Watch Girl With Alopecia's Moving Reaction to Being Gifted Her Own Wig

The emotional moment a young girl with alopecia saw herself transformed after being fitted with a wig has been captured in a video widely shared across social media.

Tiffani Calix, the owner of Wigs by Tiffani, shared the heartwarming footage to her TikTok account last month, where it quickly gained traction.

At the time of writing, the footage has been watched over 19 million times with a second version amassing a further 116,000 upvotes after being posted to Reddit.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease that results in hair loss on the scalp, face and, in some cases, other areas of the body. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. are affected by the condition, which carries a lifetime risk of 2.1 percent.

In its most common form, alopecia results in several coin-sized hairless patches. However, other versions can result in total hair loss or complete loss of hair on the entire body. While there is no known cure, the hair follicles remain alive, meaning sufferers can sometimes grow their hair back.

Failing that, many turn to human hair wigs as a long-term solution.

Hair loss might be an accepted part of growing old, but the impact of alopecia is especially stark on those who develop the condition from a young age. It's something Calix is all too familiar with, having suffered from alopecia herself.

After going through the personal struggles around self image created by the condition, she set about creating her own brand of wigs and has been supporting women and children with medical related hair loss for over a decade now

Calix told Newsweek the girl in the video received her wig, made from human hair, free of charge, courtesy of the Wigs By Tiffani Children's Fund.

"We gift quality human hair wigs that retail anywhere from $1,300-$2,000 to children ages 8-17 that have lost their hair due to medical conditions," she said. "In this video, our sweet girl, who has alopecia, got to try on her very first human hair wig that was gifted to her through the program."

The clip captures the young girl's delighted reaction after seeing the results for herself. It's a powerful moment, with her initial nerves and excitement giving way to joy at the change witnessed.

It's a reaction that left many online viewers in tears. "Didn't plan on happy crying this morning but here I am," one viewer on Reddit wrote, with another commenting: "I am so happy for her."

The girl's reaction is one Calix sees often and she'll never grow tired of seeing. "It's as if we gave them back a part of themselves that they felt like they lost," she said. "It's an unexplainable feeling. It fulfills us."

Calix hopes videos like this will go some way to dispelling the negative, outdated stereotypes surrounding the use of wigs. She also hopes the video will send a message to anyone else out there struggling with alopecia.

"I would tell them that they're not alone," she said. "Hair loss is normal, but not normalized. Let's normalize it! Extensions are not a big deal. Why do wigs need to be?"

Calix added: "So many women wear wigs and you wouldn't even known it! Especially today's wigs. They have come a long way in the last couple decades. Wigs don't have to be so taboo. Let's own it!"

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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