Music can touch the soul, bringing comfort, strength and solace to many, so it is perhaps unsurprising to hear how people are using it to inspire those with hair loss caused by the autoimmune disorder
Alopecia Areata.
Recently leading hair loss charity Alopecia UK
took inspiration for its September 2018 Alopecia Awareness Month campaign from 'This Is Me' - a track from the musical The Greatest Showman.

Now, Filipina singer-songwriter
Abby Asistio, whose hair loss is the result Alopecia Areata, is hoping to empower her peers with her new song, 'More Than My Hair'.
We are "more than our hair"
Asistio is a long-term Alopecia Areata Awareness advocate and this is her second track dedicated to talking specifically about
hair loss.
More Than My Hair features the support group Alopecia Philippines and a 'behind the scenes' teaser for the video was shared on Facebook ahead of its release today (30th September 2018).
Abby Asistio, who generally wears a wig or turban but has also shared images of herself without her head covered, posted the following message about the project to her Instagram page:
"I could not begin to describe how disheartening losing one's hair, eyelashes and eyebrows are. For most people, Alopecia causes a huge hurdle or halt in their lives as they begin questioning their worth, identity, capabilities and acceptance in society. We want to show people that we are "more than our hair" -- and that real strength, courage and beauty springs from the inside out. It's possible to be brave and rise #AboveAlopecia. You are not alone and there are people out there who are willing to help and support you through your journey."
Continues below...
About Alopecia Areata
There are three main phenotypes that all come under the umbrella term of 'Alopecia Areata' and all can affect men, women and children of all races and hair types. They are the result of the body attacking the hair follicles and the precise reason it occurs remains unknown.
The first phenotype, also known as Alopecia Areata, is considered to be the most mild to moderate and causes patchy hairloss to the scalp only.
Alopecia Areata Treatment can be effective but is generally only suitable for over 16s.
The two more severe forms are
Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis which present as baldness of the head - including loss of facial hair, eyebrows and eyelashes - and the body rejecting all hair from head to toe, respectively. Whilst some therapies are offered for these conditions, however, the success rate is not particularly significant. Treatments that can regrow hair in these instances are currently being developed, with an
estimated release date of around 2022.
In all three phenotypes, the hair loss is sudden - often triggered by a sudden shock, trauma or through certain allergies - and whether or not hair regrowth will resume, and if so when, cannot be predicted. In cases of the scalp-only form, it is common to see hair grow back within 12 months, though this is not always the case and is far less likely in the more extreme iterations.
For people affected by these highly visible conditions, the support of Alopecia Awareness advocates and
hair loss charities can be hugely beneficial. We wish Abby Asistio the very best with her latest single and spreading its fantastic message.