Today's standards of beauty almost seem too impossible to attain. Now, everything from head to toe seems to matter, from the width of your hips to the color of your skin. For many, these determine how beautiful and desirable you are.
One model from Australia named Lara Kitchen knew in her heart that she was perpetuating these standards, giving her followers the impression that there is such thing as the perfect body.
But the time came when she was finally tired of hiding one astounding fact about herself: she suffers from alopecia, a condition which has left her without hair.
When she was 14 years old, her hair starting falling out in clumps. She struggled with depression and anorexia after the diagnosis confirmed that her hair would never grow back. She later also lost her eyebrows and eyelashes.
She also reveals that she was so distraught over her appearance that she was treated in a mental health facility after overdosing on prescription medications.
Since then, she has come a long way. She recently posted a video on social media showing off her bald head, as well as how she puts on and takes off her wig and makeup.
She wants others to come to embrace their imperfections, just as she finally has!
Scroll down to read more about her experience, and to see her bravery in photos!
Doing this is was the scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life and something I don’t speak about to anyone! So a little story to get this all started…
When I was 14 I started to loose my hair in clumps and as you can imagine being a 14 year old girl starting high school with new people, you want to make a good impression but for me I became and felt like I was the girl that 'wore a wig' or as nasty rumors went around such as 'I had cancer' and these words were spread not just through my own school but through other school[s] and already suffering anxiety made things very tough.
My parents had no Idea what was going on, why was I loosing my hair? We saw doctor after doctor and some said stress and then one of perths [sic] top dermatologists told us alopecia…
I remember sitting there and just crying in the doctors office and taking my wig off as he looked at my head and began to tell me and my mum that the follicle off the hair was still there but the chances of it growing back were slim but determined to get my hair back we started treatments (which were not cheap, and involved very strong steroids going onto my head) eventually after trying and trying I gave up and had to accept that nothing was working so for the mean time stick to wigs And I can tell you now wigs 6-7 years ago were not what they are today!
And one day a gorgeous soul who I will forever be [grateful to] for this told me about Franchesca this young lady that was making wigs/ weaves. So my mum and i went and visited Franchesca and my god my life changed instantly. Franchesca made long human hair wigs, which was so exciting for me, I could straighten my hair!! I could have a long pony tail!
My “hair” looked more real. And from then on kept hush about my hair. Over the past years me and franchesca have spoken about doing something like this video and a few months ago, I agreed!
Because I have nothing to be ashamed off in my words “I’m bold (literally) and strong” and yes hair is a major physical aspect to my appearance but my friends and family love me for me, my personality the person and was raised to be, I shouldn’t have anything to feel ashamed off!
Please SHARE if you have come to embrace your own differences, and if you encourage others, both men and women, to do the same!
