As one saying goes, a woman's hair is her crown of glory. Sometimes, a bad hair day can make for a bad day altogether, or a bad haircut can cause months of agony.
There are exceptions to every rule, but most teenage girls like to wear their hair long. Whether it's something to hide behind or not, long hair helps plenty of teens feel beautiful.
Madisyn Babcock, a high school student from Arkansas, also liked her long hair — until an alopecia diagnosis caused her to part with her beautiful mane.
With senior portraits around the corner, you can imagine that Madisyn was a little apprehensive to get in front of the camera without any hair and take photos that would last a lifetime.
Luckily, she teamed up with a local photographer, Chelsea Taylor, to take breathtaking senior portraits that truly look unlike any we've ever seen.
Before she was diagnosed with alopecia, Madisyn had long, blonde hair.
The Mayo Clinic explains that alopecia is a medical term for severe hair loss that goes further than just thinning or the normal measure of strand loss: 50 to 100 a day.
There are a variety of factors that can cause this condition, but either way, Madisyn was going to be more or less without hair by the time senior portrait season came around.
Madisyn tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she usually wears head covers to deal with the bald patches.
I'm sure many of us would do the same or even go a step further and use a wig. This would be even more likely with an important photo shoot coming up.
However, instead of covering up, Madisyn enlisted the help of her artist mother to paint a beautiful design that embraces her condition instead.
She explains, “I decided to paint my head to raise awareness and to promote natural beauty. My mom, an artist, was the perfect candidate for my head masterpiece."
Photographer Chelsea Taylor had worked with Madisyn previously, and knew that she was nervous about how her new look would translate in the photos.
Chelsea adds, “Madisyn has never once let any of this affect the way she sees herself — if anything, I think she is stronger, braver, and more confident than the day I met her.”
As you can see, the pictures did not disappoint.
Chelsea and everyone who has seen them can agree that Madisyn's positive attitude toward her alopecia only makes the photos an even more meaningful work of art.
Madisyn is lucky to have learned the lesson to embrace your flaws early on. And of course, she looks pretty flawless.
Do you know anyone with alopecia?
Be sure to SHARE this story with anyone you know who will appreciate the powerful message these photos send.
