Metro Roundup: Alopecia Awareness Walk held in Vestavia Hills

Sandey Greene presented herself as a bit of a paradox at Vestavia Hills’ Wald Park on Sept. 17. She wore earrings that looked like hair-styling combs, which starkly contrasted her hairless head.

“It was intentional, because I used to have hair,” said Greene, who has alopecia, a lack or loss of hair from areas of the body where hair is usually found. “I'm bald because that was my choice. I shaved my hair because my hair was almost gone. I'm gonna still represent those (with alopecia) that have hair.”

Saturday, Greene, founder of Don’t Stare! Just Ask, held what is believed to be the first Alopecia Awareness Walk in metro Birmingham. More than 100 people were on hand for the event.

Some were bald. Some had hair. Some wore scarves while others wore wigs. All have known the embarrassment of having lost their hair. 

Some walked in support of loved ones who live with the condition.

Beyond spreading awareness of alopecia, Saturday’s walk provided support for the people who live with it.

“It's so important for people to support (persons with) any kind of disease or anything that's going on,” Greene said. “The support is awesome, to know that you're not the only one, that people stand with you.”

Greene, 54, says her alopecia journey began 22 years ago. After having had long, thick hair, the Forestdale resident experienced tenderness to the crown of her head and thinning hair. 

Ultimately, she made the tough decision to shave her head.

“I was always taught, ‘Don't cut your hair. A woman's hair is her glory,’” she recounted. “When I began to lose my hair, I became depressed. I was afraid of how people would perceive me if they see my head. For it to start coming out, it was just heartbreaking.”

Now, Greene experiences life differently.

“I'm free,” she said. “I'm free from the wigs, the weaves, the scarves, the braids, the hiding ... I became so depressed with all of that and now that I shaved my head, I'm so free. I don't have to worry about weaves and going to the hair salon. I go outside as I am and that's bald.”

Alopecia knows no age limit. West End’s Ivan Carter attended the walk with his daughter, 5-year-old Khoda Ivy Carter, who deals with the condition. 

She wore a shirt that read, “Bald Is Beautiful.”

“We had signs of her showing (alopecia), I believe, around 18 months going on 2 and then suffered complete hair loss,” the father said. “We've been dealing with it back and forth. She hasn't had any (hair) since about 3, 4 years old. 

“She does very well with it,” Carter continued. “We don't stress hair in our house. Beauty is bigger than just with what you look at. It's how you carry yourself and how you act each day.”

Not everyone who suffers with alopecia is bald, as Enetra Smith of Atlanta told the assembled crowd.

“I'm a part of your community, even though I've chose not to shave my head yet,” she said. “I'm still diagnosed with scarring alopecia.”

Greene acknowledged that many people heard about alopecia during the Academy Awards broadcast when host Chris Rock made a joke about the bald head of Jada Pinkett Smith, who has the condition.

Pinkett Smith’s husband Will Smith responded by slapping Rock.

“For me, (the incident) helped because some people know about alopecia because of the Jada Pinkett-Will Smith thing,” the walk organizer said. “Some people are very educated on it and some people are not. That's why we're bringing awareness to it.”

The founder of Don’t Stare! Just Ask brings that awareness with boldness, as evidenced by the word “Fearless” that she has tattooed at the top center of her back.

“I chose to get fearless on me because I have no more fear,” she said. “I have no more shame. I wanted it to have something on me that I can look at every day, so I chose to get the tattoo that says fearless.”