“We’re taught that we should look like someone else, and there’s not enough promotion about owning your own beauty.”
[image description: (image 1, above) - A black and white image, Nekeyta sits alone on the bleachers outside of a high school. Her clothes, hair, and makeup all work to hide her true self and her alopecia. She seems reserved and guarded. (image 2, below) - A colorful image, Nekeyta stands at the entrance to her beauty studio: Uncovered. She has shed the exterior layers that hide her unique beauty and she flaunts her natural hair loss. She is empowered and full of joy.]
Nekeyta, 36 - Michigan
Nekeyta started to lose her hair as a young child and was diagnosed with alopecia: an autoimmune disorder that causes your hair to fall out. Growing up, she hid under hats and wigs as people overwhelmingly commented on her appearance - creating an identity shaped by others’ opinions. Dealing with these struggles, Nekeyta also remembered that she had been molested as a child. As she processed her trauma, Nekeyta adopted a mindset that nobody would use her body or place judgment on it ever again. This mindset was empowering but also left her bitter and guarded. It wasn’t until she met her husband that her walls began to come down.
Nekeyta and her husband started a family, but she was still hiding, until one day, her daughters’ comment about another woman without hair would change Nekeyta’s life. After that, she slowly transitioned to head wraps and scarves, which opened her up to a community of other women with similar experiences. Then, a realization occurred: “all this time I was hiding, I was supposed to be helping.”
‘Uncovered Beauty Studio’ and its parent nonprofit organization, ‘She’s Uncovered,’ was the result of Nekeyta’s realization. She began to consult others experiencing alopecia, cancer, and other issues resulting in hair loss. The mission is to help clients thrive via their unique beauty instead of pushing consumerism and westernized standards.
Nekeyta’s story confronts the many flaws within the beauty industry and emphasizes the power of embracing your authentic self.
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