Yahoo Lifestyle Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Armani Latimer Shares Her Struggles With Alopecia—And Why She Chose To Perform Without Her Wig
When I was a young girl, my family and I would often go on cruises, and my mother would style my hair into a single braid for the trips.
But after one of those vacations—when I was 11 years old—my mother unraveled my braid and noticed something shocking: a bald spot. She was concerned that it had happened during the braiding process, but she also knew my father had struggled with hair loss, so she took me to see a dermatologist. At age 12, I was officially diagnosed me with alopecia areata, a condition that causes my immune system to attack my hair follicles, resulting in occasional bald spots that seemed to become bigger with stress.
My mother tried to help me adjust to my new normal by not making me feel like it was big deal. And when I was a child, it wasn't. I didn’t have many bald spots, and the ones I did have—on the center of my head and the nape of my neck—were easy to cover up with mom's help.
But the older I got, the more pronounced they became.
A transformative progression
For a long time, most people didn't notice my patchy hair, especially since I still had most of it. Because of this, I went through high school without telling anyone I even had alopecia. But once I got to college, stress caused more hair loss; loss that took much longer to grow back.
By that time, I was on a dance team and opted to get sew-ins to hide the areas of balding. This meant my natural hair was braided down and extensions were woven into the braids. Shortly after college, I auditioned to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and attempted to wear my hair naturally, but the demands of being a training camp candidate and trying to make the team caused my hair to fall out at a faster rate.
As it became harder to cover up, I went back to sew-ins. And once my hair fell out completely, I started wearing wigs.
Network of support
My alopecia was hard to navigate during my early cheering days. It was such a tumultuous time that I was only able to give about 50 percent of my effort. Some people picked up on the fact that I was more withdrawn and not my bubbly self, and having teammates that I could sit and cry with about what I was going through was healing.
Overall, my team and my family helped me maintain a positive mindset. I wouldn't be anywhere without my support system, and I always want to provide support for those who don’t have any. On those days when you can’t be 100 percent, you need people who lift you up and help you be your best. I don’t believe we’re supposed to do life alone, and without my people, I wouldn’t have been able to break boundaries and be the woman I am today.
Moment of truth
Over the years, the biggest challenge I had to overcome was being honest with myself. Telling people about my alopecia areata wasn't hard, but fully accepting that my life looked a little different than everyone else's, especially being someone in the spotlight, was. People see cheerleaders and assume they're flawless. While that's obviously not true, I still found myself having to unlearn idea that I needed to be perfect to be on the team.
I didn’t want to just be the cheerleader who didn’t have hair.
Dealing with my emotions along with the day-to-day responsibilities of trying to be the best version of myself was alot. The acceptance process would ebb and flow—sometimes, I would forget I even had alopecia and then, I'd have to come to terms with everything again when I experienced a reoccurrence. Now that I’m more vocal about my condition, I know that alopecia doesn’t define me—it just adds character to who I am.
Power in vulnerability
Once I truly embraced my new reality, I knew I wasn't a victim. Alopecia affects so many men and women around the world, and I would rather speak out to bring awareness to this condition than allow people to think negatively about themselves. I never want to be the kind of person who doesn’t step up and speak out for others.
I figure that if I can overcome my negative self-talk and self-defeating mindset, I can help change the experience for the next 12-year-old who gets diagnosed. She can start healing early instead of waiting until she’s 23, like me. There’s so much societal pressure that comes with being a woman—we don’t need more.
We can be empowered by so many things, and you don’t need your hair to feel that.
An impactful decision
Occasionally, people on social media have asked if I would ever be open to cheering without my wig, and at first, I was unsure. But at the beginning of this season, something felt right about it, so I spoke to our director Kelli Finglass about the potential of going wig-free for our annual My Cause My Boots game, and she loved it.
At first, I was a bit scared to commit to it because doing a photoshoot or taking a video of yourself and posting it on social media is not in real time. Knowing that the game would be live in front of over 80 thousand people and I may end up on TV is a bit intimidating. But I’m reminding myself that I’ll be out there dancing with my best friends, and my family will be there as well. I know that it’ll be an impactful moment for whoever it touches.
Aspects of me
When I was younger, I used to only wear makeup while cheering at high school football games and during pageants. And while playing with wigs and makeup never felt like it was a necessity, it's always been a fun way to put on a different persona and create an extension of myself.
At the end of the day, I always want to feel the same way about myself whether I have the wig and makeup on or off. Finding that balance has allowed me to feel more comfortable.
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