Real Life #Hairloss Experience - Meet Brenda (@MuskehoundFinn)

Remember my trip to the Ideal Home Show? Well, aside from enjoying an interiors show and coveting lots of things I couldn't afford, the visit had an ulterior motive - to see MuskehoundFinn (aka Brenda) strut her stuff on stage, representing us baldies! Well, we couldn't let her pass us by without a Real Life Hairloss interview for you, our lovely followers! Here goes...

Brenda lost her hair nearly 16 years ago, at the tender age of 14. She admits that initially, her alopecia got her down and she spent the first three years as a recluse. Speaking of her school life Brenda says "Six months into having Alopecia social services agreed to let me be home schooled; apart from the bullying, mentally I just froze. I could not absorb anything going on. I did not realise at the time, but I think I was in shock, so I just shut down as a type of coping mechanism. Around 17, I started to slowly get my bearings mentally again, but the anxiety was still prominent for years, so socially in all aspects I struggled to interact as I would always be thinking "Do I look alright?"."

For Brenda, the opportunity to participate in Katie Piper's "Confidence: The Secret" catwalk was a daunting prospect, but one she knew she must embrace. It wasn't what she expected though and what started as a chance to represent fellow alopecians, ended with life-changing decisions and new found confidence. To understand the transformation, we asked Brenda how she would describe herself before participating in the show, and in her own words she said "I was pretty much bumbling along, especially when it came to my body confidence. I had hit the stage of being "just comfortable" so I did not think a mental change would come at any point; I thought I had hit the stage where I have a confidence that makes life liveable, despite not fully embracing it." Yet, despite being far from her personal expectations, she came off stage at the end a different person to the one who started. Brenda explains "After the second show it really hit me how I am now truly confident in myself; I no longer feel this need to 'compete' in a realm where there is an expectation of the basics of how we should look, from body weight to hair. I had accepted my alopecia in a positive way [before the show], but I now see alopecia as something I can work with more. I did not fully realise how cool the bald look can be until I did the show, so I do want to be rocking the look on nights out, which I never had the urge to do until now."

That's not all, her new found confidence actually stimulated her to make a life-changing decision, quitting her job as a costume character performer, seeing her in the roles of lovable kids characters like Peppa Pig. Talking of this radical decision she says "That job matched the person I was - not confident enough to show my whole self - rather than the person I am now."

Speaking of the show, we asked Brenda the best and worst bits of being involved. For her, the best was without a doubt the people; she says "I was not expecting it but it was the other women (including Katie) who I had the privilege of doing the show with. It was the first time I was in a group setting & my "body difference" was not "different". It was just a part of me. We all had different visible differences but were there with the same goal." The worst bit though was definitely her hatred of heels and her fear of falling flat on her face. Laughingly she told us "I have to say it was wearing heels! - I don't "do" heels! The original shoes I had for the show, I was walking like an injured penguin in - the point of the show is about body confidence so luckily the stylist Lucas Armitage agreed I could wear the one pair of heels I personally own which are 2 inch nude peep toes, but even then I was nervous in them."

On stage at the end, each lady was asked to state their own positive affirmation in line with Katie's use of them for motivation and confidence. Brenda's was "We were born to be real, not to be perfect" and I have to say we agree!

Well done Brenda for putting yourself out there and for helping to educate people and raise awareness of Alopecia!

Brenda on stage at the Katie Piper diversity catwalk

Braving the swimsuit section! Rather you than me!

Rocking an Easter Theme - as a self-styled easter 'egg'

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

A day of inspirational women and celebrating difference with @MuskehoundFinn and @KatiePiper_

Alopecia UK circulated a message not that long ago, encouraging followers to enter a competition to win a chance to appear on the first Diversity Catwalk, being organised by Katie Piper. The competition asked entrants to upload, email or tweet a picture of themselves and their 'difference' telling the judges of the defining moment in their journey to Body Confidence; the winner would appear on stage at the Ideal Home Show, Olympia, alongside an inspirational group of women who all had their own point of 'difference'. AUK hoped that enough ladies from the #BaldHeadedBeauty community would enter to ensure that at least one of this group of gorgeous women would appear on stage, showing the world that Bald is Beautiful.

When I saw the competition and read the info and inspiration behind it, I absolutely knew I wanted to be there (not on stage mind you, a front row seat would suffice). I wanted to see first hand what these 'differences' looked like and how Katie Piper planned to try and change an industry that is bought and sold upon the idea of perfection. Not long after, I received a tweet from one of our very lovely followers Brenda who had been hand picked to join the select group of individual beauties parading down the catwalk in a show entitled 'Confidence; the secret'. Coincidentally, Brenda hadn't been recruited for the show through the competition, but had in fact been one of the original cast; a coup for bald awareness, particularly Alopecians.

Brenda kindly sent me two complimentary tickets and I bought along my biggest inspiration - my mum. We travelled to the show on Good Friday, and after a tortuous trip around the stands coveting a lot of things we didn't need, but loved (including a hydrotherapy pool, a hot tub and a fire pit), not to mention an expensive impulse buy I'll not doubt regret when the bank statement comes in, we nabbed ourselves two second row seats, right next to the stage. We were there early and a group of models / dancers took to the stage, showcasing a range of clothes from sponsors. Glamourous, co-ordinated and tall, everything you'd expect from a model, these ladies and gents grooved their way down the runway to a number of tracks, showing off everything from yellow macs to evening wear. Not what you would call bucking the trend, but engaging nonetheless.

Next onto stage came the very gorgeous (and absolutely tiny) Katie Piper, more beautiful and frankly normal in real life than the pictures or TV cameras do her justice for. She's spunky, funny, intelligent and resolute and has a goal to engender and promote absolute Body Confidence in each and every person. She spoke, some about her own experiences, some about the experiences of others she's met, and most importantly about the fact that fashion and beauty can be very important in helping someone be the best, most confident version of themselves, ultimately providing a very exposed and very real platform to promote and gain acceptance for the unconventional or 'different'.

She stepped back and onto stage strutted a feisty and confident bunch of women; I would challenge anyone to tell me how and why these women were anything other than beautiful. True; burn scarring, a missing limb, a wheelchair and no hair may not grace the front covers or inner pages of glossy magazines, but there is absolutely no way that any of these women could be considered anything other than stunning.

Next, Katie talked about the human spirit and the fact that despite negative comments being oft heard by those struggling to come to terms with a condition, it is in fact the strength within ourselves that is important. She highlighted that each and every person has a 'human spirit' and that no matter what guise we believe that appears in, each and every one of us will have been touched by someone else in some way. A particularly poignant point was that none of us know just how strong we can be until we are tested and that ultimately, we are in charge of our own destinies.

She then segued into the fact that each and every women on stage was concerned not with their 'difference' or 'disability', but with entirely unexpected areas or features of their body; back onto stage they strode, wearing oversize baggy white t-shirts, and on the back of each was their own area of concern. From a 'big tum' to 'thighs' and even the size of their hips, each and every one of these women had an area they'd like to improve. This too included Katie, who for the record would like to be taller than her 5'3'' so she can give heels a miss, and would also like a more round bum like 'Kim Kardashian'; she too was clear that actually there are things she would like to change, but that she won't love herself any less.

One very interesting technique which Katie opts for but which I personally have never used, is positive affirmations; reminding yourself of the important things and ensuring that happy thoughts are interlinked with day to day life. She dropped a number into her motivational speeches, including one statement from her Doctor in the early days of her recovery; as she sat worried about never finding love, or being considered beautiful again, her doctor said to her 'Why worry; worrying about what hasn't happened yet is a waste of energy that gets you nowhere.' Katie was clear that this was a turning point for her, and regularly using affirmations like 'I am bigger than my problem', 'Inhale Confidence, Exhale Doubt' and 'The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts' have all served to have a positive impact on her life.

Speaking to Katie after the show*, I realised just what a philanthropic person she truly is, but also how draining it can be to put yourself in the spotlight and say 'This is Me'. Talking of her work, she was clear about the importance of dividing her time between being a mum, working and looking after the Charity. The Katie Piper Foundation', at the same time, highlighting her understandable drive to support burns victims. Despite that, she said that the show, which had showcased a whole range of different conditions, had underpinned a realisation that their differences don't need to be the same for people to inspire other people; it is the journey each individual takes and the strength that they show that can provide inspiration to others on the same or different journeys.

Katie's ultimate goal is to provide a platform to deliver awareness, show difference and help people to understand and embrace it. Kudos to her!

Here's a few pictures from the event and over the next week or so, there will be a follow-up interview with Brenda talking about her personal experiences of the show, once she's come down off Cloud 9 of course!

Brenda & I

Katie Piper & Pretty Bald

Swimsuits - well done girls!

One final point is to say well done to each and every one of the ladies!

Victoria x

*Please note, I am paraphrasing here; I was a little too starstruck to remember exact words used! Sorry Katie x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Your chance to see a baldy strut her stuff... @MuskehoundFinn on stage with @KatiePiper_

A few weeks ago, a website link was shared, pointing everyone in the direction of an opportunity to be on stage with Katie Piper, taking part in the first ever Diversity Catwalk, showing off the best and most gorgeous 'normal' people.

The show, which is happening at The Ideal Home Show in Olympia, London is being launched and run by Katie Piper and her charity The Katie Piper Foundation under the title "Confidence - The Secret". Hopeful applicants were encouraged to email or tweet their story and a picture to Katie in the hope of being selected to challenge current Fashion and Beauty Ideals and help change perceptions at the Live event.

Here's the biog...
"Proving how proud we should be of ourselves, Katie is giving you to the opportunity to grace the catwalk and reveal your true insecurities - these insecurities are things that aren't always the obvious insecurity that people assume, for example people would assume Katie's insecurity is her burns but actually she wishes she had longer legs!"

We're really pleased to say that one of the chosen few is none other than Brenda, a fellow baldie! Having already completed a few of the shows, you can still see Brenda and her fellow participants over Easter on Good Friday. She'll be strutting her stuff on stage at 11.30, 13.30 and 15.30 on Friday 3rd April and will be publicly representing us #BaldHeadedBeauties. Tickets to the Ideal Home Show are available here, giving you the chance to see it live...

Good luck to her and in the meantime, you can watch a little snippet of Brenda's moves here...

Good Luck Brenda and well done!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald