Eleven years ago Thea Chassin was diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease which causes partial or total loss of hair on the scalp, brows, lashes and body.

Determined to put herself and other women with alopecia in the "drivers seat" Thea founded Bald Girls Do Lunch a non-profit organization that brings together women with alopecia through lunch events held across the country. Her mission is that “no woman should feel alone with this condition”.

Today, Thea is a busy woman, delivering lectures in the US, Canada and Spain; breaking stereotypes that make it okay for men to be bald but not so for women; and bringing together women in an environment that is social and fun. Thea spoke with Mujeres camino al exito about her amazing journey and the crusade she’s launched.

Paula: Tell us a little bit about alopecia.

Thea: There is a lifetime chance of alopecia, the condition strikes1 in 50 and not just women. Oftentimes the condition will manifest itself but then will disappear and may or may not come back.  In some cases it can be very aggressive taking as little as three weeks for all the hair to fall off. On the other hand, I know women whose hair has fallen out and it all has come back but very case is different.

Paula: What is a good day like and what is a bad day like?

Thea: Everyday is a good day. The key is that women who don’t talk about alopecia and want to keep it a secret loose their options. If you don’t let people know and don’t explain that you have this condition you face a situation like having to wear a wig on a hot day or while on a boat. If you choose to make this a big secret you are limiting your options. When you are open about it you have more choices that let you be physically comfortable like wearing a scarf or a hat. You should truly believe that you deserve to be comfortable.

Paula: Tell us about Bald Girls Do Lunch.

Thea: It actually began in New York some years ago. I wanted to start a support group but found it hard to get people together when I called it a “support group”. Then, I asked a group of ladies if they’d be up for doing “lunch” and go bald. The idea was to create a context where we were not isolating ourselves but rather out there as we where. This approach worked better and women got very excited at the idea of having lunch with women that where going through the same thing they where going through.

The site came later, I launched it 18 months ago with the goal of helping women understand that talking about alopecia is a far better option to keeping it a secret. I have discovered an underlying theme among women with alopecia and that has to do with not knowing how to talk bout this, not knowing how to bring it up. There are different levels of coping and adjusting, and as I was launching this effort and talked to more and more women I found that they all have the same concerns.

Paula: Do you feel like you’ve succeeded in promoting awareness for alopecia?

Thea: We have made a tremendous impact on the life of many women. Women didn’t have an organization or a voice and now women phone me, email me and say “I’m so happy you're doing this, I felt so alone and now I don’t feel alone”. This relieves the burden. Right now we have the meetings in different cities. It’s positive but at the same time we are recognizing that we grieve, because there is a loss that takes place. We come together and help each other as equals.

Paula: What is a major challege you face?

Thea: At this stage it’s securing funding to help us grow and have greater reach. I’m hoping to attract a major sponsor like a cosmetics company that will recognize that what we are doing is so valuable because we need to switch up the topic of what it means to be bald. People often think that women with alopecia are cancer survivors. On the other hand, women with cancer feel awful because when they assume a woman with alopecia has cancer she is told “I don’t have cancer I’m just loosing my hair”. We need to be more open about being bald.

Paula: How long before mainstream media gets it about true beauty?

Thea: It’s a matter of time, I’m creating the tipping point, Bald Girls will continue to build until it gets to that point. We’ll continue to promote our organization in various ways. Maybe someday there’ll be a character on a TV show that will be bald. It’s a matter of women getting out and the public getting used to it. The more women want to keep it a secret the harder it will be to break down barriers. It’s not only okay but it’s imperative to shrug your shoulders and say I’ve got alopecia and be as nonchalant as bald men.

Paula: What are your future plans?

Thea: I want to do a book called Stories From Lunch. It’s going to allow any woman that picks it up, flips through and finds a story to say “I get it”.

Network with Thea Chassin, President and Founder of Bald Girls do Lunch or contact her to schedule a lunch in English/Spanish in your city. Email: thea@baldgirlsdolunch.org or visit her website: www.baldgirlsdolunch.com.