Hair Care

What It's Really Like to Lose Your Hair in Your 20s

When she went completely bald at 26, it was other people's reactions that she struggled with the most

by Laura Zinger, as told to Emily Woodruff, Andrea Jordan | 2 COMMENTS

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Choosing Wigs Wisely What's really interesting about wearing wigs is how people treat you differently depending on your hair color. When I wore blonde wigs, I got hit on a lot, especially if the wig was long. It got to the point where I would purposely not wear a blonde wig if I was going someplace where there would be a lot of men, because it just got obnoxious. I lent the long blonde wig to my cousin one day, and someone leaned out of a window and shouted, "whore!" at her.

One time I wore a really short white wig, and the reactions I got were insane. I think a lot of strippers must wear this wig or something, because men were leaning out of cars and shouting at me, which is not an everyday occurrence for me. Finally, I realized -- it's the wig!

Women, on the other hand, treated me more coldly as a blonde. It was interesting to see the reactions to hair color and length, but also it made me sad. Women are treated very differently based on what they look like.

Photo by Michelle Kaffko, courtesy Laura Zinger

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