A man’s perspective on alopecia in women:
When I was younger, I thought that no man would really be able to love me because of my alopecia. When I got my first boyfriend people would say “Oh, you’re so lucky you’ve found a man who loves you even though you have no hair” and my heart would sink. Today, the story is much different and I have a man who is proud of my appearance and my journey to get here. My name is Sheridan and I have Alopecia Universalis. My partner’s name is Andres and this is his perspective on my Alopecia.
In the 4 and a half years we’ve been together, Andres has immersed himself in understanding the experiences of other people and my own. When we were asked about how it affects him emotionally he said: “I don’t think that I struggle with Sheridan not having hair. What I struggle with the most is how it makes her feel sometimes. It’s difficult to see when she’s hurt because it isn’t her fault. Sometimes it’s hard for me to support her because she needs me to understand alopecia to a level that someone who doesn’t have it cant understand. Sometimes what she needs is to speak with someone who DOES have alopecia. ”
“One time I got in an Uber and was chatting driver about Sheridan. The diver asked to see a picture of her and when she saw Sheridan didn’t have hair, she said: Oh, she is very pretty, but isn’t it difficult to be with someone without hair? doesn’t she feel down all the time?’ and I said, “Sometimes she can have her days but it’s not like she’s depressed all the time, I love her and just like you said, she is very pretty”.
When we have alopecia, for some people it can be really hard to find love, and confidence and feel connected to your romantic partner. I’ve learnt that the best thing you can do when you’re grieving your hair/identity/appearance is to ask your partner for what you need and try to understand each other. After that, the best thing you can do is work on your own self-love and owning your confidence and BEAUTY that radiates from the inside. I’ve never met a man to say that I’m not attractive because of my hair – quite the opposite. I attribute this to the confidence I’ve created from the inside.
Andres’ advice to those in relationships who are supporting someone with alopecia would be to approach everything with curiosity and never assume what could or couldn’t be important to your partner. Don’t assume that because they got out bald doesn’t mean they won’t care if they lose their eyelashes – that’s a mistake I made and now I see how important it was to Sheridan. Try not to assume how they’re feeling – just ask.
The words above were recently published in Bald Life Magazine and inspired by your amazing feedback, Andres and I have FINALLY done a Q and A.