Two girls with alopecia taught each other to be comfortable being themselves
Encinitas, California — When people first see 9-year-old Carsyn Majors, who doesn't have hair, almost everyone jumps to the same conclusion. But she doesn't have cancer. She's fine. She has alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that results in near-total hair loss.
Majors began showing symptoms at age 6. Within two years, her flowing blonde locks were completely gone.
"I liked to do my hair a lot, but then it fell out," she said, adding that it still bothers her at times. "I miss my hair."
But she says her attitude improved dramatically after a chance meeting on the lacrosse field, where she met 17-year-old Scarlett Hall.
"She was like so nice, pretty, beautiful, cool," Majors said. "She was way older than me!"
But equally bald.
"She was like, 'Do you have alopecia?' And I was like, 'Yeah, do you?' And she was like, 'Yeah!'" Hall said. "It was a moment of awe, especially because the sun was setting, it was just like shining down. It was perfect."
Hall says she used to hate her hair loss, too. But her attitude also improved dramatically after meeting Majors.
"I got a best friend," Hall said. "I got a mini-me."
Alopecia in children is rare, which is why Hall decided it was especially important not only to engage with Majors that first day, but to remain a presence in her life.
"I want to be able to show her that like, you're perfect," Hall said. "You don't need to look like the people in the magazine cover."
By all accounts, that message is getting through. Majors said Hall has helped make her more comfortable with who she is by just "the way she was."
The two best friends are showing the world that hair should never be top of mind and that bold is beautiful.
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