Bald is Beautiful

I was asked to model for the company Ally_alopecia, sponsored by BooHoo. It was amazing working with all these beautiful girls and hearing their stories. It was also a very nerve-racking experience, it was the first time I had ever stepped outside without my wig on.

I was born with a condition called ectodermal dysplasia, which caused my alopecia. My skin disorder has been its own rocky journey, but right now I am just going to talk about hair loss.

I always knew I was going to lose my hair eventually. I always avoided the topic and I used to tell myself that it wasn’t even happening, to the point I was in complete denial, even though I had massive obvious bald patches. It had got to the point where I was scared of wearing wigs, because it would be accepting the fact that it was actually happening, and it would be such a massive change that everyone would realise. However, in year 11, I started to think about wearing wigs because prom was coming up and I wanted to look nice.

The day I wore my first wig was a scary day, but it improved my confidence in so many ways. After that point, I didn’t hide or avoid the fact I have alopecia, I’d say I’m pretty upfront about it now because I genuinely couldn’t care, I’m not mad, I’m not sad, I actually see it as some kind of blessing as it gives me the opportunity to be creative. I never get bored of my hair because I can switch it up whenever I want, more than once a day if I really want to!

However, I had never really wanted to go outside without my wig on. This wasn’t because I’m ashamed of how I look without it on, it’s just because I’m comfortable wearing wigs and I enjoy wearing them! I am proud of who I am, and I am proud of the journey I have been on.

Please head over to www.niamhwoods.wordpress.com to read Niamh’s blog – “Miss Wiggy”.

* We were very excited to see photos of Niamh on the Vogue runway back in September 2020. Niamh took part in a socially distanced fashion show for the “Art School Spring 2021 Ready to Wear Show”.

Niamh is currently studying Linguistics and Philosophy at the University of York. She is extremely passionate about the fashion industry and modelling, additionally she loves to sing, act and is part of her University Trampolining Society.

Thank you to Niamh for sharing her stories and keeping us up to date on her progress. Seeing her hard work and determination is an inspiration to all our young ED community, and a reminder to never give up on your passion and to always follow your dreams.

You can read the Vogue article here – Art School Spring 2021 Ready to Wear show

Niamh