What It’s Like To Start Losing Your Hair At 23

It was a routine Target visit, the kind where you go in thinking “just toilet paper and mascara” and next thing you know you’re in the dressing room with a stack of 20 items. I was working my way through a pile of prospects when I first noticed a perfectly round and smooth hairless patch—probably just larger than a half dollar—at the crown of my head.

I’ve always loved my thick brown hair, so at first I thought that my eyes were fooling me. I called out to my friend to investigate closer, and she confirmed I was not hallucinating—I had, in fact, developed quite the bald spot.

In the moments after, I experienced a wave of emotions. I felt horrified, betrayed by my body, embarrassed to have not realized what was happening on my own head and a superficial shame that I no longer had what I always thought was beautiful hair.

After the initial shock passed, I was left with questions: What is happening? And why? I called hairdresser friends. I consulted the internet. I tried my best not to stress about my baldie (my nickname for the patch), which was easier said than done. For the month of searching for answers, I stopped wearing my hair down and adopted hairstyles to camouflage it—lots of half-ponytails and ballerina buns.

Find out more about how premature balding occurs and its quickest solution at Coveteur.