ASU honors student turns alopecia diagnosis into movement for awareness, community
From hiding under a hat to leading hundreds: CJ Moore is bringing hope during Alopecia Awareness Month
At left, CJ Moore is pictured as a child after losing his hair to alopecia areata. At right, Moore discusses the Walk for Alopecia movement in a news interview. Courtesy photos
When Arizona State University freshman CJ Moore was 8 years old, his hair began to fall out. Within a year, he was completely bald, including his eyebrows. The diagnosis was alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss on the scalp, face and body.
“It started off with just a dime-sized bald spot, then it grew and it grew and it grew,” said Moore — who attends Barrett, The Honors College — in an interview. “And by August of 2017, I was completely bald. No eyebrows, no hair, no nothing. I started my fourth-grade year, going into a new school, completely bald. There was a lot of stress and a lot of scary thoughts behind it.”
For years, Moore hid under a hat.
“From fourth to around sixth or seventh grade, I wore a hat every day at school,” he said. His school made a special rule allowing him to wear one so he could feel more comfortable. “If it was a windy day and my hat flew off, I was panicked,” Moore said. “Then everyone would see the real me. And I didn’t want that to happen.”
Now, he speaks with confidence about the strength he has found in living with alopecia.
“It took me around five years to be even OK with the idea of taking my hat off,” Moore said. “And now I think I’m at the point where I’ve learned it’s who I am. It’s part of what makes me confident in myself. It’s part of what makes me happy to be who I am. I’m bald, and I have power in that.”
Moore has turned that power into advocacy. As a youth mentor and site leader with the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, he organized Arizona’s first Walk for Alopecia last year at his high school. His efforts were so successful that Phoenix was named an official walk site this year, and the event is the only alopecia walk in the state.
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Moore will lead the Walk for Alopecia at Mesa Riverview Park, part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness, funds and community support for those affected by the condition.
His work has drawn attention from across the Valley. The Arizona Cardinals invited members of the alopecia community to a cheerleading practice earlier this month and will welcome them onto the field at their Sept. 25 game against the Seattle Seahawks. Moore also secured coverage with 12 News to share the event with a wider audience.
As he begins his first semester at ASU, Moore hopes his peers will join him in supporting the cause.
“Getting support from those not affected by alopecia is a vital part of bringing that sense of safety and community to patients with the disease, and seeing a sea of Sun Devils on walk day would be truly inspirational for our community.”
Gates open at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Mesa Riverview Park. The Walk for Alopecia begins at 9 a.m.
For updates and ways to get involved, follow the walk’s Instagram account: @naafzonasquad.