Flores’ struggle with hair loss led her to create Baldie Con, a nonprofit conference to empower women, young people, and men who suffer from hair loss and show them that baldness is beautiful.
Her organization will host the third annual Baldi Con from Friday through Sunday at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead, 3300 Lenox Road. More than 200 people are expected to attend.
The event will feature panel discussions on topics such as love and relationships, children’s hair removal, and building self-esteem, come rain or shine. It will also include a fashion show, expo, Baldy Ball & Awards Gala hosted by actor and comedian Jonathan Slocumb (also a Baldy native and Atlanta native), and a jazz brunch.
Flores’ goal is to give confidence and empowerment to those who have experienced hair loss.
“Beauty comes in all forms,” she said. “I wanted to create a safe space for women, children, and even men to celebrate their decision to go out into the world and live their truth.”
Permanent or temporary hair loss can be caused by illness, medications or cancer treatments, stress, aging, hormonal changes, and genetics. There is also evidence that some hair loss may occur after COVID-19 infection.
Some people go bald by choice.
Flores began experiencing small patches of hair loss in 2001 after the birth of her first child. Her doctors were stunned when several tests came back negative for that reason.
A dermatologist diagnosed her with alopecia areata, according to the Alopecia Areata Foundation of America. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and sometimes other parts of the body.
In 2006, she lost her second son, Drew, and “literally lost all my hair. When I took out my weave and cornrows, it was literally falling out in clumps.”
She believes it is a combination of an autoimmune disease and the stress of losing a child.
Her friends burst into tears when they saw Flores without a wig. She couldn’t care less about her own hair as she was still reeling from the shock of losing her baby. She decided to shave it off, but for nine years she continued to wear a wig and hide it from her friends and relatives.
“I was banned from many things, including swimming and other hobby activities, because I was worried that my wig would fall off.”
Then, in 2015, at the urging of his daughter Camryn, Flores decided to announce to the world that he was bald by participating in a social media challenge called “Don’t Judge Me.”
Credit: Baldie Con
Credit: Baldie Con
Her mother was shocked when she showed her baldness. Will people think she is sick?
“In my heart, I felt OK, but this was not normal,” Flores said. “I got a lot of looks.”
Was it empowering at first?
Absolutely not, Flores said.
She was afraid of what people would think.
But baldness can be beautiful.
Now she wants to empower others and give them confidence. Hair loss usually affects adults, but can also affect young people.
Morgan Koren, 12, a former metro Atlanta resident, is one of them.
Morgan, known as “msmorgan2daworld” on Instagram, is a model, advocate, author, and self-proclaimed “Alopecia Princess.”
Morgan, who now lives in Maryland, was featured in the coffee table book Crown: Magical Folklore and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora, published in 2023 by Atlanta photographers Karlan and Regis Bethencourt of CreativeSoul Photography. He was one of several young people.
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“Morgan is rocking his bald head with confidence,” Karlan Bethencourt said. “I want them to feel confident and know that their hair doesn’t define them.”
Morgan is lucky. She has never been bullied by her other students and she credits her strong network of family and friends for motivating her and helping her through any difficulties.
“They say I’m beautiful and all that,” said Morgan, who was diagnosed with alopecia areata at age 3.
His mother, Maxine Galloway, said it was like chasing a wildfire because Morgan’s hair loss wasn’t just limited to his head. Her hair loss extended to her eyebrows and eyelashes.
Galloway took her to a holistic doctor, and after treatment her eyelashes and eyebrows grew back, but no hair grew back.
When Morgan wanted to enter a pageant at age 6, Galloway encouraged her. Although she won wearing a wig, she later said she thinks she could have won without the wig, saying “it was all on the inside.”
Morgan, who runs a hat brand for children with alopecia, encourages other young people with alopecia to be bold and fearless in expressing themselves, no matter what others say.
“They’re perfect just the way they are,” Morgan said.
