Walk for Alopecia in San Francisco raises awareness of often-overlooked condition

SAN FRANCISCO — On Saturday, families came together for the second annual Walk for Alopecia in San Francisco.
“We’re trying to change the paradigm and bring the community together,” said Nicole Friedland, president and CEO of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAFF).
Around seven million Americans are living with alopecia,  an auto-immune disease that causes unpredictable and often sudden hair loss.
“People often say ‘Well, it’s just hair.’ We say it’s not just hair. That’s what we’ve got on our T-shirts because it is the loss of hair but it’s also the loss of identity. It’s a tremendous burden for people, a psycho-social burden,” Friedland said. “It’s not contagious. It does cause a lot of mental anguish for people as they go through it. We need to raise funds to support research, to drive towards more treatments and a cure.”
This was one of several walks that took place around the country. Outside of fundraising, the hope is to provide a sense of community and educate the public about alopecia.
Among those in attendance this year was Brittany and her young daughter, who has alopecia.
“It’s really nice for her to come and have a sense of community with other kids and other families with people who have alopecia. She feels more normalized and not so different,” she said.
Speaking directly to those who are living with Alopecia, Friedland had a message to share.
“You are beautiful just as you are. You are not alone,” she said. “There is a community of people who love and support you. There are lots of resources for you.”