How to be the “perfect bald woman”

Coming to terms with my baldness has been one of the most beautiful and joyful experiences of my life, however, that does not mean that it’s easy. Even a decade after starting this journey, I still find myself struggling with accepting myself fully. Don’t get me wrong, I have learned to love being bald and part of that has come from seeing other bald women living their best lives, particularly on social media. However, there’s still a natural comparison that comes with that as well.

I’ve found myself questioning if I need to be a certain kind of bald woman to truly be accepted. Looking in the mirror at my patchy scalp, I begin to wish that I was completely bald. “Do I have to shave my head everyday and be completely bald in order to prove that I accept myself?” “Do I need to be able to afford all the best human hair wigs?” This picking apart can then lead to questioning my body and if I’m worthy the way that I am. “Do I need to lose weight in order to be attractive as a bald woman?”

This questioning of our worth can easily get out of hand and send us down a spiral that takes us completely off track. With everything in life – there’s no one way to live and there’s no perfect way to be a bald woman in the world. We’re naturally different and that’s hard enough as it is without picking ourselves apart. Instead of comparing myself to every other bald woman that I see, I’ve realized that I can appreciate another person without thinking that I have to be like them. Someone else doing something differently than me doesn’t take away from what I’m doing and who I am.

There’s no such thing as being the “perfect bald woman.” The journey towards acceptance isn’t about trying to fit a mold. It’s about being who you are fully and, even if there are things you don’t like about yourself, accepting them anyway. It’s about embracing who you are with your whole heart. You can’t be perfect, you can only be you.