For many, hair loss of any type is a seemingly insurmountable issue, challenging and testing one’s self-esteem, confidence and ability to maintain a positive attitude inside and outside the privacy of one’s home. Some struggle to arrange the little hair left on their heads to cover thin spots, some try natural supplements or medications, some wear wigs or toppers, some wear hats and some wrap their heads using scarves. As you know, Wrapunzel strives to make head covering Inspire Happiness, and provides all of the tools necessary to artfully wrap one’s head using scarves with beauty and dignity, growing good feelings and restoring confidence and self-esteem!

By no means is this article intended to bring attention to one particular reason for hair loss over another. There are so many reasons – stress, COVID, auto-immune disorders and other health-related issues such as Alopecia as well as others. No matter what the reason, we want to shed light on the general issue of hair loss with a few personal stories from the Wrapunzel Community – and to make anyone who suffers from hair loss realize that they are not alone.

Elli has Alopecia totalis, an autoimmune disease meaning that most of the time she has zero hairs on her head. Her journey began several years ago and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster in terms of how she sees herself and also her self-esteem. Having control over how she looks has always been important to her, and letting go of that control has not been easy. Sometimes she has felt that her scalp is a desert, a land burned to the ground. Finding wrapping and the Wrapunzel community has allowed her to bloom again. For Elli, creating wraps, playing with color, pattern, texture and style is like tending a flourishing garden upon her head.

Jennifer started losing her hair in her early 30s. She’d spend 15 minutes just trying to get a ponytail with no bald spots and still get to work late looking like she had just rolled out of bed. She had started veiling in Mass as a religious devotion, and a retreat weekend prompted her to look for a scarf she could put on and leave on all day; little did she know the life-changing effects it would have. Enter Wrapunzel.

When Jennifer discovered how easy and fun it was to wrap she told her boss something to the effect of “So I did this thing this weekend, and I’m gonna start doing this thing.” What started off as every few days on days when my thinning, fine hair wouldn’t cooperate, or her arms hurt, soon became an almost every day thing and then an everyday thing, and she loves it! Wrapping has made her feel more confident, composed, and comfortable. She looks more professional at work, and scarves take her from formal to casual – and often quirky – and everything in between.

One of the unexpected benefits of wrapping has been the wrapping communities she is now a part of on Facebook, the expanded horizons and understanding of other peoples’ lived experiences, and some of her now closest and dearest friends were met through this community.  She can truly say that since she started wrapping in 2016, Wrapunzel has changed her life – and in all ways, for the better; emotionally, mentally, relationally. 

As for her hair? Who needs it!? Losing it was one of the best things to ever happen to her!

And here’s Kaitlyn’s story. Kaitlyn was diagnosed with Alopecia in 2022. It started as a singular bald spot. At the time, it was easy for her to style around it and hide it most of the time. She went and saw her doctor, and it eventually went away. 

A year later, Kaitlyn had more bald spots, and they weren’t as easily concealed. At the time, she stumbled across Miriam’s videos. Being someone who loves learning about other cultures and religions, she enjoyed her content, greatly, and she loved her hair wraps. 

Kaitlyn did some reading, and eventually purchased a Beginner Basics Kit from Wrapunzel, and learned to use it. It was awkward for her at first, and she managed to give herself more than a few headaches from wrapping too tightly. But she found that she was really enjoying wrapping, and it gave her a sense of control over something in which she had no say. 

The vast amount of Tutorials posted on YouTube were an amazing place to start. And when she found the Wrapunzel Community Group on Facebook, she realized what a loving and supportive community she had just found herself a part of! She had so many people complimenting her wraps, and telling her she was beautiful, hair or no hair. The ladies of the Wrapunzel community are such an amazing force of positivity and good. 

Today, Kaitlyn’s hair is about 60% gone, and she still can’t figure out why. She has given herself a buzz cut because it’s easier to manage. But she wraps. She wraps for the obvious reason of sun protection, but she also wraps because it’s an amazing way to express herself and maintain control over her condition. She gets to choose what her head looks like!

Some days, it’s the patchy buzz cut. Some times, it’s a fabulously large sun hat. But most days it’s a lovely wrap. 

Wrapunzel has given Kaitlyn the ability to hold her head high, when something so vital to her identity is being taken away. And she is forever grateful that Wrapunzel is here, and that their Community welcomed her with open arms and enthusiasm for lovely headwear!

Here’s Mary’s story. Until the birth of her first child when she was 30, Mary had thick, slightly wavy hair. SheI had been told that for women like her, who have the genes for male pattern balding, it first makes itself known after a birth. Most women lose a bunch of hair after birth, but then it grows back. For those with male pattern balding, it doesn’t grow back.  When Mary had her second child at age 42, her hair became even thinner. She subsequently noticed that the hair loss seemed to be progressing.

It was challenging emotionally, affecting how Mary viewed herself as a woman. Her first line of defense was headbands–wider and wider as time progressed.  By the time Baby #2 was 8 years old, Mary couldn’t find headbands wide enough to cover her baldness, and the rest of her hair was so thin that it didn’t look very nice no matter what she tried. As she began researching alternatives, Mary really didn’t want to wear a wig. She had no idea what style would look nice, a good quality wig exceeded her budget, and she was sure it would be hot. Thankfully, Mary came across the site for a new company–Wrapunzel–that had beautiful scarves, shown in so many beautiful styles, and it reminded her that she had always admired headwraps. After watching the tutorials, Mary took the plunge.

Mary has been wrapping for 17 years now, and couldn’t care less about not having hair. Headwraps have added so much to her life. Wrapping makes Mary feel very feminine, and although she usually wraps simply, she often receives compliments. Mary has also had several opportunities to help women who are struggling with cancer and chemo. It’s been rewarding for Mary to share head-wrapping with them and help them to feel beautiful.  Doing so has made Mary grateful for her own journey. 

So, as you can see, hair loss of any type is a difficult thing to handle, to say the least! And the choices of how to cover the head are endless. While many do opt to use wigs to cover, there are unspoken benefits to covering with scarves. The ladies who shared their stories above have all had extremely positive, even spiritual, benefits from covering using headscarves. Wrapunzel’s mission is to “Inspire Happiness Through the Art of Creative Headwrapping,” and these ladies do seem to be truly happy and comfortable with their beauty, even with hair loss. Wrapunzel is so flattered and honored to have been a part of their journeys!