I couldn't help but recognize these two gorgeous beauties, Mother and Daughter, who both have Alopecia. They both stood out to me with their gorgeous photos on Facebook and Instagram, Embracing their Baldness and loving themselves and each other the best way they know how. It's just so amazing how they both have Alopecia yet remain beautiful and strong through it all. Congrats Shandi and Makenzi on being named Baldie of The Month of August.



Why are you and your daughter Bald?
We both have Alopecia

How long have you been bald?
I've been bald for 7 years being diagnosed at 16
it will make a year September 4th for my daughter Makenzi

What are some challenges you and your daughter have faced being Baldies?
The biggest challenge for me was accepting who I really was. At the age of 16 when I was diagnosed i was in the prime light of my life, I was in high school, very well known, liked and a social butterfly. i lost every spec of hair on my head in a six week period, starting from the day i was diagnosed. I was crushed. It had seemed like my whole life had fallen apart. I was depressed, lost, scared, I even contemplated suicide a few times. I hated myself, my life and I thought i was ugly. I thought that no guy would ever want her girl who did not have hair and To make matters worse I had nobody in my corner supporting me. I really had no Idea what this disease was and always wonder how and why did this have to happen to me. The only thing i could think of to do was hide it. Hide who I really was and hide how i felt inside. It was like putting on a mask. I hid this disease for six years up until my baby girl was  diagnosed May of 2014 when she was just 2 years old. Once again my whole life had been torn apart. As a mother my biggest challenge was seeing my daughter go through this all knowing I had been there before. As a mother I never wanted my daughter to feel how I felt. I was scared and angry. I cried for months. she is so beautiful, smart and outgoing and I never wanted none of that to ever change.So, I made promise to her that she would never feel how i felt, she would never grow to hate her self, and she would never have to go through any of this alone. August 25th I threw every wig and hair piece away in my house and for the first time I let the world see what was behind the mask. It turned out to be one of the greatest days of my life. It was truly life changing. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I learned to love myself again and most of all I am my daughters biggest hero. As Kenzi continues to get older I have been noticing that sometimes she doesn't like being bald. She sometimes ask when will she get her hair back. I continue to encourage and let her know that you don't need to hair because bald is beautiful too.
 
What Words of Encouragement would you share for those who aren't as confident with their baldness as you?
For everyone who is going through hair loss, just stay true to who you are, don't hide behind the masks (wigs, extensions, etc) and to let go of everything that's been weighting you down.To the mothers and fathers of children going through hair loss, encourage your children,and most of all support them. Remind them daily that bald is beautiful too.

My Bald is Beautiful too. 

Thank you so much Shandi and Makenzi

Before we begin sharing this Gorgeous Beauty's story, we'd like to personally thank you Natalie for your undying support, your donations, and most importantly your ability to stay true to who you are. You are such a beautiful person and we couldn't ask for better support than what you have shown towards The Bald Movement. Congratulations on being selected as 
Baldie of the Month of June. 

Her story...

Tell us a bit about your decision to cut your hair or why you went bald? I'm bald by Alopecia and by choice. For eight years,I had long waist length dreadlocks. In summer 2013,they began to slowly fall out,and eventually I cut the remaining locks off. Then,I was admitted to the hospital for an unknown infection which nearly cost me my life...twice. During that time,I realized that I don't need hair to be beautiful,or to justify my femininity. So,as my hair began to slowly grow back,I made the choice to shave my hair on my 34th birthday,and it has been the best decision of my life.

Do you feel you've changed for the better since you went bald? Absolutely! I feel more confident and beautiful. It's absolute freedom!

What words of encouragement would you share with someone who isn't confident with themselves as you are? There are more important things in life than hair. Be blessed to have your health and loved ones.

Finish this sentence: (My) Bald is is bold,confident and beautiful!

We'd like to start the new year off by sharing a story of a young lady who not only chose to be Bald and has an amazing story that will surely change how you see yourself as a Baldie but this story was chosen because she realized that being Bald allows you to look beyond your flaws and imperfections because you are forced ( in a good way ) to face them rather than cover them up (hide). As I always say, there is nothing more beautiful than a woman who is unafraid to be herself. Congrats on being names Baldie of the month of January.

I have been a happy Baldie for about 7 years. Prior to that I was nearly bald with a very short low cut for a good 10 years by choice . While I was pregnant with my son 8 years ago I decided not to cut my hair during pregnancy and my hair grew into a major afro. Then of course within 2 months of having him I was fed up with the hair and didn't know what to do with it. If I had that kinda fro now I’d work it like a Queen. But as it was my 1st child and I was busy trying to get a hang of things, hair was not a priority. So I decide to go get some Ghana weaving to save me time for 2 weeks. I wish I could take those 2 weeks back. Cause you would have lol’d if you saw me 10 days into it. We had lift off. ( You know the one, where the front baby hair part starts to lift off your scalp with the extensions braided into it, chai – that’s Nigerian for I am f**ked )  So of cause when I took the braids out my hairline was MISSING!! Yas hunty – gone with the wind GONE . LOL  . I was totally vex. But didn't think twice to get the chop. I was like, yeah imma just go back to my low cut. My barber missed me but then when I took off my hat, he had a good laugh at my expense. So I had it cut down quite low. But by the next day I got upset every time I walked past a mirror. So I went back to the barber and asked for a clean shave. Now, even though I had worn my hair very low for many years, getting a complete shave was different. It took me 2 days to go out without a hat. But once I did, that was it. I was free and didn't look back. 

Every year I get adventurous and decide to grow my hair and the growing process is usually always quick but annoying for me. Ordinarily, if I don’t get a shave in 6 – 7 days I get irritated and get random headaches. So when I decide to grow it out I literally go about 2 to 3 months without shaving. I change the color a couple of times, get a couple of creative haircuts, and then get fed up and shave it off again. Like nah, can I just have an Afro in 3 months please, then we can deal.  I have always been a get up and go kinda woman.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love hair, My 5 year old daughter has plenty of it and she wears it well. I appreciate good healthy hair , especially when worn natural. I just don’t have the patience to grow mine. As a lady I have never been a fan of the drama that comes with growing hair. The wait at the salon, deciding what style to do, the  - I can't go out cause my hair ain't done. Yeah, I am not here for it. I am all for enhancing your beauty, I encourage others to do so. But I literally just cannot be bothered. Let’s just say I am lucky I have a decent shaped head. Wearing your hair bald by choice can be refreshing yet scary in the early days. We are all born with hair and we are taught to cherish and protect it from an early age, so when we are stripped of it, for whatever reasons, it’s always a significant change.

It comes easy for some, yet not so easy for others. Some say it shows strength and power to go bald. Which it does to an extent because you are stepping out of the box. But Ultimately it is for me  ( this goes for those doing it by choice or because of a condition , NOT for those doing it as a fashion statement ) also a sign of courage . There is usually an intricate trait in women who freely go bald and wear it with pride. There is a knowing, a different layer of wisdom that strives within such women and that always needs to be celebrated . 
 
Being bald means I look in the mirror less. I spend very little because I shave myself and use my own home made lotions and potions which my daughter and son also benefit from. I spend ZERO time at the salon, and people compliment me often.
Being a baldie also allows you to see yourself clearly. With naked eyes. No noise. It allows you to look beyond your flaws and imperfections because you are forced to face them. This again depends on the individual.

It’s different for everyone. My aura, energy and personality has been more or less the same since I was like 10 so I am used to the same level of attention. People mention my personality and ability to make them feel free a lot more than they mention the baldness. I have been told many times that it’s almost as if this is how I am destined to be. Like having hair would actually be what is odd for me. 

If you are bald, by choice or condition. Embrace it, look in the mirror and accept yourself for who you truly are. Rise above the insecurities that the society has instilled in you and love yourself wholeheartedly. Your hair is a part of you, it is not all that you are. You and everyone else should be able to see past that. It is important for us to be able to love what we see in the mirror , but that comes a little easier when we already love what is within . So the key here really is to embrace acceptance and being true to oneself, and if you are not happy with it, you can always wear a dope wig. 

From a happy natural, proud Sexy baldie

Abi Adeyemi

I'd like to introduce to you Ms Z. Woods. This gorgeous beauty was chosen as Baldie of the Month b/c even though she has grown her hair back out, through her experience as a Baldie she learned so much about herself that she may not have learned if she never went Bald. She realized that she was beautiful without needing others to confirm it and true meaning of letting go because after all....its JUST hair. Her story begins below.

For the majority of my life I never really gave much thought to my physical appearance, beauty and hair. Styling my hair consisted of a monthly relaxer, blow dry and flat iron which would end with my hair either a pony tail or just out with no pins or scrunchies. I did a "big chop" at the start of junior year of high school and left about a half an inch of curly hair dyed fire red on my head and by senior prom, I "rocked" my natural tight, shoulder length curls. For the next few years of college I continued to bounce between perms, big chops, weaves, braids, etc and in between all these hair changes I was NEVER satisfied!   

While in college, a very good friend of mine would make random comments encouraging me to go bald every time I expressed annoyance with needing to find a new hairstyle but the suggestions were always brushed off because I always associated being bald with male and female masculinity. Then one morning, several years post graduation, while staring at my reflection trying to figure out if I should do a high pony puff or a low one (those were my only options while frustrated and lazy) I told myself "just shave it off. It's just hair and will grow back." Every day following that split second thought I convinced myself more and more as to why I should cut my hair off and started to feel a combination of nervousness and excitement while trying to find the best salon to help me take that leap. Before the cut I did share my desires with some friends and family and about 99% of the feedback was discouraging. No one wanted ME to cut MY hair! So, without telling all but one person, I set a date and shaved my head!

 Seeing my reflection in the mirror for the first time without hair was quite liberating and the days and months following the chop ushered in a new focus in my life. From the foods I ate (avoiding things that caused breakouts and bloating), my sleep habits, the way I perfected my mascara and lipstick routine and even my earring selections, I began to take better care of and paid more attention to ME. Even the stares and compliments from men shifted from being called "sexy" to being called "beautiful" :) 

 I remained a bald beauty for 2 1/2 years and each time I went for my cut, I felt renewed and swore I would grow old bald but recently, that though has changed a bit. I began to miss my curls and have began desiring the various twists and faux locs that has resurfaced in the hair world and so I stopped cutting my hair. It has been a few months since my last hair cut (my barber keeps trying to get me back) and as of now I am satisfied with the rapid growth I have seen with my hair. There is, however, a bit of an (impatient) waiting game happening daily with anticipating the day I can get braids and I am slowly reminded of the numerous products needed in order to keep my curls moisturized and healthy but watching it grow from next to nothing ah la one step from Michael Jordan is quite amazing.  Who knows: maybe one day I will cut it all off again or maybe I will never cut it again. Either way, my hair (or lack there of) has taught me so much about myself: finding my own voice when the voices of others attempt to shout louder, realizing that I am beautiful without needing others to confirm it for me to believe it and the true meaning of letting go because after all....its JUST hair.

Today we'd like to introduce to you Ms. Carly Pandza, a beautiful soul that is making a difference in the world with her beautiful spirit and soon amazing event called "You are not your hair" August 16, 2014 in Los Angeles that we had the honor of partnering with for this event. 

Why are you BALD?*

I’m bald because I choose to be bald. Shaving my head was something 
that I always wanted to do and I realized last year that it was as if I waiting 
for someone to give me permission to do so.  I was waiting for perfect 
opportunity to present itself when I realized I needed to create that 
opportunity. It is time because I say it is time.


 That is one of the reasons I am partnering with The Bald 
Movement to put on the event “You Are Not Your Hair” that will take place on 
August 16th, 2014 in Los Angeles. I wanted to provide 
the opportunity for women to access their inner beauty and transform their 
confidence by through letting it all go. 

Now there is an opportunity for women that have this taboo wish like I 
had to shave their heads for a great cause. 


 How has being BALD impacted your life?


 Being bald I get my inner beauty as an experience. Being bald allows me 
the access to the possibility of being fun, free, vulnerable and self expressed 
even without hair and I want all women to have the opportunity to experience 
that if they so desire. 

Being bald makes getting ready SO much easier. I don’t need shampoo, 
conditioner or any sort of hair product anymore. 


I have sensitive sensations of hot and cold on my scalp when there is 
slight temperature shift that I never experienced before with hair. I usually 
make sure I have a hair or scarf when I go places for that very reason. I also 
have to be conscious of sunscreen on hot days or else my scalp will burn and I 
will look like I have a big round tomato head.


 Since I shaved my head one year ago in June 2013 I have lost 25 lbs, 
become vegetarian and created a healthy lifestyle that was nonexistent in my 
life before. I literally cannot have one drink anymore without getting drunk 
because my tolerance has gone down so much due to my diet shift.


 By letting go of my attachment to hair I let go of other things in my 
life that were no longer serving me.


 I’m not promising that this sort of physical transformation will happen 
to every women if she shaves her head but it definitely happened to me and I 
don’t think it was a coincidence. I believe that most things cause a ripple 
affect in life. Shaving my head caused a spiritual, emotional and physical 
transformation of mind, body and spirit. A metaphorical and physical rebirth if 
you will. 


What's the worst thing that has happened or has been said to you as 
a BALD woman? 
I don’t know think this is the worse thing or even a 
thing at all. Someone mistook me for a man once. They asked me from 
behind ,“Sir, can I help you?” while I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond. It really 
wasn’t bad at all though. It was funny. The poor employee looked horrified when 
I turned around and they saw that I was a woman. I think they thought I was 
going to yell at them but of course I didn’t. I just let it go. It was an honest 
mistake. Even though I was wearing a dress. I had the same exact experience of 
someone thinking I was boy at 8-years -old while I was wearing a skirt in the 
grocery store. I blame my bowl haircut that was a product of a haircut done by 
my mom. I guess history repeats itself! HA!

I’ve had people stare at me. This one woman at a restaurant literally 
stopped her fork mid route to her pie-hole and stared with her mouth agape. I 
don’t take offense though. Seeing a women boldly walking around bald and proud 
is a rarity. Our society has conditioned women without hair or breasts, these 
things that we’ve been taught are essentials to being considered a woman or 
feminine, to feel like they should walk around ashamed if they are lacking those 
things. Hair does not equal beauty, nor does it equal femininity but it 
definitely plays into our gender roles. 


To be honest I haven’t had horrible things said to me being bald. I get 
really positive reactions and compliments from people pertaining to my baldness. 
People are drawn to my bald head. They are curious and I feel like being bald 
creates this welcoming space that allows people to feel like they can approach 
me.

When I first shaved it all off I had the experience of feeling like my 
bald head was a lightbulb. I felt radiant. Like my head was radiating energy or 
light. I was beaming. People would flock to me like a moth to a flame to talk to 
me about it. I felt vulnerable like there was nothing to hide behind anymore. 
Nothing to protect me from being profoundly intimate with others. This was 
freeing and I loved it!

I have a minimum of 5 people a day come up to me and tell me that they 
like my hair. I know they mean lack there of. I’ve had someone say “I love your 
head before” - haha!

Women will immediately confess to me, “I’ve always wanted to shave my 
head but I can’t because of, insert ‘reason, consideration and/or excuse here.’ 
”

Now I’m able to offer,  “Funny you should say that cause I’m 
throwing this event…” 


What words of encouragement would you share with someone going 
BALD? 

If you embrace being bald it will liberate you and you will feel 
reborn. Once women get that they are not their hair anything is possible. Then 
that leads to them getting that they are not their bodies, their thoughts or 
their feelings. 


They are whatever they declare they are. That they can have a strong 
sense of self that is not conditional or based on outside 
validation. 


Regardless of women, if the everyone in the world got that concept what 
a different world we’d be living in. A world of people getting that they are 
enough, that they are whole, complete and perfect just they way they are. Now 
that would be some kind of world. That’s the world that I’m committed to 
creating and transforming by creating the event “You Are Not Your 
Hair.”

We'd like to introduce to you this beautiful Bald Lady name Larisha Nelson. We just love how she truly embraces who she is regardless of her circumstances and because of that she is Baldie of the month of May. 

I have scarring alopecia that resulted in me permanently losing hair covering about 40% of my head.
It has made me come to the realization that the beauty I thought I had with hair had nothing to do with why I am beautiful at all. For the almost 6 months, I was depressed. I felt fake and every time I walked by a mirror I broke down. I had a constant fear of losing my wig and it coming off while I was teaching. 2 people saw that I was bald, one of my students and a colleague because my scarf had come up one day. The fear when my student saw, took me out of the classroom the rest of the day, but became a life lesson for them later. I know some women that can't deal with it the way that I have and I say to them, your hair cannot live your life, it cannot take care of your children, or go to work for you. It is, like many other things, an addition to the appearance as to which you wish to reveal yourself to the world. It is also, like many things, something that can be lost. If it was meant for you to live without hair, whether it is by choice or a life occurrence, it DOES NOT account for ANY of the reasons why you are who you are, you have what you have, or who you've come to love and who loves you for you! My loss has been a gain for so many! I will not let hair define me or my life. If I choose to wear it, it's because I CHOOSE not because I have to! I now have an advantage over so many who have it and don't no what to do with it!

My name is Ashlynn Geringer and I’m a very outgoing, spunky, OCD three year old little girl. I love Minnie Mouse, Dora the Explorer, my blanket that I’ve named “see”, and Chap Stick. On August 30, 2013 I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. (ALL)

Around August 26, 2013, it all started with a normal head cold. My mom and older sister Kailynn had the same cold. A few days later my mom noticed I had two sores on the inside of my cheeks that looked like I had bitten myself. My mom kept a close eye on those sores, making sure they would heal. Two days later my daddy came home from work when my mom told him I hadn’t moved off the couch all day and wasn’t eating. My daddy came over to look at me and used a flashlight to see the sores in my mouth and he noticed I had blood blisters all over my tongue. My mom took me to the Emergency Room where they ran blood tests, flu test, strep test, and chest x-rays on me. After a long wait (3 hours) the doctor finally came back into our room to tell my mother the devastating news. There was a possibility that I had leukemia and that they were calling for an ambulance to transport us to Scottish Rite children’s hospital. Once arriving to Scottish Rite they ran more blood tests and it was then confirmed that I had Leukemia. My mom broke down crying. This news was very devastating to her. The oncologist came in to talk to my mom, Nonnie, and papaw about my diagnosis. They sent me to the PICU floor as I was very weak and needed to be stabilized. It was all a very scary experience for me, my parents, Nonnie, and papaw. I was finally moved to the Aflac floor where I would begin my treatments. I had a port surgically placed, a spinal tap, and a bone marrow biopsy on September 3. I began my chemo treatments that day as well. And so my 3 year journey battling this disease began…