Adyson's Alopecia Journey - Embracing Uniqueness, Self Love, and Confidence

September is Alopecia Awareness Month - A National and global observance dedicated to increasing understanding, reducing stigma, and empowering individuals living with alopecia. Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune condition that causes the body’s immune system to attack hair follicles, leading to significant hair loss and/or baldness. 

At Milano Wigs, we’ve worked with many clients experiencing hair loss due to Alopecia. We’ve met countless powerful, beautiful women of all ages and backgrounds, who have Alopecia areata totalis, universalis, or diffused Alopecia. In short, Alopecia can affect anyone at any age. Nearly 7 million people in the U.S. have Alopecia Areata in some form.

Although hair loss can feel isolating, our mission is to continue to empower women who are experiencing it. Milano Wigs strives to be a safe space where women with hair loss can feel seen, understood, confident, and beautiful. We take pride in not only being a wig company, but in building a global digital community of women who can relate and empathize with each other - opening the conversation about hair loss and real-life situations that affect us all. Reminding women that they’re not alone.

In honor of Alopecia Awareness Month, we wanted to share Adyson’s story. 

We met Adyson about a month ago when she and her mom came to visit our Long Beach, CA Showroom. Adyson is 14 years old and just started her first school year of high school! 

Adyson has Alopecia Areata Totalis and was diagnosed when she was only 5 years old. Our team in Long Beach helped Adyson choose her very first glueless wig. To say we had a blast during her consultation would be an understatement. Aydson, her mom, and her grandmother all came to her appointment, and we had so much fun trying-on wigs, learning about Adyson’s story, and getting to know her family. Adyson has the most bubbly personality and radiates confidence. Her positivity (especially at such a young age) is truly inspiring. 

We filmed Adyson’s consultation and posted it on our social channels! The response from the world was AMAZING. Seeing how many women and young girls who saw Adyson’s video and could relate to it, overwhelmed our hearts with joy. We reached out to Adyson’s mom, Krista, to see if she was open to sharing more about Adyson's journey with Alopecia. Krista told us that Adyson would love to! She also explained that Adyson has always been open to speaking about her Alopecia - and that she loves to share her story with other girls in hopes that it may help. 

We sent Krista and Adyson a few interview questions. Here are Adyson’s responses: 

Q: Can you tell us a little about when you first learned you had alopecia, that moment, and what your journey has been like since then?

"My mom first noticed a bald spot the size of a quarter on the top of my head and then grew so she took me to the doctor and they diagnosed me when I was 5 and from there I started losing it on the sides. I was too young to really understand but I do remember my mom Chasing me around the house trying to put this cream on my head even though I hated it. My journey has had its ups and downs along the way but overall I wouldn't ever wanna change a thing about my alopecia because it shapes who I am today. It can be hard sometimes with the staring and comments but I know I can always get through it with my friends and family by my side. It does hurt sometimes when people my age and older who know better stare and make fun of me more than the little kids. It has been tough but I love being me and having alopecia!"

Q: How has living with alopecia shaped you?

"Living with alopecia has shaped me in so many ways. It's shaped me because I feel like I can be myself no matter what. I used to never really care about how I looked or if people stared but as I got older and saw other girls with all these new hair products and styles it did make me feel a little bad because that's all I sometimes wanted was to fit in. Like for example when all my friends would do the braid trains where they would sit and everyone would braid everyone's hair even though I was in the back braiding someone's hair, i still wanted to be included. In elementary school it didn't really affect me a lot until middle school when more and more people would comment and at first it didn't bother me until it started more. Then in 8th grade I wanted to start wearing wigs more after being bullied pretty bad. It did make me feel more confident and pretty! Getting a wig from Milano has definitely been one of the best things I've done this year. Their wigs are AMAZING."

Q: What has helped you feel confident and empowered along the way?

"Something that has helped me a lot is having my parents by my side and always supporting me with whatever I wanna do. They never fail to be there for me and always make sure I'm happy with whatever I choose to do. Another thing that has helped is watching other girls with alopecia on social media, especially the Baldtourage group!"

Q: Who or what has been a source of encouragement or inspiration for you?

"My family, especially my parents, instilled in my brain that I was beautiful with or without hair and that always stuck with me. They just kept telling me over and over and it really helped me and inspired me to be who I am today."

Q: How did it feel to see your TikTok video connect with so many people?

"It was really shocking and exciting to see that so many people related and were inspired by me. It showed that I wasn't alone and other people go through the same exact things.

·  What message would you love to share with others who may be experiencing hair loss?

I would say to just be yourself and to never let others words get to you no matter what because at the end of the day you are your own person and it doesn't matter what other people think or say because you are amazing and beautiful no matter what! You should never listen to the haters cause like Taylor Swift says "the haters gonna hate!"

Q: Is there something you wish more people understood about Alopecia?

"I wish more people understood that we are just like you and just because we look different doesn't make us any less human or make us "weird" and shaming us or bullying us for something we can't control shouldn't be something you choose to do. Just be kind. We're people with feelings too. Alopecia isn't something we can control  and there's nothing wrong with that"

We hope that Adyson's message touches your heart and serves as a reminder to be kind, accepting, and compassionate to all. Although Adyson is young, we are in awe of her emotional intelligence and her outlook on life. We hope that Adyson's words can reach the right people and help inspire other young girls who have Alopecia. We absolutely adore Adyson, and we are beyond grateful that she allowed us to share her story with you all. 

Share this story with someone you love. 💙