Today we’d like to introduce you to Tisa Jackson.
Tisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve lived with Alopecia most of my life. Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system goes haywire and attacks body organs and systems, impairing their functions, for example, the pancreas inability to produce insulin in a person with type 1 diabetes, the mobility of joints in someone with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and people who suffer with gluten allergies suffer from Celiac disease where the immune system attacks the small intestines, and in my case my immune system confuses my hair follicles as intruders and snuffs them out resulting in loss of hair. The list of autoimmune diseases is lengthy and affects 23.5 million Americans and 80% are women! My mother took me to see a dermatologist, and it was he who diagnosed me with Alopecia Areata at the age of eight. Immediately my treatment started first using Ultra Violet light therapy, creams and eventually steroid injections into my scalp. Ultimately the steroid injections proved to be the most effective. My hair grew back and we thought we were done with Alopecia, little did we know that this disease would be a part of me for the rest of my life.
Oddly, I really don’t have memories of being bullied or being made fun of or even feeling sad about it in elementary school. Alopecia was just something that I had and fortunately, my mother could do a mean comb over! You would think during high school it would have made me somewhat of a shrinking violet but it didn’t. Not only was I a cheerleader 9-12 grades, but captain and co-captain for the various squads as well! I remember one day one of the basketball players calling me baldy, and yes, it did hurt my feelings but I suffered that in silence. It did not occur to me to shy away from cheering my team onto championships, even the name calling knucklehead was a recipient of my team spirit, Go Cougars! Now, that’s not to say that I was running around the school halls content about my condition, but it did teach me how to work with and take care of what hair I did have. It wasn’t until recent years that I really began to absorb the ideas of inflammation and the immune system.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth and rough has been my journey. I would always be on the lookout for the tell tale sign of a smooth clean bald spot because if there was one more would surely follow and then I’d make an appointment with my dermatologist for steroid shots. The thing is that when I would lose my hair before the age of 50 it would always grow back. I think menopause has had a great deal to do with my alopecia areata progressing to alopecia universalis which is total hair loss all over my body.
The hardest part of this new diagnosis is wrapping my mind around the fact that my hair may never grow back. A turning point for me was when I was out shopping for a dress for an event and I looked at my reflection and thought, what’s the use you are still bald? I used to wear a cotton cap and it did not add anything to the outfit or overall look. Well in that next moment, I had an epiphany which was this was not going to be me. I had to find a way to embrace this new me, ’cause I still had some sexy left! I looked like a muppet in wigs and menopause would not allow me to wear my little knit caps in the Georgia heat.
One day I was in the beauty supply store looking for nail polish and noticed packets of tattoos and thought why not? I did one metallic gold tattoo down the back center of my head, and I wore all white. My husband took me to see Gregory Porter in concert and you could not tell me that I wasn’t cute. You could literally feel the stares and hear the whispers. I really don’t know what was said and I really didn’t care, it felt so good not to be hiding under a hat and it was my decision as bold as it was. The rest is history!
What else should our readers know?
I started my blog www.tresslesstisa.com to share my story because I thought it could be relevant to others.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Currently, I’m working on a children’s story about Alopecia.
Contact Info:
- Email: tjack6114@gmail.com; tresslesstisa@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Cat Harper Photography
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