We are so accus...

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.-Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Disguises couldn't be more prevalent in today's society. Each of us are told what to wear, what to eat, how to act- even what to believe. We are conditioned into thinking these are things we want; things that we've told ourselves we need. That pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Those ray ban knock offs that everyone and their mother have. That camo sweatshirt that went on sale last week (because you could not justifiably purchase a sweatshirt for $80).

Here's some examples of previous trends:

• Tamagotchi digital pets
• Dickie overalls, specifically the pastel colors.
• mood rings
• frosted tips- '95 Justin Timberlake
•  G-Shocks
• Turtlenecks

You get my point.

I can go on about society's gaze and how each individual is affected by the strong powers of social media and how we'll never escape the stronghold our peers have on us etc...

But this blog is about hair loss. It is about alopecia and I want to address how wigs are such a huge disguise. I choose not to wear a wig. I have several: blonde, brunette, purple, afro, red head. But none of these are who I am. In fact, when I wear any of these out, I'm unrecognizable to some of my closest friends. People literally can have a conversation without being sure its me, Kylie. Same goes for going bald. In high school and into college, I would wear a wig every day. If I went down to the store for a quick bite, I could get away unnoticed by even my neighbors.

Choosing to go au naturale is a very personal decision and I'm not judging anyone who chooses to wear a wig on a daily basis. But for those that do, think about how someone who only knows you with hair would react. Would they know who you are? Could a friend confidently walk up to you and ask, "Hey, wanna go get our usual lunch?"

Here's some perspective for those that don't have alopecia: you wear your hair up every day to work, no matter how great your haircut looks from the weekend. Imagine how the office would react if all of a sudden you let your hair down.  You come in, bangs swept to the side and those long beach curled locks (that you perfected for hours the night before) are bouncing off your shoulders. The smell of your conditioner is filling the elevator as the air conditioning blows it back and you walk out onto your floor. After you're done taking that last sip of that brown liquid the gas station calls coffee, you look to to see an audience, curious as to who this woman might be.

"Did she apply last week?"

"Did her boyfriend propose?"

As if there has to be a reasoning as to why you look so, weird.