Empresses, I have a question for you today. 👀 Before alopecia became part of your story, who were you when nobody was asking about your hair? Not your job. Not your titles. Not who everybody needed you to be. YOU. Maybe you were bold, quiet, hilarious, adventurous, creative, soft, outspoken, private, the friend everybody called, or the woman still figuring herself out. Hair loss can change so much about how we see ourselves that sometimes we start talking as though the woman before alopecia disappeared. But what if she didn’t? What if some parts of her are still there, some parts have grown, and some parts of you could only be discovered through what came next? WHEW. 👀 So let’s talk, Squad. Finish these two sentences: Before alopecia, I was __________. Now, I’m discovering that I am __________. And your second answer does NOT have to sound inspirational. 😂 Maybe you are stronger. Maybe softer. Maybe more honest. Maybe less concerned with pleasing everybody. Maybe still figuring it out. Tell the truth about YOUR version. I’ll go first in the comments👇 ❦ Sometimes the woman beneath the bald isn’t someone new. Sometimes she is someone you are finally getting to know.

SEPTEMBER IS ALOPECIA AWARENESS MONTH Empresses, this month is personal. Alopecia Awareness Month is about more than bringing attention to hair loss. It is about bringing attention to the women living the experience—because alopecia does not look the same, feel the same, or mean the same thing to every woman. Some of us are bald. Some are thinning. Some have patches. Some wear wigs, wraps, protective styles, or our remaining hair. Some are still fighting for regrowth, while others have made peace with letting that fight go. And some days, we may feel completely confident while other days still get all in our business. There is room for ALL of it here. So this month, I want us to do more than raise awareness about alopecia. I want us to make the women beneath the hair loss more visible, their stories, emotions, choices, questions, victories, hard days, humor, beauty, and everything else that makes them WHOLE. 💬 Squad, tell me in the comments: What is ONE thing you wish more people understood about living with alopecia? Your answer may be exactly what another Empress needs to hear.

Aloha and happy Monday, Empresses! I have a question for you this morning, and I don’t want you to overthink it. If you could sit across from the woman you are becoming for five minutes, what is ONE thing you would make sure she knows? Not what she needs to accomplish. Not how she needs to look. Not everything she needs to fix before she can feel proud of herself. What would you want her to remember about who she is? I think we spend so much time talking to ourselves about what needs to happen next that we rarely consider what we might need to hear from ourselves along the way. Maybe you would tell her, “Stop second-guessing every decision.” Maybe it’s, “You are allowed to change your mind.” Maybe, “Please don’t disappear trying to keep everybody else comfortable.” Or maybe yours would simply be, “Girl, you are doing better than you think.” 😂💛 That is exactly why I created 💌 A Letter to the Woman I’m Becoming inside our Beneath the Bald: A 13-Week Journey classroom. It gives you space to write privately to yourself about what you understand now, what you want to protect, what deserves room in your life, and what you want to remember when doubt gets loud again. And no, you do not have to share your letter with us. Some things belong in the Squad. Some things belong between you and you. 💬 MONDAY SQUAD QUESTION: If your future self were sitting across from you right now, what is one sentence you would tell her? Drop your sentence below if you feel comfortable sharing. Then, when you have a little quiet time, go into the classroom and write the rest of the letter. 💌 ➡️ Classroom: 💌 A Letter to the Woman I’m Becoming Open the Baldie Brigade Squad classroom page. ❦ Some words aren’t meant for the world. They’re meant to make sure you don’t lose yourself along the way.

Aloha and happy Friday, Empresses! Before we close out the week, I want to leave you with a little Alopecia Education Friday because sometimes the simplest facts can change the way we understand our own experiences and someone else’s. Alopecia simply means hair loss, and it can show up very differently from one woman to another. For some, it may look like thinning or changes in density. For others, it may mean patches, a receding hairline, loss in certain areas, or complete hair loss. Some women may experience regrowth. Others may continue navigating changes over time. That is why I want us to be careful about assuming we know someone’s alopecia story just by looking at her. The woman wearing a wig has an alopecia story. The woman with thinning edges has one. The woman wearing a wrap has one. The woman with patches has one. And yes, the bald woman has one too. Different hair journeys. Different choices. Same right to be seen and respected. 💬 Friday Squad Question: What is ONE thing you wish more people understood about alopecia or hair loss? Drop it below. Let’s teach each other something before we head into the weekend. 🦚 ❦ Education creates awareness. Understanding changes how we treat people.