Little Girl With Alopecia Celebrated Crazy Hair Day in Her Own Way
By Devon Abelman. Photos: Courtesy of Instagram.
Here's a #tbt for you — remember spirit days in elementary school like Pajama Day, Jersey Day, or Twin Day? Well, alopecia didn't stop one girl from participating in Crazy Hair Day. Gianessa Wride, a 7-year-old who lives in Salem, Utah, starting losing her long brown hair because of the autoimmune disease back in January. Over a three-week period, she went completely bald. So when the annual Crazy Hair Day came around at her school recently, Gianessa's mom Daniella Vinanti Wride helped her think of a fun way to celebrate.
Usually, Gianessa wears beanies, hats, and scarves because her mom said wigs make her head itch. However, for this special day, Daniella had something else in mind. "Last year, I styled her hair into a unicorn horn,” the mother told Yahoo Beauty. “This year, we decided to decorate her head with stickers.” Daniella created pretty floral and owl designs with gemstone scrapbooking stickers all around her daughter's head. Then, Gianessa topped off her festive 'do with coordinating Christmas earrings. “She looked in the mirror and said, ‘Mom, this is awesome!'” Daniella said. “Her friends loved it too.” Gianessa even won the award for best look in her class. The school also calls it Crazy Head day now, according to KSL. (Yay, inclusivity!)
Gianessa's hair loss came as a shock to Daniella. One day, she was brushing Gianessa's hair, and it "just fell out," she explained to Yahoo Beauty. "Then I noticed a quarter-sized bald spot on her head.” She made a dermatologist appointment for three weeks later. By that time, Gianessa's hair had continued to fall out in clumps to the point of overall baldness on her entire head. Gianessa's lower lashes and eyebrows have since fallen out, too. Although some people experience hair regrowth, Daniella is doubtful that will be the case for her daughter. “She’ll probably be bald for the rest of her life," she said.
Daniella, who is a nurse, thinks stress might have triggered her daughter's alopecia. Over the past year, Gianessa's family moved from Tennessee to Utah to live with her grandparents. "Six weeks after we arrived, my mother-in-law passed away," Daniella added. Gianessa has taken the diagnosis in stride, though. “Gianessa is awesome," her mom told KSL. "She wants people to feel comfortable with who they are; just embrace life and have fun and be fierce and be an inspiration to others." Gianessa? We're here to tell you you're doing just that.
This story originally appeared on Allure.
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