A woman from Washington was shocked to discover she is going bald after attending a Comicon several weeks ago. The reason was that she wore a cosplay wig for the first time, but it caused her to have traction alopecia. Thousands of Redditors shared her shock and sympathized with her over this unfortunate post-event discovery.
Reddit user LibraryObjective2328 shared on r/Wellthatsucks that the bald spot was initially the “size of a bean” one week ago, but has grown since then. She recalled that her scalp felt like “it was on fire” while she was dressed up, but sadly didn’t realize the damage being done to her hair until it was too late. “I really hope it grows back,” she groaned in her post, and plenty of other sympathetic Redditors hope the same.
“Very unfortunate. Sorry that this happened,” remarked one commenter, with another adding how this had a “new fear unlocked” for them. Others suggested wearing a wig or applying treatments like liquid Nioxin in the meantime while waiting for it to hopefully grow back. Some people even shared their own story of the same traction alopecia happening to them; fortunately, things did eventually return to normal for them, but only after quite a lengthy regrowth.
The Frieren Cosplayer Still Believes Her Comicon Experience Was ‘Worth It’
On the bright side, LibraryObjective2328 did claim she had a great experience and lots of fun, so the Comicon was definitely not a bad memory, minus the balding. “Cosplay pic, to see if it was worth it,” demanded a commenter, to which she responded that she went as Freiren, the mage protagonist of the anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. “I had a total blast, and I’m really proud of how my cosplay turned out,” she exclaimed. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat (but maybe learn more about wigs first).”
LibraryObjective2328’s recollection of what caused the hair loss, “via the little comb, stressing out the hair follicles,” is a solid warning to anyone planning to cosplay in the near future. If the spot where the combs of a wig start to burn or feel excessively tight, it’s probably a good idea to readjust the wig or give one’s scalp a rest.
