RARE tales

Laura joins our Rare Tales alumni Renee and Sarah who took part in the project previously. Telling the stories of beautiful and rare participants Rare Tales is a twist on the classic fairy tales that we all know and love. Laura as Alice, Sarah as Belle and Renee as Little Red Riding Hood. Each brings their own character to life, portraying beauty, resilience and grace.

Dress: Twisted Wunder Janice Heart Dress

£60.00

Sizes 10 to 28 www.simplybe.co.uk

“I think the biggest thing I would want someone going through alopecia to know is that there’s no right way or wrong way to deal with hair loss or any kind of visible difference. Yes, if you want to wear a wig, that’s great, but I really wish I didn’t feel like that was my only option.”

Laura Mathias was just 13 when she started losing her hair due to alopecia. As a teenager this affected her greatly and she began to withdraw socially. Laura worried about interacting and answering questions about her sudden change of appearance from her peers.

“I refused to leave the house when I started losing my hair, I wasn’t dealing with it. I didn’t give other people the opportunity to reject me, or get it wrong in how they were going to talk to me about very quickly becoming a bald girl. I didn’t go to school for six months, and that was just from the fear of how people were going to respond to me.”

Through wearing a wig Laura found solace and avoided looking different to other girls her age, but eczema on her head made it uncomfortable to wear.

“I took the decision to shave what was remaining of my hair, which was not much, and get a wig. I felt that was what I needed. If I could look like everyone else, to the best of my ability, with this oversize, very uncomfortable wig, that would allow me to get back to school.”

She continued to wear the wig through university but found it a daunting task to reveal to others that she had alopecia and was bald.

“Being a bald woman, especially when I was wearing a wig, I used to take the approach that it was like a big secret that I had to reveal to friends or potential romantic partners as a trust test. I thought there was the risk that once I told someone that I was bald, they might reject me. Looking back now as a 31-year-old, I am furious with myself to think I would ever put myself in a situation where I would allow someone to reject me.”

As she grew older she began to see more and more inspiring people on social media who lived with differences and embraced them.

“The first thing for me to accept my alopecia was reaching out to a community on social media. I needed to see it to imagine I could do it. I found charities like Face Equality International, Changing Faces and Alopecia UK very inspiring. I found individuals just willing to put themselves out there and show that they were happy, healthy and bald. For me, seeing in someone else how beautiful they were, despite their visible differences, made me think ‘Why can’t I see that when I look in the mirror’?”

During the lockdown, and feeling no need to wear a wig every day, Laura decided to work towards embracing her differences. In June 2020 she posted her first selfie without a wig on her social media and was delighted by the positive responses she received from those who lived with alopecia and other differences. This set her on a quest to help others to embrace their uniqueness and be proud of their own appearance.

Through campaigning and highlighting the stories of those living with alopecia

Laura continues to start conversations about what is seen as beautiful in society today. She believes that embracing the stories of those with alopecia and putting them in the public spotlight can help society to accept people’s differences.

“I believe if you’re living in a world where around you, you’re not seeing yourself reflected, you think that you’re different. You think that you’re wrong, and it’s a lonely way to be. So, curating my own social media feed, and choosing to follow people that are actively embracing visible difference has been the trigger for me to start doing it myself. Those role models are the reason that I’m able to sit here and talk to you now without my wig on.”

Despite championing living without a wig, she still feels the pressures of society. She believes that the more accepting society is of people’s differences, the less pressure there will be on those with facial differences to conform to old stereotypes.

“There are still days were walking out of my front door without a wig on feels like climbing a mountain. That might not make sense to lots of people who see me on social media posting bald selfies, but social media is a different thing, it feels safer. For me, social media is behind a lens, and I’m in control of my image. It’s walking down the high street in my small town that can feel overwhelmingly scary some days.”

Through public speaking and social media, Laura continues to inspire individuals and champion those living with alopecia. Her message of loving your differences and finding the beauty in yourself is much cherished by those with alopecia and is beginning to be listened to by society. She continues to be an inspiration and will continue to give voice to those who feel that society has muted them.

“The key thing I would want people to think about is that it takes so much energy to hide who you are, or a key aspect of who you are, like a visible difference. It takes emotional energy, it takes physical energy. Life becomes so much easier when you just embrace who you are.”

Little RED Riding Hood

Turning the tales of childhood on their head to reflect a rare interpretation. Renée has been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and never knows how she will feel from one day to the next. As a strong and confident young woman she realises the ‘wolf’ is not always as scary as she thinks!

Dress: Petite structured twill midi cami dress £95.20 www.coastfashion.com

Beauty & the BEAST

Sarah had her leg amputated due to osteosarcoma at 16. She has learned to live with her disability and is confident and embracing life’s opportunities.

We all know social media can be cruel and in our interpretation the ‘Beast’ is social media.

Dress: Sequin cross front maxi dress £111.20 www.coastfashion.com