Losing My Hair Taught Me Life Lessons
Troubles can turn into triumphs.
Fighting back the tears, I was determined not to cry in front of my hair stylist and the other 25 strangers in the salon. From my chair in the middle of the room, every person in the salon had a perfect view of my patchy head.
Have you ever had a part of your appearance completely break you down?
It’s easy to let your weight, your height, your facial features, etc., affect how you feel about yourself.
My hair had finally reached a point where I couldn’t cover up all of the thinning and bald spots. I was a master at using all the tools available for women with alopecia (a medical condition of hair loss or baldness).
The stylist did her best, but she couldn’t perform a miracle. I held it together until I reached the parking lot, and my tears started to flow.
I wasn’t emotionally ready to think about wearing a wig.
I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Being in my early 50s, I didn’t expect it. None of the other women in my family had this problem, and no one in my extended family had ever worn a wig, so the concept was foreign to me.
At the top of my mind were the three family Christmas parties and a wedding scheduled in the next two months. On the way home, I knew I couldn’t put off buying a wig any longer.
The process of losing her hair can be very emotional for a woman. I wanted someone to acknowledge the difficulty of the transition, but to my surprise, other women weren’t very comforting.
Most just shrugged their shoulders and told me they had the same problem. This was especially frustrating. I didn’t see how we had the same problem because I had to buy a wig, and they didn’t. I chose to believe they were just trying to make me feel better.
Everyone handles their hair loss differently. I took it very hard—not because I’m beautiful—quite the opposite. I have struggled with my appearance for the last 30 years. I have never thought I was pretty; I have always felt self-conscious.
I felt wearing a wig would only magnify my lack of confidence. After all, what if people saw it shift or move? What if it fell off? What if someone laughed at me? What if I walked past and heard someone whisper, “Did you see her wig? Who is she fooling?”
I have now been on my wig-wearing journey for 7 months. It’s had its ups and downs, but the experience has taught me a few things about life that can be applied to many circumstances.
You can’t go around the tunnel of hard times; you have to go through it.
We usually try to avoid difficult experiences, but the truth is, sometimes, there isn’t a way around them. The only way to come out the other side is to actually walk through them.
The tunnel can be short, but most of the time, it’s a long journey. It’s the act of walking through it which makes us a stronger person.
Most people don’t care as much about your physical issues as you do.
At first, I was so embarrassed because I knew everyone would know it was not my real hair. This was mortifying to me. I felt like my wig was bright green, and everyone was laughing at me behind my back.
The truth is, no one cared much. They had their own worries, problems, and issues, and whatever I was wearing on my head made no difference in their lives.
Sometimes, we can be so caught up in our own appearance—whether it’s a bad hair day, a facial blemish, or a piece of food in our teeth—and how others judge us that we lose sight of the bigger picture. How we see ourselves tends to be much different from how others view us.
Newsflash: After 5 minutes, people have moved on to something else. You are old news.
Sometimes, negatives can turn into positives.
I thought buzzing my head and wearing a wig would be a horrible experience. At first, it was true. However, after some time, the experience had many benefits.
No more buying a cart full of expensive hair products.
There was no more battling frizzy hair or curling irons. It now takes less than 3 minutes to put on my wig and go.
I can have the hair I always wanted but wasn’t born with. I can change my length without waiting months for it to grow. I’ve discovered many things I enjoy about wearing a wig.
Life throws us curveballs, and the negative can be our first focus. Rest assured, in the end, good things can come from it.
Many times, our anticipation of an event is much worse than the actual event. Once you emerge from the tunnel and back into the light, you might find the end result isn’t so bad.
Whatever problem you are facing today, hang in there.
Face it with courage and strength.
You will find your way through the tunnel — you can do this!
I am a Christian Author who writes 1-minute devotionals on Substack and Medium.
I host a 4-minute weekly podcast called Kate’s Devotional Podcast, which can be found on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts.