Alopecia sufferer to contest Miss America crown this weekend
http://www.hair123.co.uk/articles/articles/98/1/Alopecia-sufferer-to-contest-Miss-America-crown-this-weekend/Page1.html
Susan Whitford
Susan Whitford has twelve years experience as a health and beauty journalist in the United Kingdom. Susan has worked as a staff writer and features editor on a number of consumer magazines. By Susan Whitford
Published on 18th January, 2011
Among the beauty queens vying for the title of Miss America at the national pageant this weekend will be the first ever finalist who suffers from hair loss condition, alopecia areata.
Among the beauty queens vying for the title of Miss America at the national pageant this weekend will be the first ever finalist who suffers from hair loss condition, alopecia areata.
Kayla Martell earned her place in the finals when she won the title of Miss Delaware last year. She claimed the title despite having suffered from the condition - which causes her hair to constantly fall out - since the age of 13.
She fought for her original title on a platform of raising awareness of the condition, and she hopes that just taking part in the national competition will broaden the knowledge of the condition across the whole of the US.
While Kayla usually dispenses with wigs in favour of embracing her baldness, she will be wearing one of a selection of custom-made wigs she owns during the finals. "I'm still getting used to long hair so we'll style it away from my face with big curls," she said.
She said her journey to the final of the competition marks the culmination of a dream she has held since long before the alopecia took hold. My mom took me on a date to watch the Miss America pageant when I was four years old," she says. "So just being here is a dream come true for me."
Kayla Martell earned her place in the finals when she won the title of Miss Delaware last year. She claimed the title despite having suffered from the condition - which causes her hair to constantly fall out - since the age of 13.
She fought for her original title on a platform of raising awareness of the condition, and she hopes that just taking part in the national competition will broaden the knowledge of the condition across the whole of the US.
While Kayla usually dispenses with wigs in favour of embracing her baldness, she will be wearing one of a selection of custom-made wigs she owns during the finals. "I'm still getting used to long hair so we'll style it away from my face with big curls," she said.
She said her journey to the final of the competition marks the culmination of a dream she has held since long before the alopecia took hold. My mom took me on a date to watch the Miss America pageant when I was four years old," she says. "So just being here is a dream come true for me."