An America’s Next Top Model contestant suffering from alopecia burst into tears while having her wig removed on the show, but she insists the experience has been freeing.
Jeana Turner, 24, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, had the support of ANTM judge Law Roach when her long, dark wig was taken off as part of her makeover on Tuesday night’s episode of the VH1 reality series.
‘Plenty of people have told me I’m not beautiful. Doing this is really scary, but I want to show people it’s okay to be bald and bald is beautiful. Losing your hair is beautiful,’ she said in her testimonial.
Transformation: Jeana Turner, 24, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, had her long, dark wig removed as part of her makeover on Tuesday night’s episode of America’s Next Top Model
Emotional moment: The model, who suffers from alopecia, started crying the moment the team of hair stylists started taking off her wig and exposing her bald head
Role model: ‘Doing this is really scary, but I want to show people it’s okay to be bald and bald is beautiful,’ Jeana said
The autoimmune disease, which causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and other parts of the body, affects as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S., according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
When the team of hair stylists started removing Jeana’s hair piece, Roach stood by her side, telling her he would hold her hand if she wanted him to.
Jeana couldn’t stop herself from crying during the emotional moment, and Roach insisted that she let him her face once her wig was removed.
He was also overcome with emotion when he saw Jeana’s bald head for the first time, and he assured her ‘it’s beautiful.’ Jeana actually had to tell him to stop crying.
‘it’s beautiful’: Jeana had the support of ANTM judge Law Roach, who cried the first time he saw her without her wig on
Beautiful: Jeana wore her wig at the start of the competition, but now she is embracing her bald head
Owning it: Jeana showed off her bald head in a stunning post-makeover shoot after her wig was removed
Although she was understandably apprehensive about removing her wig at first, she was later happy that she went through with it.
‘Removing the wig is really liberating. It’s freeing,’ she explained. ‘I feel like the whole world can see me now, like I can see myself now.’
The aspiring model noted that she is a ‘very strong person’ who has ‘internalized a lot of really rough things’, including her hair loss.
‘Losing my hair was a symbol of strength,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know that until now.’
After her wig was removed, Jeana owned her look and proudly showed off her bald head in a post-makeover photo shoot.