I once had hair but now I'm bald - NATASHA NG'UNI

Natasha Ng'uni, 18, is a Zambian professional photographer. 

She shares her story to inspire other peoples lives. 

“I was born like any normal and healthy child, with a full head of hair.. After I turned 6, I woke up one morning and my mum noticed that my hair was falling off in patches!! In no time, I was completely bald. Hence I began my journey as my mum started visiting different doctors in search for answers! Most of the doctors said it was an allergic reaction to some food I ate and therefore, I was told to stop eating fish, pork and game meat (wildlife), which I did. I was then put on so many medications, injectible, oral and even ointments for the scalp," she says.

Natasha says her mum also tried different kinds of home remedies (traditional African medicine) that could help with hair growth but to no avail. After so many doctors only one doctor identified her symptoms and diagnosed me with Alopecia.

"My caring mother didn't want me to "know" or think about my diagnosisn,"she reveals.

Alopecia is believed to be an auto-immune disorder where your immune system fails to recognize "its own" and so it attacks hair follicles as though they were invaders hence causing hair growth to stop.

There are three kinds of Alopecia, there is Alopecia Areata, Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis. I have Alopecia Totalis which is basically loss of all head hair. 

She says her childhood changed drastically, her friends were so used to seeing her with cute little hair styles and suddenly she was wearing headsocks.

"Like every inquisitive child, they wanted to know what I was "hiding", and they began asking questions. I was bold enough to tell a few of my friends about my situation but there were always those school bullies!! Bullying was probably the hardest challenge I had to deal with in my school life because everyday I would have other pupils threatening to pull off my headsock and most of the time, they did it. It was a difficult period for me I must confess, I even hated going to school," Natasha says.

"Before I turned 9, my hair grew back just on the crown of head and it was some relief to me and my family. I remember celebrating my 9th birthday with the little hair on my head and I was so happy... But in no time, my hair fell off, and that was the last time I ever saw hair on my head... I had to change schools and when I did, my mum always had to ask for permission if I could wear a wig and sometimes it would be difficult but eventually she would manage,"she adds.

Natasha says when she grew a little older she began to wear wigs.

"When I was in my 7th grade, some pupils in higher grades gave me a nick name "baldilocks" and it was something I chose not to bother me, but it always stuck in my head,"she says.

She explains that as she grew older she could say her mum lost hope in western medicines but she never gave up on God.

"My mother always prayed for me and that's something I am really grateful for. My family have always been so supportive to me, even on days when I would cry and complain about my illness, they always gave me comfort and made me feel special in my own little way. I then went to high school and my dad took me to a chinese doctor who had performed some kind of procedure on my scalp but to no avail. Sadly, when I reached my 12th grade, my mum passed away and it was something really difficult to deal with," Natasha explains.

"Mum fought many years to see me get cured but to no avail..I almost felt like that was the end of our search to finding me the cure," says Natasha.

She adds, "I was grieved by her passing and one thing I would always cry about was "Who is going to pray for me now? Who is going to massage my scalp?" It really wasn't the easiest thing to deal with but then I realised that there is a time when one needs to take things in their own hands and hope for the best. I therefore, completed my high school and now began to have thoughts about taking my wigs off and just be me. I always found something negative about it and brushed it aside until recently when I attended a gospel concert and it was during that concert that I had an encounter with God and God told me to accept my situation. The acceptance did not happen in one day, it was a process." 

"One day my sister had asked me to escort her somewhere and when I was getting dressed, I did my make up without my wig on, I looked in the mirror and said ''hmm, not bad", and that was how I started going in public without a wig or headsock. I heard people passing different comments about the look and most of them were passing good and encouraging comments (even though they didn't know what was behind the look, they all thought it was a hair cut lol).. Another time I was walking somewhere, I met my brother and he said to me ''uh tash, you have forgotten your wig" and I said "no, I've left it behind" and that's how I stopped wearing wigs. Later that evening, I uploaded a picture on my facebook account and my oh my, I was so overwhelmed by the responses I received, I could not believe how people reacted to my drastic change. I never knew that just the one step I made could have touched so many lives."

Natasha says making the decision to stop wearing wigs has probably been one of the best decisions of her life.

"Being a photographer, the baldness gives me a some what "artistic" look and I love it!!! I am so comfortable in my skin, I've never felt more confident and beautiful in my entire life! I love myself for what God has created me to be and that's what matters," she gladly says.

"I have recently been able to locate two other women who share the same situation with me. I actually managed to get one of the ladies to accept her situation and she recently also stopped wearing wigs. I was so proud of her,"she adds.

She says Alopecia is a rare condition, 1 person in 1 million people suffers from Alopecia, it's that rare.

"I am 18yrs old and a professional photographer. I am not dating at the moment but I know with time God will bless me with a man who will love me and accept me for who I am," Natasha says.