You all have such unique and inspirational stories to tell. You are why I’ve
created Hat & Hair, and your personal experiences are why I’ve created
this page.
This is a kind of “community bulletin board” for your
stories to help inspire others! So, if you’d like, write
to me...tell me a little something about yourself and your
experience with Hat & Hair. We ALL thank you for sharing.
I've been having so much fun with my hats and hair!
Take care and stay in touch, Fondly, Sharon Griggs
Hello Robin,
Thank you for participating in our "Family Focus" day.
Your product was not only fun but a wonderful needed
item for women dealing with the effects of cancer.
Looking forward to working with you again.
Barbara Schovanec,
MS, M.ED Director of Outpatient Psychiatric
Services
and Programming
Huntington Memorial Hospital
Pasadena, California
Hi Robin!
Here's a photo of me (as
promised) in my cute, cute,
cute cowgirl hat with the
braids. I bought it from you at the National Alopecia Areata
Foundation Conference in St. Louis. I love it! I wear it to
the beach and for walking the dog. It is great & so fun! Thanks
so much for an awesome product.
Amy D'Altrui
Fort Myers, Florida
Dear Robin,
As a girl raised in the South, hats
are not only fashionable, but
vitally functional due to our hot
and humid conditions, especially
in South Georgia. Hats, however,
weren't comfortable for me to
wear because at the age of five,
I lost all my hair due to alopecia universalis.
Anyone who has ever worn a wig AND a hat knows how
miserable this combination can be. This made hats
something I only longed to wear.
As
the years passed, I was able to
get better wigs as they were
developed. I hit the gold mine,
when at the age of sixteen, I was
fortunate and blessed to begin
wearing a custom fit European
vacuum hair prosthesis.
This gave me a freedom and confidence that I never
thought I would be able to achieve. I no longer had to
deal with the itchy discomfort and paranoia associated
with wearing a wig in public…constantly on guard for
the possibility of it slipping off my head. Hats, though,
were still not something that I felt comfortable wearing
even though it was important for me to protect my hair
from sun damage (just like "regular" people!). Hats
would create a phenomenon known as "hat head" in
which the bangs and circumference of the head
would be dented. I baby my hair and don't like to fuss
with it much. "Hat head" would mean more washing
and more manipulation with hair dryers and most
importantly…more time! I was back at square one.
Hats weren't an option.
In July of 1998 that all changed. I thought that I had
seen every type of product designed for hair loss. I
consider myself an expert at detecting a fellow
comrade in the world of concealing hair loss. So
imagine my surprise when I was fooled by Hat & Hair!
I was in Washington D.C. that July working for the
weekend. I had not even been outside of the hotel
and really wanted to go be a tourist and see our
historic monuments. But it was miserably hot!!
The
moment I saw the Sun hat,
I fell in love with it. I purchased a long light auburn hairpiece
to go along with my beautiful new hat.
I
very skeptically decided to wear this hat on my tour of the
Washington Mall.
I was nervous and self-conscious as I ventured away from my
hotel room where my security blanket, my vacuum piece, sat on my bed.
The moment
of truth was at hand! I hit the streets with nothing on my
head but this Hat & Hair thing. I was paranoid of people being able
to tell that I had a wig on and most importantly that it would blow
off and
be miserably uncomfortable.
It dawned on me very quickly that it didn't itch as I had expected.
I felt air on my head but my head wasn't exposed and I felt
beautiful. At the Lincoln Memorial, a fellow tourist approached me and
asked me
where I had purchased my beautiful hat! She didn't ask me where
I had gotten my wig because she couldn't tell!! That was my litmus test… I
was sold on this new product!
The next big test for me was with my family. Alopecia affects
the whole family, they too are conscious of helping me look my best.
My Daddy
is a doctor. As a Daddy-Doctor combination, he has played an
intricately supportive role in bolstering my self-image over the years.
If he couldn't
tell, no one would. I walked into his office wearing the white
Gambler hat, long light auburn "Jennifer", white double-breasted linen
jacket, black linen pants and white shoes. (In the South we dress wherever
we go!) He said, "Beverly, Buddy! You look awesome! Hats really
suit you!! Why haven't you ever worn hats all these years??!! You look
ready for an afternoon at Sanford Stadium!" (This is the home of
our beloved Georgia Bulldogs, where in the fall you can find my family
on Saturday afternoons for a family tradition of football between the
hedges.) I said, "Check this out!" I took my hat off and his
face was in total shock. He couldn't believe what he was looking at.
He was tremendously impressed. My developing feelings for Hat & Hair
were confirmed.
That
was three years ago. Since then I have incorporated this versatile
fashion piece into my lifestyle. I use it to answer the door when I
am unable
to locate my hairpiece. I am no longer trapped indoors when
I am washing and conditioning my hair. When traveling I wear it in order
to allow
my scalp to breathe and feel the wind. On hot and humid days
I wear it for my outdoor activities and no longer worry about the sun
and elements
damaging my vacuum piece.
I
am a believer. My advice to anyone reading this is to go for it. Order
it. Try one, take advantage of the gift of being a woman whose
birthright is to "strut her stuff". Hat & Hair is a fun
alternative to use as an addition to our arsenal of expressing ourselves.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for
creating Hat & Hair. I had the pleasure of personally meeting
you at the National Alopecia Areata Conference in Norfolk,
VA in June of 2000.
You have such a wonderful and spirited personality!
When I first lost my hair due to alopecia over 6 years ago, I had
always worn wigs. After coming to the conference and trying on your
hats and hair, it finally gave me the freedom to not wear my wig
on the weekends. I purchased the baseball cap from you and the extra
long hair that you pull through as a ponytail.
I feel so confident and comfortable wearing this, not to mention
what it has done to my self-esteem!
My husband was with me when I purchased this and he could not believe
how real it looks!
I now have the freedom to go out on the weekends without my wig and
feel confident that my "new hair" looks just like me! I
can't wait to purchase more of your hats, especially in the
winter time!
Thank you for creating such beautiful hats and hair! You have finally
given me the freedom to be myself again! Good luck to you
and your business! I look forward to seeing you again in the future!
Dana Patota
New York, New York
Hi Robin,
Want to say how much I have enjoyed my Hat & Hair.
It is easy to wear and stays on. I took my Hat & Hair to Europe
and wore it everywhere.
Thanks again, Janet Johnson
Houston, Texas
Greetings from Switzerland....
Dear Robin,
Please excuse me if it took a bit long to answer your message,
but since I received the hats and hairpieces my social life is now
quite
back to normal (well, not completely, but I'm working on it).
You would like to know how I found you? Well,
as a "junior" in "surviving
with alopecia", I was surfing the Net looking for solutions to
my little style problem.
I am just 32, and with a 2 year old boy it's not so funny to run
around at the playground with an old-lady-look-alike-wig on- that
scratches too, (even if I do have many wigs in different styles, and
one with real hair which is supposed to be natural looking but it's
not at all).
I now just simply love my hairpieces and hats and I enjoy my different
styles. It is really great!!! Thank you, indeed!!!!
Sincerely, Paola Castelli from Lugano in Switzerland
Hello Robin,
I just want to tell you how grateful I
am to have discovered Hat & Hair!
I am 29 years old and have been living with alopecia universalis
(total body hair loss) for 15 years now during which time
all I've ever worn were wigs. So after 15 years, can you
imagine what it felt like
for me to walk outside in public for the first time without
my wig on? Just wearing Hat & Hair? What freedom! I can't believe how comfortable
they are! Now don't get me wrong, I still need my three wigs, but Hat & Hair
is a wonderful addition to my "wig wardrobe". Now I have
options- an alternative to wearing just my wigs!
But I just have to tell you about my trip to Disneyland, "the
happiest place on earth". As I was getting ready to go to Disneyland,
I started putting on my wig and I thought to myself, whenever I
wear my wig on hot days I feel very uncomfortable and irritated,
and today I want to feel comfortable. Also I thought it would be
better to wear my Hat & Hair because I would be able to get
on all the fast rides at Disneyland. So, I got ready in
my summer clothes and I wore my Denim Monette hat (and my long dark
brown
hairpiece) to match.
I could not believe how comfortable I felt wearing my Hat & Hair. The temperature
was 88 degrees and the sun was blazing, but I could not feel it thanks to my
Hat & Hair. As I was walking through Main Street I noticed that several people
also wore hats which made me feel more comfortable.
As a tradition I always like to start with "Tomorrow Land". Now some
of the rides are very fast, but I was going to be brave, so my friend and I decided
to get on "Rocket Rods". While I was in line, all I could think about
was my Hat & Hair and what if it falls off- what am I going to do? Well the
moment of truth came as I got on the ride, and I felt my heart pounding very
fast. I thought the Disneyland workers were going to tell me I had to take my
hat off (they didn't even know a hairpiece was attached to it!), but all they
said was, "Ms., please be careful, your hat may fall off", and I said "okay".
The ride was great. My Hat & Hair did not even move! It felt very secure.
From that moment on, I got on all the rides with confidence. I was very happy
and for the first time in 15 years I felt like the dream of coming to Disneyland
without my wig had come true!!!!
If anyone reads this and needs someone to talk to about what they are going through
with their alopecia or hair loss, please feel free to email me.
Happy with Hat & Hair, Gina B. Chacon
ginab29@usa.net
Please write to me... I'd love
to hear from you!
Write to Robin at: Hat & Hair /Comments
130 E. Montecito Ave., #130
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Hi Robin!
Dear Robin,
I
very skeptically decided to wear this hat on my tour of the
Washington Mall. 
I
am a believer. My advice to anyone reading this is to go for it. Order
it. Try one, take advantage of the gift of being a woman whose
birthright is to "strut her stuff". Hat & Hair is a fun
alternative to use as an addition to our arsenal of expressing ourselves.
