Singapore girl wins over TikTok by sharing her experiences and struggles with alopecia

When TikTok user Adel first found out she had alopecia totalis, she could barely look at herself in the mirror, or even her shadow.

She shared how at 18, the autoimmune disease caused her to lose all her hair on her head, including her eyebrows and eyelashes, within two weeks.

One can only imagine how to cope with such a drastic change.

@adelimey Reply to @koukesehz ♬ original sound - lime

However, Adel, who goes by @adelimey on TikTok, has become a beacon of light for others who are living with alopecia as well.

To date, Adel has over 5,000 followers and 300,000 likes on the social media platform and it's easy to see why.

She's candid and patiently answers most questions netizens have sent her.

She says: "Self-love is an everyday battle."

In an emotional video, she explained why she stopped wearing wigs as it was too much being constantly reminded of her condition every time she took off her wig.

@adelimey Reply to @wan_jing_1 ♬ original sound - lime

Over the years, she has learned to feel less ashamed and credits this to the support from her family and friends and her new online community.

She also often injects some humour into her videos and described her alopecia as "reverse IPL".

"The places I want to have hair, don't have and the places I don't want to have hair, have," she says in one of her videos.

Although she is in a better place than she was a few years ago, Adel says she still struggles with confidence and finds posting on TikTok "intimidating".

However, her positive attitude is inspiring and is frequently commended by her followers.

Adel hopes to create awareness for alopecia and is happy to have connected with "fellow botaks" through the app.