Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
For 30 years, Holly Faller hid a secret under her hair.
The 35-year-old from Adelaide, South Australia, was diagnosed with alopecia when she was one.
From the age of five, Faller wore a wig to conceal the condition that causes hair loss, with only her family and closest friends ever seeing her bald.
But last year, Faller took a huge leap and went out in public for the first time without her wig, which she calls her “security blanket”.
She made the decision to go “naked” to help other women and girls living with alopecia feel less alone.
Today, Faller has built a strong community on Instagram and through her blog called Oh My Holly, creating a safe and supportive space for others navigating their own alopecia journeys.
She also partners with wig brands to help women find the right fit and is proud of the community she has created.
But despite helping so many others embrace their hair loss, Faller admits she has been on her own 30-year journey towards acceptance.
A childhood of wig-wearing
Faller said her parents tried various creams, medications and home-remedies in the hopes of encouraging hair growth.
But in cases like hers, nothing worked.
By the age of five, her parents made the difficult decision to cut off the few tuffs of hair she had left, and she was fitted with her first wig.
While she can’t remember that time, she does remember wearing a wig to school every day.
“I think it was a bit of a security blanket,” Faller told 7NEWS.com.au.
“It gave me that comfort to go through what I was going through in a little bit more of a private way.”
She said while the wig wasn’t easy to manage as a child, it meant she didn’t have to stand out in the playground.
Faller admitted she only got through those years because she had extremely supportive classmates.
“Looking back, and having heard so many other people’s stories since that were not the same as my story, I realised my classmates and my friends were critical to those years and making me who I was,” Faller said.
“They got me through it all and were super protective. They were like my family.”
The ‘grieving process’ after hair loss
Unlike some women who have lost their hair later in life, being diagnosed as a child meant she didn’t go through the “grieving process” of losing her hair.
Faller said putting on a wig every morning became part of her normal daily routine.
“Just like putting on my shoes, I’d put on my wig before I left the house,” Faller said.
But while she felt comfortable taking off her wig when she was home with her family and close friends, she never left the house without it on.
The only time she had taken it off was while playing basketball.
“It was not something that I ever wanted to do,” Faller said, admitting she was scared.
“It’s always been entirely comparable to going out naked.
“It’s the exact same feeling in your body and mind as walking out butt naked.
“I thought, ‘Why would I want to do that? That’s crazy. Everyone will see me’.
“I don’t want them to know. I don’t want them to think less of me. You know, I just wanted to fit in.”
Dating with alopecia
Faller said when she dated as a teen, she didn’t talk to them about it, as it was something she didn’t want acknowledged.
Even when she met her husband, she still wore her wig around him — even to bed.
For the four years they dated, and even after they got married when she was 21, he never saw her bald.
“I obviously lent on him as my support person, but I didn’t want to show him,” Faller said.
“And I didn’t until after we got married.”
Faller said it was only six months after their wedding that she reluctantly took off her wig, and it was only because it was summer and very hot.
“I did it and obviously it was fine, and I never wore my wig again at home,” Faller said.
“But it was that ripping off the band-aid moment that was scary.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I just put it off.”
Faller separated from her husband in 2023 and admitted when she started dating again, it was very different.
By then, she had started sharing her story on social media and began posting pictures online without her wig, so it came up in conversation early on.
Revealing her 30-year secret
Despite it no longer being a secret, she still hadn’t taken the leap to go out in public without the wig.
She said that pivotal moment came last December.
Having built a community for people with alopecia, Faller was often asked how she felt about being in public without a wig.
Faller realised if she truly wanted to support these women and show them that it was OK, she had to lead by example.
For her birthday, she had a bald-themed party and all of her guests wore caps over their hair.
Faller wore no wig to a public gathering for the first time.
“I bedazzled my head, of course, and dressed it up and had a bedazzling station for everyone else,” Faller said.
“We had a great time and it would have been such a non-event because they’ve seen me without my wig before.
“But for me, it actually was a pretty big deal.”
The next time Faller put the bins out, she didn’t wear her wig. After that moment, she found the confidence to go out in public with no wig more often.
She went to the beach, the pub and on a plane without it.
The 35-year-old is now engaged to Ryan and, this time, she had to courage to show herself without the wig early on their relationship.
Faller said while she tries not to focus on the stares when she’s out in public, generally the people who come up to her are just curious about why she has no hair.
“It’s only ever someone saying something positive,” Faller said, adding she often gets compliments on her gems and look.
She said the positive reception has given her the courage to keep doing it, but it took time and a lot of “unlearning”.
“For so long we protected the secret,” Faller said.
“It was just a secret that I and everyone close to me protected at all costs, and it was because I started wearing a wig at such a young age.
“So there was a lot of unlearning — realising it’s actually OK if people know this about me.
“I’m still not completely comfortable with it, but I’m getting used to it.”
Faller has now partnered with children’s charity Variety and has started The Buzz Club campaign.
She is leading a community of women with personal hair loss experiences — from alopecia, thinning or medical treatments — who are buzzing their heads together virtually on September 1 to raise money for medical-grade wigs and support for children facing hair loss.
She said helping people, in particular young girls, find courage during their hair loss journey is her greatest inspiration.
“I can’t shave my head but I can bring people together with my story,” Faller said.
“Losing my hair changed my life, but I’ve found my life’s purpose.”
