We Have Our Winners For The Alopecia Awareness Contest

Hi,Teresa here. We’ve so appreciated the #whywewearblue photos you’ve sent to our Facebook page and our Instagram for our Alopecia Awareness contest! We love how brave you were in sharing with us. It would have been impossible for us to “choose” a winner as every entry resonated with us, so we did a good old-fashioned “draw from the hat!” We are excited to announce our winners! All month we’ve been sharing about the reality of alopecia. This time, our truth about alopecia comes directly from the stories, and support you have all shown. So let’s take a look at what our winners had to say!

Winner # 1 is Sharon! Here is what Sharon said on her entry post: “After two years of fighting hair loss, I got a scalp biopsy done. It revealed that I have THREE forms of alopecia! Scarring from lichen planopilaris, traction from anemia and hypothyroidism, and androgenic. I have a few chronic conditions that limit my choices in food and activities, so I decided that this was an area where I could give myself a ton of choices. I change my hair length and color all the time, and I even go out in my buzz cut when it's hot. It was a relief to take control of my hair loss and not worry about what other people think. (She is wearing the HairDo Lilac Frost).”

Winner # 2 is Velda! Velda is an alopecia supporter who had this to say: “I wear blue in support of all those with Alopecia. Having lost most of my hair from chronic lyme disease, I understand the struggle of hair loss. So thankful for wigs!!!”

Our final $100 gift card winner is Misty! Her entry reads: “"It's Alopecia Awareness month, and I'm wearing blue today (also happens to be my favorite Beatles shirt) to support my sisters with alopecia and bring awareness to friends and family. I'm wearing Noriko's Jolie in Creamy Toast. :)"

Congratulations not just to our winners, but to every one of you who entered! You are so brave and caring! We’re proud of all of you. We think you’re all winners!

We really loved this contest. Not just because we got to give away some extremely cool bling, but because we got to celebrate the beauty, strength and courage of our amazing customers. We are truly blessed to get to work with incredible people like this, every day, from all over the world, and it is our goal to celebrate the individuality of our customers not just this month, but throughout the year!

We’ve been talking about alopecia for Alopecia Awareness Month. We’ve looked at what it is and a couple of different types of the condition. Today, let’s talk about how we can support our wonderful women (and men) who live with alopecia every day. DISCLAIMER SPOILER ALERT There’s a little tough love coming your way. OK? Why the tough talk? It’s important.

1. Respond with Compassion, Not Pity!

When you find out someone is struggling with alopecia, respond with love and compassion. They did absolutely nothing to bring on the condition and there is no treatment to cure it. That’s a tough spot to reconcile. Imagine learning how to deal with the hair simply falling out of your head and you can’t do a thing about it.

IF someone shares their struggle with alopecia with you, respond with sincerity and learn from them what they want or need from you. They may not ever need you to refer them to a resource or offer them information. They probably know that. Of course, if you are ever asked for an online wig retailer who carries name brand wigs and provides caring, compassionate customer service, well, you can tell ‘em you know a guy. (Lots of our customers think Joshua24.com is a real guy at our office. Nope- he’s not. ) So, stereotype aside, we’re your guy/gals/humans/happiness providers/wig sellers.

1. No, We Aren’t Sick and You Won’t Catch It

Alopecia isn’t an illness, in the traditional sense. People who struggle with this condition are generally healthy. And it’s not contagious. Relax. People who have to live with hair loss are people just like you. In fact, you could wake up with alopecia tomorrow. But it won’t be because you caught it from someone. It will be because you have alopecia too.

So, if you’re a hugger or a hand-shaker, you’re just fine. Be you. Just be you.

1. Please, Don’t Stare.

If you wonder if someone is experiencing hair loss or extreme thinning or if someone is wearing a wig, please, don’t stare. Chances are they are self-conscious about their hair and it won’t do a thing to improve your day or theirs if you stare. Be polite. Be friendly. Be kind. If you think someone is wearing a wig or a top piece, why not just tell them how beautiful (or handsome) they look?

Remember when your Mom said, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?” This is a good time to remember that. Staring just makes people feel awkward- and it makes you appear rude, rather than compassionate.

Here’s the deal! How do you respond to a person suffering with alopecia? You respond with love, with grace, and joy and some more love! J Just like we hope you treat everyone. That’s a big order. Let’s all take a deep breath and decide to do this just a little more often!