An Interview With Edward Sylvan
… I think that if we all responded to challenging situations with a lot more empathy, patience and kindness, so much more of the population would feel welcome and included. As far as society and community, I’d love to see more beauty brands and brands, in general, using bald models to represent their campaigns and media. Until the world sees us like we see ourselves, a lot of the time we’re stared at and pitied as if we’re sick or as if there’s something wrong with us.
As a part of my series about leaders who are using their social media platform to make a significant social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Abby Wren.
Abby Wren is a professional makeup artist and outspoken advocate for inclusivity throughout the beauty industry. After losing all of her hair, eyelashes and eyebrows to the autoimmune disease Alopecia, she began using bold, creative makeup to express her femininity and creativity, encouraging others to celebrate their differences proudly.
Before her recognition on social media, Abby was known for her editorial makeup techniques across the stages of New York Fashion Week, the Emmy Awards, and countless publications and national commercials. Originally from the Flathead Reservation in rural Montana, Abby now calls Los Angeles home.
Abby’s signature bald look has become her iconic canvas, as she transforms herself into colorful, mind-blowing characters and creations like Dr. Phil and Avatar! She is lighting the internet on fire with her gripping artistry and bold message that demands inclusivity throughout the beauty industry, as she proudly represents the hair loss community.
Her passion of advocating for diversity and empowerment has gone on to inspire countless others in the beauty community and beyond. Abby leads educational makeup workshops for Angel Faces, a burn survivor recovery program, and Baldtourage, a supportive community for those living with all forms of hair loss. Abby is no stranger to making a statement with her stunning makeup looks, from editorial makeup to creating elaborate pop culture characters.
For some, a lipstick is just a lipstick, but to Abby, makeup is a powerful outlet for endless self-expression, creativity and empowerment that has completely changed her life.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thanks so much for having me! My journey started back in 2006 in high school when I started losing all of my hair to the autoimmune disease Alopecia Totalis. I started using bold, creative makeup to express my femininity, and since then I’ve worked the stages of New York Fashion Week, the Emmy Awards, and taught countless workshops and classes. Now I share my message across the social media landscape as an outspoken advocate for inclusivity and diverse beauty standards, in the beauty industry and beyond.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
My Alopecia has come and gone through many different cycles over the years, but the most unexpected and traumatic chapter of hair loss came in 2018. My hair had grown back quite a bit over the years since high school, and I was able to mostly hide the bald patches with clip-in hair extensions, so nobody could really tell that I really even had Alopecia. After working at New York Fashion Week, my hair started to fall out again to the point where I really couldn’t hide it with hats or extensions any longer. In February after much reluctance, my boyfriend and I decided to shave my head. It was devastating for me as a professional makeup artist, as my job was to always help my clients achieve the highest form of beauty every time they were in my chair, but internally I was completely unraveling with fear and embarrassment. Since then I’ve learned so much about how important it is to embrace change and be proud about what makes you different, but back then it sure felt like I lost a part of my identity.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Oh gosh, there have been so many mistakes along the way! I remember one time when I was working on one of my first film sets in Denver, Colorado, a producer asked me to grab her an apple. Trying to hurry and be helpful I ran over to craft services and grabbed her a big juicy honey crisp apple, not knowing that she meant the woodblock that’s used for props on set that production calls an “apple.” That’s what I always loved about working on set, you definitely learn fast! Definitely was a rookie mistake but at least it made everyone laugh!
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I think the one thing I would say is: start now. Not tomorrow, not when you think you’ll be ready, just start now. I’ve learned over the years that you can’t learn to improve or work through challenges until you’ve actually started, and sometimes that’s the hardest part. Once you’ve started along the path you want to pursue, my advice is to stay in the damn saddle and enjoy the ride. Persistence and patience. That’s really it! And if you’re passionate enough about what you’re doing, the rest will come with time.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact?
I’ve always been incredibly passionate about bold color and creative makeup — I like how it makes me feel unstoppable and enhances the fact that I can creatively look different from others. My goal is to spread that feeling to others, and in the process make the beauty space a more colorful and accepting space. I don’t like to do makeup that makes me feel “pretty” or “hot,” I like to create makeup that is ART and that makes you really feel something. Makeup for me is also the vehicle by which I can spread more awareness of Alopecia, and advocate for its inclusion in beauty today. A lot of women feel that hair is a powerful representation of their femininity, but I’ve actually found so much more power in my femininity since losing all of my hair to Alopecia, and my mission is to show people everywhere that bald IS beautiful, and powerful, and sexy, and strong.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?
I work with several advocacy groups and organizations that support this mission, but the most impactful experience I’ve had was actually through connecting with someone on Instagram. A woman reached out to me last year and mentioned that she saw me on a tv show that I was competing in at the time. She too had recently been diagnosed with Alopecia but wore a wig every day to hide her hair loss. After she saw me on tv, she sent me a message on Instagram expressing her frustration and devastation from having Alopecia, but she saw hope in the fact that I shared my story on the show, and wore my baldness proudly. After chatting back and forth for a while, she decided it was time to shave her head that night! We were writing messages back and forth in real-time, and finally, she sent me a photo of her newly shaved head, and said “I did it!“
She took the power back from her Alopecia, and now she’s going on to inspire others! It really was such an important lesson for me to understand that we’re always impacting others even when we don’t know it.
Was there a tipping point that made you decide to focus on this particular area? Can you share a story about that?
In 2020 when the world basically shut down, I was forced to stop working on all of my clients and projects. To stay creative, I started really posting relentlessly on Instagram and TikTok, and the only canvas I had to work on was myself. I started painting my bald head and using my makeup artistry to talk more about Alopecia and I discovered that there were so many people out there who felt alone and isolated in their experience with hair loss. Really we’re all in it together, and I wanted to create a community where everyone felt welcome and empowered to express themselves through artistry! Now I get comments and messages daily about how helpful and encouraging it is for people to see another person with Alopecia, and I’m so inspired to continue spreading this message until it’s really heard.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
I think that if we all responded to challenging situations with a lot more empathy, patience and kindness, so much more of the population would feel welcome and included. As far as society and community, I’d love to see more beauty brands and brands, in general, using bald models to represent their campaigns and media. Until the world sees us like we see ourselves, a lot of the time we’re stared at and pitied as if we’re sick or as if there’s something wrong with us.
What specific strategies have you been using to promote and advance this cause? Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for a social good?
I think that being authentically passionate and relentless in a creative way is a great start. Nobody can create, think and act that way you can, and that’s what’s so beautiful about individuality. I always tell people to lean into what makes them different, and just do that with your whole heart! Try not to waste your time comparing yourself to others, because we’re all on different journeys with different circumstances. I always say #DifferentIsDope!
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Just start. We all spend so much time worrying about what other people will think, and usually wait to start something until we’re ready. My advice is to just start, and evolve and change and grow as time goes on. But you can’t do any of that until you start!
- Be louder about your mission. For the longest time, I thought that anyone watching me on social media would get sick and tired of hearing me talk about alopecia, but the truth is that most of the time we think we’re shouting, we’re actually whispering. I still have so many people continuously asking me why I’m bald, and it’s a great reminder that we need to speak up louder than we usually realize.
- Be consistent. Stay motivated, and keep creating! It’s hard, and time-consuming, and the platforms change and constantly evolve, but keep going. Consistency is key.
- Put in more work that you think you need to. If working for myself has taught me anything over the past few years, it’s that tenacity and persistence are half the battle. If you want extraordinary results, you have to work extraordinarily hard.
- Be patient with yourself. Everything good takes time. You will get better, you will learn, you will grow. Be patient.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It’s more like “What CAN’T we do?!” If I had more support, I would love to start a kindness + Alopecia Awareness tour around the country, where I could speak at schools, involve others from the Alopecia community, and encourage others to use art and creativity as a way to express what makes us all different and unique.
I would also love to create my own brand of face and body paints and make sure that the majority of the profits went back into spreading this message of kindness and empathy. And honestly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The compassion and love that something like this could inspire in others could be endlessly impactful.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Rely on the good grace of other people once in a while. It’s not often that you’ll be disappointed, and if you are…don’t judge them all.”
My dad said this to me once, and I think back to it often when I feel frustrated about how we treat one another as humans. Empathy is everything to me. We’re all living in different life circumstances with different views of the world, and being empathetic is essential when trying to understand or connect with others. Thanks, dad!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to meet Jada Pinkett Smith, and join her on her Red Table Talk show and discuss Alopecia with her. We both share similar circumstances and I would love to get her take on how it affected her emotionally. It would be such a powerful platform to share my experience of losing my hair in high school, and how I use makeup to spread more awareness about it. Maybe she would even let me paint her head too!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me at @abbywrenartistry everywhere, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Makeup Artist Abby Wren Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.