Supporting Women With Rare Hair Loss Disease

Hair Loss Disease

Thea Chassin is a bald Valentine and she wants you to notice. "February is the perfect time of year to lift the curtain of secrecy on the auto-immune skin disease, alopecia areata," encourages Chassin, founder and president of the national not-for-profit, Bald Girls Do Lunch Inc. "Relationships are healthier when women and the people who love them talk openly about this unpredictable hair loss condition. In our image-obsessed world, people forget that personality, not your hair, really matters most."

At Maryland's first Bald Girl Lunches, as in other cities across the country, Chassin inspires women to accept themselves and educate others. Bald for 10 years and owner of countless wigs and hats, Chassin meets too many women dressing for others rather than for herself. "This Valentine's Day, encourage the bald woman in your life to do what makes her feel her best. Forget the flowers and gift a colorful scarf to bring out the sparkle in her eyes. Most of all, have a loving chat and acknowledge her loss."

The Maryland lunches for women with alopecia areata 18 and over are taking place in Gaithersburg (February 10) and Chevy Chase (March 1) followed by Bridgewater, NJ (March 2). Women attend adorned with wigs or the bald look. Invitations and details are posted at www.baldgirlsdolunch.org.

"We offer practical advice on everything from breaking the news about baldness in a new relationship, to telling colleagues at work or dealing with the common, but wrong assumption, that every bald woman must have cancer." The organization encourages doctors, hairstylists and others who meet women with alopecia areata to request lunches and become local sponsors.

Alopecia areata affects men, women, and children of all ages -- almost 5 million people in the US. Characterized by smooth, round bald patches, it usually resolves on its own but can progress to complete hair loss including lashes, brows, and body hair. Some treatments work in some situations, but there is no cure.