A Woman With Alopecia Proves You Aren't Defined By Your Hair

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A Woman With Alopecia Proves You Aren't Defined By Your Hair

The Frost Collective

A woman has proved people shouldn't be defined by their hair when she took off her wig for her engagement photos.

Mackenzie Meaux suffers from Alopecia, an incurable condition, where the immune system attacks hair follicles, leaving the recipient completely hairless.

"Nothing else is wrong with the body other than hair will not grow which as you can imagine for a young girl, is a huge confidence killer. A women's hair is their beauty and a main part of their self image. I experienced lots of bullying in the early years and along the way I lost all hope that I could ever feel beautiful again," she wrote on The Frost Collective.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with the disease at the age of eight, and has been wearing a wig ever since. However, during her engagement photo shoot with her fiance, Bryan, Meaux decided to take off her wig.

Meaux cites her relationship with Bryan for giving her the confidence to be her authentic self.

"I have never felt more confident or more beautiful than I do with him by my side," Meaux said. He has helped me be brave and realize that hair is not what makes you beautiful and is not what makes people love you, it is truly all about what's on the inside and for that I am forever grateful for him."

"He has shown me that the people who love you do not care whether or not you have hair and the ones who do are not worth your time or your love. So this is me, the true me," she added.

According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, approximately 6.8 million people in the United States, and 147 million worldwide have or will develop the disease at some point in their lives.

With Meaux's bravery in her photo shoot, she is normalizing Alopecia and giving confidence to those who may be insecure with their own condition.

Maya has been working at Shared for a year. She just begrudgingly spent $200 on a gym membership. Contact her at maya@shared.com