Hello!

I'm Holly, I'm 32 years old and I've had Alopecia since I was born!

Alopecia refers to hair loss from any part of the body for any reason. There are several types and causes of alopecia. Alopecia can look different in different people, some will experience thinning hair and others, like me, will end up with no hair at all!

Currently, there are no 'cures' for alopecia, but there are treatment options which can slow the rate of loss.

So anyway, this is what my hair looked like when I was a baby ⬇️

I was born with a big patch of hair loss, and this patch has never, ever grown back. Obviously, as an infant I don't have a recollection of what this felt like.

By the time I was 6 years old, all the hair on my head had fallen out.

For a few years, I was totally okay rocking my bald head. I had some great friends at school who were really accepting and supportive. When I was in Grade 1, however, I started feeling like having hair was important to me. I saw all my friends gorgeous long hair and I wanted to be like them. When you're a kid, you just want to fit in with your friends. You don't always want to stand out. And I was sick of being 'that bald girl'.

Look, 32 year old Holly has a lot of different thoughts on this. Today I'm much more accepting of my differences. Being 'the bald girl' doesn't bother me nearly as much as it did when I was a kid. But, that's not why we're here today. Today, we're here to talk about my journey with wearing wigs and ultimately how I found the best wig ever.

1. My First EVER Wig

My parents bought my first ever wig for me when I was 6 years old. Boy, was I excited to have HAIR for the first time ever. Remember, this was over 20 years ago. We definitely didn't have the types of wig options we have today. We had ONE wig store in our city, and it was mostly for costume wigs. Luckily for me, one of our local hairdressers also stocked wigs occasionally, so he helped me to source my wigs.

Obviously, I was super excited to finally have my own hair, but this wig was far from perfect. Wigs weren't made for me. Wigs for kids were so hard to find. They weren't designed a) for children, or, b) for people with no hair at all. So it was incredibly itchy, uncomfortable and not secure.

But hey, I had hair, I was happy.

2. Wig #2

Another thing about the wigs I wore growing up is that they didn't last very long. The quality wasn't great, so neither was the longevity. This meant I had to get a new wig a LOT.

This was the next week I got. I wasn't *thrilled* about this wig. The colour was okay (I should mention, I have two sisters, both with blonde hair, so I just wanted to fit in with my family), but the style was TERRIBLE. The up-do style you see in this photo is the ONLY way it could be worn. I couldn't wear it down. I couldn't change the part line. I could ONLY wear it like this.

3. Eeeek I Hated This Wig

This wig was... gosh, I don't even want to talk about it. Remember, I'm rocking up to school with my two blonde sisters, wearing THIS. I literally felt like the black sheep. This was the only option my wig supplier had, so I had to run with it. I was around 10 years old at this time and this wig wasn't me at all. And it was SO itchy. I couldn't wait to get home from school each day and rip this thing off my head.

4. A Wig I Actually Liked

I was so freaking happy when I FINALLY got this new wig. Compared to my last wig, it was BEAUTIFUL. I was finally a blonde girl like my sisters.

Of course, the wigs are was wearing didn't have a lace-front (heck, I didn't even know what a lace-front was at this point). So, I needed to have these bangs cut into the front to make it look realistic on me.

The hair quality wasn't great, the fit was alright and it still itched like hell, but wow, I was SO excited to finally be wearing a hair colour that felt like me.

5. My First 'Adult' Wig

This was the first wig I wore as an 'adult'. I had to back to brunette, as there were no blonde options available. This was a time where I was becoming really conscious of my wigs. I was desperate for them to look realistic and I was so over the uncomfortable caps. But hey, I didn't have any other options, so I went with it.

This wig was okay, definitely not a favourite.

6. My Wedding Hair

Okay, let me tell you the story of the wig I wore for my wedding. As I mentioned, I was DONE with bad wigs. I wanted something ultra-realistic and comfortable. My wedding was coming up, so I thought it was time for a new wig. I had PLENTY of time to plan ahead. I ordered my wedding wig (from my local stylist, as I had with all my wigs) months and months before the actual date. It was meant to arrive with plenty of time for me to try it on before the big day.

I told my stylist I wanted a light brunette, almost honey blonde colour wig. He said, 'No problem'.

Although I thought my wig was going to arrive much before my wedding, my stylist said there was some delays. So I waited. He promised it would be there a week before the day. It wasn't. Turns out the wig didn't arrive until THE DAY BEFORE my wedding. I was freaking out.

I arrived at my stylist to pick up my wig.... IT. WAS. BLACK. What??? I was NOT happy. He tried his very best to fix it by adding in blonde highlights...but it just turned into a tiger striped black and yellow piece. UGH.

No shade to my stylist... he tried his best, and to be fair ordering wigs back then was a huge gamble. Anyway... this is the wig I ended up with.

7. The Wig Journey Continues....

Next, I got my first 'lace-front' wig. This wig had a (kinda) realistic lace-front which made it look like the hair was growing out of my scalp. For me, this meant FINALLY no more bangs! However, this wig was synthetic hair... so it could ONLY do this style. It was so much shorter than the wigs I wore before, so I really didn't love it. It definitely didn't feel like 'me'.

This was also one of THE most uncomfortable wigs I had worn. I was so ready to find a good wig.

8. A Wig That Fit!

Finally, I got a wig that actually fit me! This wig was custom-made for my head shape. It took sooooo long to finally arrive to me, but when it finally arrived I was SO happy. Because it was custom-made for my head, it was super secure and alsmost vaccum-sealed to my head.

But, of course this wig came with downsides. It didn't have a lace-front, so it didn't look very realistic on me. The cap itself was hard (almost like a helmet) so it definitely wasn't comfortable. Due to the cap material (it's like rubber), it meant that as soon as I got sweaty, the wig would slip off.

9. THE BEST WIG EVER!!!

Drumroll please for the best wigs I've ever worn..... LUSTA! Surprise, surprise, my Lusta wigs are the best wigs I've ever put on my head.

Why? Well, I had a huge hand in designing them! I met Kimberly (the owner of Lusta) through a facebook group for women with hair loss. We ended up becoming really good friends.

Kimberly asked me whether I would come on board at Lusta and help design Lusta Wigs. Um?? YES PLEASE!

I don't think Kim knew what she was getting into because when it came to designing these wigs, I was a perfectionist. Nothing but the best would do.

They needed to be...

• Super secure (I wanted to go on a roller coaster and not have my wig budge)
• Comfortable to wear all day everyday
• Ultra realistic (that meant incredible lace-fronts and flat cap design)
• Light-weight and breathable
• No glue or adhesives required for wearing them
• Able to be styled however I wanted
• Made with the BEST quality hair

And... I did it!

Lusta wigs are out of this world. If I had these options growing up, I think I would have been a much more confident person. I spent so much time worried about my wigs that I didn't have time to worry about working on myself.

Lusta has unlocked a whole new level of life for me. I feel so confident. I feel so happy. I feel so free.

That's what a good wig can do.