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Tuesday June 24, 2008

Six years ago, Susan Beausang was enjoying life. She wasn't working and divided her time amoung golf, tennis, and running. But suddenly, that all changed. Beausang's hair began falling out in clumps, and her selfesteem went with it.

After a month of going to doctors and being repeatedly misdiagnosed, she was told that she had Alopecia Areata. The condition occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles, where hair growth begins; experts do not know what causes it. After three months, Susan Beausang was completely bald. As if losing her scalp hair was not enough, she was soon diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis, the most extreme form of Alopecia, in which all hair on the body is lost. She retreated into her home and refused to see anyone other than her family and close friends.

Beausang reflects, "For a woman, losing your hair is such an emotional disease." Eventually, she began to accept her "new" self and figure out how to move forward. She started by trying various wigs but found that no matter how much money she spent on one, it always felt artificial and she was sure that others could tell. Beausang moved on to scarves but was shocked to find that her only options seemed to be cotton "do-rags" or cheap, uncomfortable scarves that slipped and slid around on her head. Unhappy with these choices, Susan Beausang decided to create something that would serve her needs and those of other women experiencing hair loss. She spent the next year working with a designer and, after some false starts and frustrations, the BeauBeau was born.

BeauBeau scarves are Beausang's cutting-edge answer to women's hair loss: comfortable, fashionable, fitted scarves in an array of colors and patterns, which allow women to stop focusing on their hair loss and feel pretty again. After much perseverance, she persuaded a boutique in Pennsylvania to begin selling her scarves on consignment. They quickly sold out. Now, two years later, BeauBeau scarves are on sale in 45 boutiques in the U.S. and Canada, and Beausang is negotiating with major department stores to offer the product for their customers who have experienced hair loss.

Susan Beausang attends four major fashion shows each year and closely monitors fashion trends in order to design scarves that coordinate with the latest runway styles. She has developed designs for everyday wear, exercise, and even cold weather. She recently introduced a girls' line, after meeting a little girl who had been living with Alopecia since the age of two. Beausang receives mail and telephone calls from women around the globe; some want to share their stories, while others are simply seeking an understanding shoulder to cry on. Beausang believes that her scarves are helping women all over the world to regain their freedom and their self-confidence, and that is what she is most proud of.

Beausang credits her Fashion Merchandising degree from Marymount for preparing her for the work that has become her passion. Feeling that she is "finally using her degree," she is grateful for the education she received. And although she has now come to terms with her condition, there are still struggles. She notes, "You get to a level of acceptance and you do get comfortable with who you are, but you still get the head jerk sometimes because you look different. A good day is when people notice my scarf and not that I look different."

Susan Beausang and her BeauBeau scarves can be found on the Web at www.4women.com, or you can contact her at susan@4women.com. She would love to hear from fellow MU grads and looks forward to seeing her classmates at this year's Reunion!

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