It’s Friday night in Greenville and ECU students are getting ready to head downtown for a night of fun.

Guys are wrapping up their pregame activities, while girls are adding the final touches to their make up.

But for rising sophomore Emily Hume her routine last year had one extra step—putting on her wig.

No, she does not have cancer and no, she did not have a hairdresser mess up her hair.

Hume has lived with alopecia areata since she was 13-years-old.

According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation or the NAAF, alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles. Onset often occurs in childhood.

In the seventh grade Hume was getting a haircut, when the hairdresser noticed several quarter-sized spots of missing hair on the back of her head.

She was soon diagnosed as having alopecia areata.

According to the NAAF, there is no cure for alopecia as doctors are unsure as to what is the exact cause, but there are multiple treatments that can signal follicle growth.

“You can treat it and that’s what I did for a long time,” said Hume. “You can take different steroid shots or put topicals on it, but [alopecia] will never completely go away. For a long time, it was a roller coaster. My hair would fall out and come back, fall out and come back, but it wouldn’t really fully fill out.”

For the next few years, Hume struggled to hide the missing patches while living the life of a normal teenage girl.

“I would part my hair different ways to hide the spots because they weren’t that huge,” said Hume. “But as a girl, your hair is your identity. No matter what anyone says if you have a bad hair day you’re in a bad mood. In high school I was a cheerleader, but when I had frontal loss I couldn’t wear my hair the same as everyone else. I had to try and hide it.”

By her junior year of high school, her eyebrows had fallen out and she was having to draw them in daily.

“At the time I had all my hair, so my eyebrows were the biggest burden I had,” said Hume.  “When people first look at you, they see your eyes and then your eyebrows. I drew mine on, but if I would sweat or something I had to worry about my eyebrow coming off.”

That same year she had her eyebrows permanently tattooed on.

“At first you have the idea that they are going to be dark and really scary looking,” said Hume. “But they aren’t. That was the best decision I ever made and I will go to my grave saying that.”

The summer before her freshman year at ECU the majority of Hume’s hair fell out and she made the decision to get her first wig.

It seemed that a wig was the answer she had been looking for, but hiding her disease away from home came with new challenges.

She told her roommate about her secret, but choose not to tell others on her hall.

“I would wear a towel on my head to the shower and back, so the people on my hall didn’t know,” said Hume.

When she made the decision to go through formal recruitment in the fall, she was nervous about having other girls find out about her wig.

“I wore my wig through recruitment and I got so many compliments on it,” said Hume. “They’d say ‘I love your hair, it’s so perfect,’ but I just had this gut feeling—this is not me. They loved something that is not actually mine.”

After receiving her bid to Zeta Tau Alpha, Hume decided to come clean with her new sisters.

“I was crying and I said ‘this isn’t mine, I don’t even have hair.’ Everyone still loved me the same,” said Hume.

She also faced numerous obstacles in doing everyday things with her friends in the effort to keep her secret.

She couldn’t go swimming. She couldn’t participate in 5k races. She couldn’t even stand outside in the rain for fear of someone noticing her hair was repelling water.

“Wigs change your life,” said Hume. “You can’t do the things everyone else can. You can’t do the fun things you want to do, because you’re constantly wondering is someone going to realize this is a wig or not. It was more of a burden than a help.”

They also come with a hefty price tag. Synthetic wigs can cost upwards of $500, but wigs made with real hair can cost anywhere from $800 to $3,000.

These challenges had Hume reexamining her decision to wear a wig.

Hume said her parents told her they would continue to buy wigs for her if that was her decision, but Hume had other plans.

On May 20 Hume took off her wig for the last time.

“I had been thinking about it for a while,” said Hume. “I was so concerned with how people were going to take it. It may sound dumb, but this is the time in your life where you meet your husband and your lifelong friends, the people who are in it for the long haul, but I don’t want to be worried about how those people look at me.”

She decided her summer in Texas would be the perfect time to become accustomed to going in public without her wig.

One of the first times she went out without her wig, she was approached by a older woman. The woman told Hume she was beautiful and said that her daughter who has down syndrome also lives with alopecia.

“Now that I don’t wear my wig I have people come up to me and it’s refreshing, because it’s not something you expect people to react well to,” said Hume.

Hume said her confidence has improved since she stopped wearing her wig.

“I was down in the dumps for a long time. I was scared for anyone to find out about all of this,” said Hume. “I wanted to avoid the questions like ‘why don’t you have any hair.’ That’s how i dealt with it—I hid from it. But honestly God made me this way.”

Hume is excited to return to ECU in the fall without her wig. She said she knows people will be taken aback when they see her, but she is prepared for their reactions.

“People are going to be mean because people are mean, but it says more about other people’s character than it does mine,” said Hume. “The confidence I’m gaining now from going without my wig is honestly going to help in the fall.”

Hume says her ultimate goal is to write a book about her struggles with self confidence. She wants to help others find confidence like she was able to find hers.

“I want to help people realize it’s not about your appearance, your hair, or what you wear,” said Hume. “There is something to be said about a smile. It’s not the end of the word that I don’t have hair. I’m the way I’m supposed to be.”

(1) comment

Sjcg123

suivre un envoi
huarache sneakers
Discount Air Max
Hugo Boss Sale
Oakley Sunglasses Cheap
Jordan Store
moncler jacket sale
Adidas Superstar
nike joggesko
Nike Air Huarache For Sale
Cheap Air Max Trainers
Moncler Outlet Online
Nike Roshe Run Sale
nike sneakers
Scarpe Air Max
air force one pas cher
ugg clearance
Official Toms Shoes Outlet
Doudoune Moncler Site Officiel
canada goose jackets on sale
cheap uggs for women
Ray ban sale online
Vans Black Sneakers
newest lebron shoes
nike mercurial soccer cleats
Nike Air Max Cheap
Nike Pas Cher Femme
hogan scontate
Boutique Ugg
toms sale
Canada goose dam
converse store
Timberland Outlet
retro jordans for cheap
scarpe hogan outlet
Michael Kors Clearance
Cheap Michael Kors
Nike Air Pas Cher
Doudoune Moncler Pas Cher
Pandora Store Sale
Canada Goose Outlet
Air max levně
cheap nike air max
Toms Outlet Online
Boost Yeezy Sale On Line
23 IS BACK Store
new yeezy shoes
Adidas Superstar Sale Online
Air Max Femme
Coach Bags On Sale
Adidas Neo Discount Sale
fitflops sale uk
nike air jordan pas cher
chaussure basket homme
Canada Goose Womens Coats
womens nike air max
goedkope nike air max
Nike Shox discount Sale
Michael Kors Outlet
nike schuhe günstig
nike sportschuhe
Descuentos Nike
Nike Zapatos
Air Max Sneakers
Discount TOMS
adidas store
Canada Goose Outlet
pandora outlet store
Original Ugg Boots
ugg store
Cheap Michael Kors Tote Bag
zapatillas running
Michael Kors Handbags Discount
Kobe Shoes Nike
Nike Factory Store
Negozi Pandora
TOMS OUTLET
Nike Online Store
günstige nike schuhe
Ugg Pas Cher Femme
Jordan Schoenen
Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher
Chaussure Nike Air Max Pas Cher
Nike Air Sneakers
coach factory outlet online
christian louboutin outlet
ADIDAS NMD SALE ON LINE
Nike Shox Cheap
Pandora Official Website
Toms Factory Outlet
Michael Kors
Soccer Boots Outlet nike
reebok running shoes
Uggs Pas Cher Soldes
Adidas Shoes Discount Marketplace
chaussures nike pas cher
botas de futbol
pandora jewelry store
nike shoes
Air Max Kopen
Hogan Outlet
Moncler Jackets Discount Marketplace
Yeezy Boost Sale Online
Adidas Originals Stan Smith
Air Max 90
Yeezy Men
canada goose jacket outlet
nike jordan shoes
TOMS For Sale
ugg factory outlet
zapatos de futbol nike
nike air max running shoes
Jordan Shoes Air
Ugg Pas Cher En France
Doudoune Moncler Femme Pas Cher
Chaussure Air Max
Ray Ban Sunglasses Online
Nike Air Damen
pandora beads
Nike Shoes Discount Marketplace
Nike Soccer Cleats Boots
Moncler Outlet Store
nike air
Ugg Outlet Online Store
adidas outlet
zapatillas nike baratas
Uggs For Cheap
UGG BOOTS FOR WOMEN
nike tn pas cher
Air Nike
prada outlet
toms shoes outlet
new pandora charms
Air Max Pas Cher
Yeezy Shoes Discount Marketplace
new jordan releases
chaussure Nike homme
Nike Outlet
Air max dam
louboutin heels
Bottes Ugg Femme Pas Cher
Ray-Ban Official Discounted Site
Ugg boots Sale
scarpe nike
Adidas Originals Superstar
Nike Air 90
Nike Shoes Sale Store
longchamp bags on sale
TOMS SHOES OUTLET
Yeezy Black
Pandora Store
Stone Island Outlet
official NHL jerseys
Nike Air Women
abercrombie and fitch store
Jordan Sneakers For Sale
vans shoe store
Moncler Sale
billige nike sko
Nike Store
zapatilla adidas
Pandora Store
Boty Nike Air
Air Jordan Retro Sale
cheap uggs
nfl store
Cheap Toms Outlet Store
Nike Air Max Goedkoop
Nike Air Jordan 11
Cheap Toms Shoes Outlet
nike sb stefan janoski
Sjcg0418

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.