Wednesday 29 February 2012

Being a new Mummy with Alopecia

I cannot put into words how much I love my baby girl.  She is amazing.  Yet, having her turned my whole world as I knew it upside down. Everyone warns you and you know life will change but nothing quite prepares you for it!!    I love love love being a mummy but I have had to learn how to live my life with only a spare moment here and there for myself.

I had always spent a great deal of time and effort to look my best as it made me feel more confident and it was also my way of dealing with Alopecia.  I used to have my hair looking perfect, full face of make up and false eye lashes every day!  As I got older I grew to be more excepting of my Alopecia and I have relaxed slightly with my morning beauty routine.  However, I could still spend ages getting ready!   I am very much your typical girly girl in that sense.   If I did not have the time to look my best my confidence would really suffer and I would not be Aimee. So it has always been a priority for me to have that time to myself.

In preparation for the birth of my baby girl I got myself a short style wig that my little babies clingy hands could not pull at and I also had my permanent make up... In the end the shorter wig style did not massively help as my baby girl was still pulling handfuls of it out.  All I can say is that this is a benefit of wearing a wig... my other mum friends inform me that this is rather painful!  Also, to be quicker in the morning I have not been applying wig tape and I kept on having visions of my hair being pulled off my head while sitting in cafe!

Worrying about silly little things is something that I have always done... I could have so many little concerns running through my head that sometimes I could not sleep!  I find talking them through with friends (or anyone who will listen to me!!) and writing lists have been my way of coping with this.  Since having my baby I have found that so many of the concerns about myself have gone out the window, only to be replaced with new ones for my baby mind you!  But still, I am so much less caught up in my self and my Alopecia.  Now I just want to make her proud of her Mummy and do the right thing by her.

Lots of people ask if I am worried about my baby girl developing Alopecia...  When she was born she had a very full head of hair and I was delighted! However,  I am not that worried as it is not a hereditary condition in mine or my husbands family.  If she were to develop Alopecia I would be a great role model for her and help her in a way that no one else ever could.

My ambition is to work with wigs and become a permanent make up artist to help other women with Alopecia.  This is my dream, but I am going to have to work hard to get there with a young baby in tow.  But for now I just want to enjoy my life with my husband and my baby.  Life is for living and not wishing it away to future aspirations, places and circumstances.


Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Alopecia Hitting The Headlines Again!!

It has been an exciting week in the media for Alopecia I am delighted to see!

Not only did we have a fantastic children's program by the BBC called  "My Life Without Hair" which was about 2 inspirational kids Kim and Dan, who are both growing up without hair... It shows how they both find it difficult but they both realise that life really can be ok without hair.



I loved this programme and brought back so many memories for me as a child.  However the support network out there now is just amazing and I would have found life so much easier if this support existed 15 years ago.

Yesterday Joanna Rowell won gold at the cycling world cup, millions of TV viewers watched as she threw off her helmet and stood proudly on the podium to collect her medal. With her bald head uncovered, the 23-year-old Olympic hopeful had no idea she would become an overnight ‘poster girl’ for alopecia sufferers.  Indeed, after losing her long auburn locks aged just ten, she spent years covering her hair loss under hats and wigs.  But after finding her confidence through top-level cycling, she now feels at ease with her condition. In fact, she credits the alopecia for creating the determined and tough young woman she is today.


Joanna is such an inspirational lady... I love how she mentions that having Alopecia has made her more determined to succeed.  I know having Alopecia has made me the strong person I am today... I have taken a lot of mean comments and had my fair few strange looks over the years and now I just don't care.

It takes a while to come to terms with Alopecia and each person finds their own way to deal with it.  My way was to look and feel the best I could do by wearing the best wigs and having Permanent Make Up applied.  This is why I set up my website and this blog to help anyone else out there who is new to having Alopecia.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how I have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'