"When you lose your facial, head and body hair - you also lose your sense of self and your dignity. It takes time, self-education and a lot of effort to regain your sense-of-self again. Be patient, it will happen, and you have found a friend that will help you"!

Holly

When The Mirror Crashed

I have lived with Alopecia Areata Universalis for the past 35 years, so I know first hand the fears, doubts, questions and concerns about hair loss and image changes. Alopecia Areata Universalis is the complete loss of scalp, body and facial hair.

My entire professional career has been in the fashion, cosmetic and hair industries, for for the franchise companies as an account executive, trainer, educator, sales director, makeup artist and counter manager.

Marriage in 1973 clipped my traveling wings and I settled into life off the road. After a move to California, Alopecia came into my world and my mirror crashed! Living and working in Hollywood - in the cosmetic industry at the time of my hair loss, I felt fairly confident about fnding immediate solutions for my new image needs. After all, as they say in the movies, Hollywood can fix anything - or so they thought.

I was way too close to my situation to fix my image needs myself. My eyebrows look drawn on and flat. My eyes had no expression and the over-the-counter eyelashes look like small creatures had taken up residence on my eyelids. I was in a panic for the first time in my life and did not know where to turn. So I did the obvious - I looked to the national companies I had worked for. What a surprise the outcome of that decicion was! The long awaited appointment day arrived (nothing is immediate in Hollywood) and I was excited beyond words. I just knew I would leave the makeup studio a new woman and be able to live the rest of my life with my dignity. I arrived full of hope only to be told 'we're sorry, we only work on normal people, there is nothing we can do for someone like you'. I left feeling rejected & stunned. What was I going to do now?

I don't really remember driving home (not a good thing when you are driving on a ten-lane expressway) and truthfully, wasn't concerned about my or anyone elses safety at that point. I arrived in one piece with no visable damage, but my soul was crushed. The industry I had worked for and loved could not help anyone other than the normal people in the world. Limit's their market share, don't you think.

The next few years were a blur of depression, a zillion different treatments in the attempt to grow hair and living life with no dignity or self esteem. There is not one photograph from early alopecia years. I made a science of avoiding a camera. I continued to work, but always in the background and with my head hung very low. Eye contact with another person was not possible for me.

During a trip back to Kentucky, my best friend Debbie looked me straight in the eyes during lunch and said, "Holly, you scare me, I look into your eyes and there is no one there - where are you"?

It was at this point I vowed to recover personally and change the industry. So far, it has been a very rewarding and exciting battle. I have managed to make my niche' in the market place. Of course, the traditional over-the-counter franchise lines continue to cater to the beautiful and perfect people with products that are designed to adhere to the vellus facial hairs.

I am very proud to say that Holly Cosmetics and HollyCosmetics.Com have found and tested products that will adhere to the bare and slick skin of hair loss and burn survivors.

Application techniques also play an important part in the staying power of the products. In June 2008, my new book, STAR~Steps To Aesthetic Recovery will be available to help you with those techniques. Basic instructions are included with products purchased and on this site (feel free to print them out).

I hope that by sharing my personal experience I will be able to prevent you from having to experience the same depression I have - and honestly, still do sometimes. It may fade away at times, but always manages to find its way back into my life from time to time. At least now I know how to deal with it.

I also hope you realize you have found a "true friend" with the same image problems you may be experiencing. Together, we can get through this "perfect" image world we live in.

Holly

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