Alopecia areata is an auto-immune disease where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys hair follicles, disrupts normal hair growth, and results in a partial to complete loss of hair.
The disease most often affects the scalp, but may occur on any part of the body where there is hair growth, and varies in degrees and frequency.
Alopecia areata affects about 1.7% of the population overall, including more than 5 million people in the United States alone, according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
Some women, like Chassin, start out with patches on the back of their head. Cortisone injections into the scalp where the patch is located often cause hair to grow back there, only to begin falling out in a different location.
With long, beautiful hair she was very attached to, Chassin was faced with an incredible challenge when she lost all her hair, her eyebrows and her eyelashes.
“For a woman, losing your hair is like losing a part of yourself, your femininity,” she said. “There’s a very deep sense of grieving and loss. Other people identify us by our hair.”
Chassin went to a few support group meetings for men, women and children with alopecia areata, before deciding to start her own group — for women only.
She believed women needed a more intimate, social setting where they could share thoughts, feelings and ideas, which is why her meetings involve lunch.
“Friends and family mean well, but it’s a relief to talk to someone in the same situation and get tips on living openly and happily with this condition,” Chassin said.
For Chassin and many of the other women she meets at the lunches she attends, hair has become as much of an accessory as jewelry, makeup and clothing.
