For centuries, women have been known for being obsessed with their hair and that fascination with making it look good, no matter the cost, starts at a very young age.
Most of us remember our moms brushing and trying to style our hair, despite our opposition. Even if all we had were strands of hair when we were babies, there was always an attempt to decorate it with a bow or place a pretty headband with glittery flowers on to show off her pretty baby girl!
Teferra Fritz was no different, that’s why it was so hard to see her baby girl Amiyah Coleman lose her hair to Alopecia at the tender age of 7. Alopecia patients start losing hair when their immune system starts attacking hair follicles, which is where hair growth begins.
When all her hair fell out, Amiyah started getting bullied at school. Kids called her ”grandma” and she felt she looked more like a boy than a girl. When she wore a hat or a headband, kids pulled it right off her head. The school did very little to help.
When Amiyah’s mom decided to look for help, she found Houston hairstylist Crystal Mercier.
In 2009, Crystal lost her sister, Dena, to breast cancer. In the final months of her life, Dena struggled with her confidence. “When she began to lose her hair, she became very depressed. Before she died she said, ‘Sister, you can show people who I am.’”
After Dena’s passing, Crystal realized her purpose in life. “I promised her I would give her, and others like her, who feel bad about themselves the opportunity to feel good because it rebuilds confidence, it restores self-esteem, and it does something for me.” – Crystal said in an interview to Fox26Houston.
With this new purpose in life, Crystal set out to start a non-profit organization to help people struggling with self-confidence while battling an illness and in turn, rebuild their self-esteem by providing hair replacement systems or weaves at no cost to veterans and low-income individuals with hair loss due to cancer, alopecia and many other conditions that cause hair loss.
As for Amiyah, she’s now rocking the beautiful hair replacement Crystal customized for her, which makes her smile even brighter!
If you are interested in helping Crystal make a difference in someone’s life, like precious Amiyah, please visit hairdreamsbychristal.org or contact her by phone at 281-830-3497.
For a woman, the daily ritual of taking care of your hair starts at a very young age.
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