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I have had Alopecia Universalis since I was 18 months old. I started losing my hair in patches and within a couple of weeks, I was completely bald. It wasn’t too long after that, my eyelashes and eyebrows fell out as well. Looking back, I can remember going to school wearing either a baseball cap or a synthetic hairpiece. The hairpiece never stayed on my head and didn't look real either.
As I grew older, the synthetic wigs were not meeting my needs because they didn’t look or feel real, and their quality was awful. I couldn’t run around, or play sports in fear that my hair would fall off in front of everyone. I always felt different from all the other girls and I prayed every night that one day I would look like them. When I was in 6th grade, my mom applied for a free wig from a company that was making donations, and we were accepted. I was soon wearing a vacuum-fitted hairpiece that was made with real hair.
That was a turning point in my life. I began to look at having Alopecia as a blessing because I could change my look anytime I wanted with a new hairpiece. There were some problems however, with this type of hairpiece. First of all, the vacuum does not allow your scalp to breathe, so it was extremely hot and uncomfortable to wear. Second, as my head would sweat, the wig slid around and it would easily come off. Third, it is hard to put the hairpiece in a ponytail or any sort of up do, because you can see that it is a wig.
When I found out about Joseph Paris' design, I was amazed. They were made from real hair, and the hair was inserted in netting that matched my skin tone. Amazingly, the hair looks like it was really protruding from my own scalp. This was a design I had always been looking for. When I tried on one of Joseph Paris' designs, I found out just how lightweight and realistic the hair looked. I also realized that my head was not hot while wearing his product. I felt like my prayers were finally answered and I would now look and feel like all the other girls with beautiful hair. I truly am thankful that Joseph Paris has created something that makes my Alopecia Universalis disappear while I am wearing it.