the process was not easy.

My struggle began when I learned that certain areas of my hair would never grow back. Years of wearing weaves, combined with the effects of medication, had closed my hair follicles.

I was diagnosed with Traction Alopecia, a form of hair loss caused by prolonged or repetitive tension on the scalp.

Before making the decision to go bald, I sought the opinions of others—hoping for encouragement and reassurance. Yet deep down, I knew the choice was ultimately between me and God.

With His strength, and the support of those who truly uplifted me, I realized that anything is possible.

As part of my journey, I decided to “unmask my beauty” through a photo shoot surrounded by others who were bald or wore short haircuts. Even then, I wasn’t fully ready to embrace what others saw in me. I had to reach a place deep within my soul where I could accept that my hair would never return—and still declare with confidence: I Am Beautiful.

In June 2021, I joined the Bald Boss group, founded by Jamie Elmore. That decision changed everything. The community lifted my spirit, encouraged me, and helped me finally embrace and celebrate my new look.

Now, five years later, I stand boldly in my truth: No Hair, Don’t Care. My beauty is no longer hidden—it shines from within.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Demita Northern

For 15 years, I have been dealing with alopecia, and for so long, I was afraid. Afraid to step out. Afraid to let people see the real me. Afraid that I wouldn’t be accepted or that people would look at me differently.

But today, I can truly say—I FEEL FREE. ❤️

God has placed me on this journey for a reason, and I now understand that my story is bigger than me. What I once tried to hide is now something I can use to encourage, inspire, and enlighten other women who are walking this same journey.

To every woman suffering with alopecia: You’ve got this. We’ve got this. And most importantly, GOD’S GOT US! 🙏🏽💙

You are beautiful with hair, without hair, with a wig, or without one. Your beauty was never defined by your hair. Your strength, your courage, your faith, and the woman you are on the inside are what make you beautiful.

I’m no longer hiding. I’m embracing my journey, embracing my beauty, and embracing the purpose God has for me.

This is my story. This is my freedom. This is my Bald Head Diva journey.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com

ALOPECIA AREATA AWARENESS MONTH

In the voice of Bryant

My alopecia story began at 5 years old. It left my mother with sleepless nights, unanswered questions, countless hospital stays, and me often being used for experimentation because there was so little knowledge about alopecia.

Alopecia became my total existence. It became sickness, bullying, and confusion about who I was and who I was supposed to be. I had to grow up fast to deal with what was happening within me.

My mother followed the guidance of her grandmother and hospital colleagues and moved us to Los Angeles, hoping we would finally get answers. But the journey became harder. Doctors were still unsure what was causing my hair loss.

I attended schools that didn’t understand what I was going through. When children pulled off my wig or teased me, the schools didn’t know how to handle it. Thankfully, I had a brother who stood in the gap for me.

I thought adulthood would be easier, but it hit differently. I was aware, alert, and determined to find answers about something that had caused me to question even my womanhood.

I saw different specialists—my primary care doctor, rheumatologist, OB/GYN, and others—and slowly began connecting the puzzle pieces surrounding my alopecia and other diagnoses.

Today, I live with total hair loss, changes to my fingernails and toenails, multiple diagnoses, and emotional triggers connected to my journey.

I still carry the truth of that little girl who experienced bullying and embarrassment from children and adults. But I refuse to live according to other people’s perceptions.

Today, I live free from stigma, and I know who I am living with alopecia.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month

In the voice of Triple Bea

I Am Not My Hair

My alopecia journey didn’t begin with my diagnosis in 2025. Looking back, I noticed my hairline thinning as early as 2015. I blamed frequent retwisting and wearing my locs pulled back, so I started using my locs and headbands to hide the bald areas.
Eventually, I couldn’t hide it anymore.

In 2025, after my loctician noticed balding at the top of my scalp, I went to a VA doctor and had my scalp tested. I was diagnosed with CCCA (Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia) and traction alopecia, with scarring. I later went to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion, where the diagnosis was confirmed.

Learning that some of my hair loss could be permanent was hard.

People say, “It’s just hair,” but when it’s your hair disappearing, it doesn’t feel like just hair. My locs were part of how I saw myself and eventually, they became a way to hide what I wasn’t ready for the world to see.
The day I cut my locs, I cried like a baby.

This year marks one full year of being bald. I’ve come a long way, but I still have my days. I miss my locs. The stares still bother me sometimes, and alopecia has added another layer to my depression.

But I’m learning that I’m still beautiful. Still feminine. Still strong. Still worthy. Still
growing. Still becoming.
Still me.

This is my crown now, and every day I’m learning to wear it a little more proudly.
This is my alopecia story and I’m still writing it.

Alopeciasupportgroup.org

Baldlifemagazine.com