There’s no one way to look beautiful, and Dani Gilbert of the U.K. is proving that flawlessly.
At 2 years old, the influencer was diagnosed with aloplecia areata. This autoimmune disorder causes large amounts of hair loss on the scalp and has the potential to lead to hair loss in other areas.
“When I was about 5 or 6 the patches just all basically joined into one and I had tiny strands of hair just hanging on,” Dani said. “But when I was 13, 14, that’s when my eyebrows started going. And then after that, that’s when my eyelashes went.”
As the disease continued to affect her appearance, she began to experiment with makeup. With the right tools, she was able to draw on eyebrows and wear fake lashes. All the while, her condition progressed to the point of becoming alopecia universalis, a complete loss of hair that affects the entire body.
Despite what she’s experienced, the 23-year-old has found hope and encouragement from people with alopecia who share their experiences online. With their content, they redefine beauty standards and show the world that everyone is perfect just as they are.
Now Dani is doing the exact same thing!
As an influencer, she shows her followers how she expresses herself with her makeup (or lack thereof) and outfits, proving we don’t have to fit societal standards to look and feel great.
With over 180,000 followers on Instagram and partnerships with beauty brands, Dani is well on her way to making the positive changes she wants to see in the world. Regardless of her success, she knows what really matters are the individuals who realize they aren’t alone.
“There is such a huge community out there of people with hair loss who suffer with similar things to you do who felt the same things that you do,” Dani said.
It’s baffling to me that you can let hair stop you from doing what you want to do, and it is definitely just this mental hurdle that you do have to overcome. So as soon as you do get comfortable with who you are and be accepting of that, then the better you’re gonna feel.
What an amazing way to lift people’s spirits! Keep up the great work, Dani, and always keep being you!
Check out Dani’s thoughts on breaking societal beauty standards in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story with someone who needs encouragement.
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