I Am More Than My Hair by Alyscia Cunningham

I Am More Than My Hair: My Outward Appearance Does Not Define Me, is a two-part project, documentary film and coffee table book. The newly published book features 138 portraits of 46 women and the stories of their experience with hair loss, as well as women who cut their hair in solidarity of a loved one.

Description:

Published: July 2018

From the time we are young, girls are pressured into a set belief of beauty standards. Hair is certainly high on the list and is often labeled as our "crown and glory." Where does this notion fit for a girl with alopecia (the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows; baldness)? This new coffee table book should bring light to the issue.

I Am More Than My Hair: My Outward Appearance Does Not Define Me, is a two-part project, documentary film and coffee table book. The newly published book features 138 portraits of 46 women and the stories of their experience with hair loss, as well as women who cut their hair in solidarity of a loved one.

EXCERPT

Amy, 39

Pull-Quote:
I look a little different, but I’m still me — I’m still Amy!

Story:

Never in a million years did I think I would have alopecia. 

It started with a small bald spot on the back of my head and, four months later, I was completely bald. I had no choice but to wear wigs and try to go about my life like nothing was wrong. That is so much easier said than done! 

I distanced myself from friends and family and avoided social situations at all costs. I did not want people to see me differently. I felt like a completely different person on the outside, and it started to make me feel different on the inside, too. I spent months feeling isolated and depressed, and it started to take a toll on me. 

I had an “Aha!” moment one day when I was sick of missing out on life because of my own excuses. I realized I am not my hair! There is so much more to me than my outward appearance. 

Yes, I look a little different, but I’m still me—I’m still Amy! I feel like my diagnosis was God’s way of telling me to not be so concerned with what other people think of me and to just get out there and enjoy life! It has been a slow process, but now I don’t let being bald hold me back from doing anything. I go for that boat ride or swimming; I do not mind a windy day, and I get myself to the gym. I am still not comfortable going out in public without my wig, my hat collection has grown tremendously. 

Losing my hair has taught me to be a stronger, more confident woman, and I know I can handle whatever curve ball life sends my way! I am more than my hair because my external appearance does not represent all I have to offer on the inside. “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” —Maya Angelou

TOUR SCHEDULE

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About the author:

Alyscia Cunningham is an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker and photographer who has contributed to the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and AOL. In September 2013 Alyscia self-published Feminine Transitions, a photography book encompassed with portraits of raw feminine beauty. Her recently published photography book and upcoming documentary film, I Am More Than My Hair, features 138 portraits of 46 females and the stories of their experience with hair loss as well as females who cut their hair in solidarity of a loved one. Alyscia creates these, and future projects, with the consideration of art for social-change.


Alyscia specializes in promoting our natural beauty because she believes the media does a good job of focusing on our insecurities by bombarding us with ads proclaiming that their appearance without enhancements is inadequate or faulty. Her portraits are unaltered by Photoshop and reveal women as they are naturally, without the façade they put on for others.


Her work has been featured on Fox5 News, The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, APlus, and Proud2BMe. To learn more about Alyscia and her work, visit Alyscia.com.


Alyscia also invites you to view her video introductions to Feminine Transitions, and I Am More Than My Hair.

I Am More Than My Hair book is now available on Amazon and at these retailers: 
Bluestockings Bookstore (New York, NY)
BookWoman (Austin, TX)
East City Bookshop (Washington, DC)
Politics and Prose (Washington, DC)
Sandy Spring Museum (Ashton, MD)
Vroman's Bookstores (Pasadena, CA)
Women's Museum of California (San Diego, CA)

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