Alopecia Areata: Faith, Hair, and A Girl (#4)

Yesterday the girl asked me to help her dye her hair. Her long, thick, takes-two-boxes-to-even-hope-to-change-the-color kind of hair. Why she wants to change it is beyond me, but I guess she is like any other girl, myself included. We lightened it up a bit back in the summer. She wanted to try to go a little lighter (aka blonder) "just for a while, Mom." So we armed ourselves with old shirts, old towels, plastic gloves, and went to work. I didn't look at the clock to see what time we started, but by the time I wrapped her head in plastic, I was completely worn out. My goodness, that girl has a lot of hair.

She asked me a while back if I was ever going to write anymore about her and her hair. I wonder if this counts. There's not a whole lot more I can add to the hair story (click on the alopecia areata label at the bottom of this post if you have no idea what I'm talking about). I mean, her hair was there and then it wasn't and then it was. As I had my fingers in that head of hair yesterday, though, that same familiar feeling crept up from somewhere deep inside.

Please don't ever let that happen again.

She told me last week that she was losing some eyelashes. It wasn't so much of a statement, however; it was more of a question. I could see that look in her eye that was seeking reassurance. An answer. Do you think it's that again, Mom? She didn't speak those words, but they were there just under the thinly veiled surface. At least they were to me. I have to admit, that is always in the back of my mind. I gave her the first answer that popped into my head.

It's probably from washing off your eye make-up. I'm guessing you're not very gentle.

She smiled and sighed and said I was probably right. The girl doesn't wear much make-up at all, but she is a self-taught expert on the virtues of mascara. She can tell you which little tube will give you the most bang for your buck and provide detailed instructions on how to properly apply the black goop. She is all girl. So we settled on that explanation and moved on and talked about other things.

I'm telling you, though, I watch that girl's head like a hawk, probably more than she knows. There have been times when I have noticed a little receding of the hairline taking place. For instance, the husband and I both saw it again about four years ago after we moved and our beloved grandma died. Although not much is known about this unexplained hair loss, stress is believed to be some sort of a trigger. All I know to do is not make a big deal out of it and speak the same scripture from the second part of Nahum 1:9... this affliction shall not rise up a second time.

What more can you do? And what more can you say?
Her hair is beautiful, but her true beauty lies within. That's all any of us can hope for.