Update (January 30, 2020): Just weeks after disclosing her battle with alopecia, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) appeared on the House floor wig-free for the first time ever.

The freshman congresswoman took to the House floor on Wednesday to propose the Comprehensive Credit Act, a bill intended to protect Americans from harsh credit reporting. As she walked to the podium to detail her bill proposal in front of her peers, she donned a confident smile complimented by her signature red lip.





At the beginning of January, Pressley shared with The Root that she had been wearing wigs, masking her battle with alopecia.

The 45-year-old revealed she had previously only been comfortable donning her baldness "in the privacy of her home and in the company of close friends."

She said her go-to hairstyle of Senegalese twists, which quickly became a part of her brand, was a political statement that was a blessing of acceptance for the community and affirmation for other Black women and children.

"My twists have become such a synonymous and conflated part of not only my personal identity and how I show up in the world but my political brand. That's why I think it's important about my new normal and living with alopecia," Pressley said.

She said she learned during a touch-up hair appointment for her twists that she had bald patches which quickly escalated.

"I had been waking up every morning to sinkfuls of hair," she said.

Despite growing up and taking care of her hair as she was taught, she found herself battling an unforeseen diagnosis.

"I did not want to go to sleep because I did not want the morning to come where I would remove this bonnet and my wrap and be met with more hair in the sink and an image in the mirror in the mirror of a person who increasingly felt like a stranger to me," the congresswoman said.

While being reminded of India.Arie's song "I Am Not My Hair" from friends, Pressley admits that her hair is more than an accessory and something she still desires. However, she's learning to be free from her secret.

Original (January 16, 2020): Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced Thursday in an interview with The Root that she has been diagnosed with alopecia, a condition which causes hair loss. During the interview, Pressley showed her bald head for the first time and spoke about the impact such a reveal could have.

“I'm very early in my alopecia journey, but I'm making progress every day. And that's why I'm doing this today,” she said. “It's about self-agency. It's about power. It's about acceptance. It's so interesting to me that right now, on this journey, when I feel the most unlike myself is when I am wearing a wig. So I think that means I'm on my way."

Pressley, who had become known for her twists, first became aware of patchiness while getting her hair re-done during the fall. The hair loss associated with the disease is sudden, with the National Alopecia Areata Foundation estimating that as many as 6.8 million Americans are affected by it.

Pressley tells the story that the “last little bit” of her hair fell out December 17, the day before the official impeachment vote for President Donald Trump.





“I was completely bald and, in a matter of hours, was going to have to walk onto the floor [of] the House Chamber and cast a vote in support of articles of impeachment,” she told The Root. “And so I didn't have the luxury of mourning what felt like the loss of a limb. It was a moment of transformation, not of my choosing."

Despite the strength it took to show up on camera in a wig that she now affectionately calls the "OG," she described how the moment overwhelmed her.

"I exited the floor as soon as I could, and I hid in a bathroom stall," she said. "I felt naked, exposed, vulnerable. I felt embarrassed. I felt ashamed. I felt betrayed."

Since that day, she has attempted to make peace with her alopecia and said this was the right moment to go public. The congresswoman has received an outpouring of support since the interview was released, with many amazed at her power and courage in deciding to go public with the news.

Don’t mind me, just over here crying because .@AyannaPressley is showing how being vulnerable is a boss move and January has been a long year — blackness everdeen 🐺 (@traceyecorder) January 16, 2020



So many of y’all have no concept of the courage on display here. You can hear it in her voice if you listen closely. @AyannaPressley is extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary. https://t.co/JtSoT7r2AV — Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) January 16, 2020



With or without hair, @AyannaPressley is stunningly beautiful inside and out. I hope her courage to tell her story helps other women know they are not alone. https://t.co/2mQ7CRKnwJ — Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) January 16, 2020



Queen. 👑



Your courage in sharing your story is what makes you so incredibly special @AyannaPressley.



I love you sis. https://t.co/0OtFXsrXlK — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 16, 2020



Toward the end of the interview, Pressley described being more herself without wigs than with, so we may possibly see more of her new look in the future.