I have been wearing wigs since I was 11 years old. I have this disorder called trichotillomania. Trichotillomania, for those who don’t know, is very similar to people biting their nails or picking at scabs, I just pull out my own hair instead. The doctors told me that it is usually temporary and will go away within a year or so.
When I was a child, I was always terrified that people would find out that I was wearing wigs. I was lucky to find a company that supplied free human hair wigs to children under the age of 18 who don’t have hair due to a medical or psychological condition. I was hoping that I would be rid of this thing by the time I was 18 and could finally start living free without having to worry about people discovering my secret, but trichotillomania never went away.
Upon turning 18, I had to find affordable wig companies that could fit a college kid’s budget. This is when I finally started to realize that I didn’t have to stick to natural colors and blending in with the crowd. I bought my first crazy colored wig when I was around 20 years old and learned what true confidence really is.
I never thought I would have people coming up and commenting on how amazing my hair was… because I didn’t have any! I used to lie when people would ask how I was able to dye my hair a certain color.
After a while, I got tired of coming up with excuses for my hair color. I used to think that if I told someone I was wearing a wig, that they would look at me differently or think less of me. Now, when someone asks me how i got my hair color, I smile and proudly tell them that it is a wig! I like to watch the look on someone’s face as they try to process how this beautifully styled price of art on my head is a wig and not my actual hair!
I never thought that being bald would be the thing that would boost my confidence and make me love myself more. I always thought I would be that scared kid walking into my first day of 7th grade praying that nobody would say anything about my wig. I’m very grateful to companies like Lush that make these amazing wigs that make me feel like the most like myself.
