GIVING BEAUTY STANDARDS the boot

Influencer, Danielle Gilbert, is redefining confidence - and misconceptions around alopecia

IF you’re someone who spends an hour (ok, perhaps two) before bed scrolling through TikTok, there’s little doubt that you won’t have come across Danielle Gilbert.

A 24-year-old mortgage case manager by day, she’s boomed to success with her beauty content across social media, leaving many surprised that she’s been battling with the effects of alopecia her entire life.

Alopecia Totalis causes complete hair loss (it’s still not entirely known what triggers it), and it only affects one in every 4,000 people, so society is still learning too.

community of over 600,000 supportive women online.

However, Dani’s never let trolling stop her from pursuing her passions, and is now inspiring the next generation to be confident in themselves and their socalled ‘flaws’.

Growing up different…

“When I was starting to understand the world and people around me in primary school, that’s when I started to notice I’d get stared at.”

“Losing my eyelashes was the worst thing and still probably is to this day, because that’s the feature that makes you look healthy. As soon as I lost them I felt like I looked ill and became very conscious because everything on my face suddenly looked flat.

“It happened at such a key age too when you’re just growing up and finding your own identity.

Also known as Dani G Makeup, the beauty mogul has been left open to cruel criticism from those who don’t understand, but has mustered a strong

“There’s definitely a lot more that can be done to raise awareness, just so that when people are growing up, they aren’t feeling alone - I didn’t know anyone who had alopecia apart from me, so it was very lonely.”

What needs to change…

“The more that we see people with no hair in the media, the more we’re going to widen people’s perspective and understanding that you can be a woman, and you can have no hair, and you can still be perfectly healthy.

“There is still a wide lack of understanding of alopecia in general. People always just assume I’ve got cancer - and that’s one of the mostasked questions I get.”

Dealing with hate

“Long, flowing hair is always linked to the femininity of a woman. So it’s hard to fully understand what the mental aspect of alopecia actually feels like unless you’ve been there.

“People looking on my page will think that I’m absolutely fine, and happy with who I am because I go out without a wig, but there’s always personal hurdles. Some people in my situation even struggle to put the bin out without a wig.

“A lot of commenters come in with unsolicited advice and opinions that I’ve never asked for. They just throw it in your face, like, ‘Well, why doesn’t she just wear a wig?’”

“People wouldn’t dare dream of saying anything like that to my face, but when it’s online, there’s that anonymous barrier. Social media is good for educating people, especially because I’m a very open book, but can sometimes get borderline rude with questions.”

Finding confidence

“A huge help for me has been following other people with alopecia. I’ve filled my Instagram feed with the people who inspire me. Whenever I see other people who look like me, it inspires me to be myself more. There’s no point in creating a situation where every time you go on social media, you start feeling negative, because you’re comparing yourself to someone you can never look like.

“I don’t care about having no hair on my head but I’m definitely bothered about not having eyelashes. I can never wake up and just have eyelashes, so I’ll always have to do something with makeup so I can look ‘natural’.”

Adapting to a life with no hair

“Everywhere that is hairy on my face - that’s where the main adaptations come in. I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes when I was around 14 or 15, and now my routine is completely different. I can’t work with mascara anymore, and I can’t use brow gels - two things I used to love.

“I now use eyebrow transfers a lot too. They can be a task to put on, especially if you lose your hair one day out of nowhere, the change from a routine you’ve been doing every day can be stressful.

“Alopecia also means we’re slower to jump on the biggest beauty trends because the tools aren’t there. The ‘hairy’ population can have a laminated brow, for example. I absolutely love the laminated brow look. That’s such a thing at the moment, but obviously I need to have brows to do that.”

Ultimate beauty hack

“Whenever you’re setting your under eyes, always use a powder puff. I use the Trigwell powder puff, it’s the one I like most right now. I’ll always use pressed powders to set my under eyes too, for the most flawless base.”

A message to young Danielle

“I would definitely say to myself you’re not alone, and trust the process. I’d also say believe in yourself and be who you are, because it’s gonna pay off, I promise. If I had hair, I really don’t think I would be as big doing what I do now. Your difference is your superpower, so believe in it.”

Broccoli extract

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