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“You Have To Be Kidding Me”: Makeup Artist With Alopecia Goes Viral With Stunning Transformations
Interview
Emmy Combs has been redefining beauty standards and championing self-acceptance since she was a little girl. After losing all her hair at the age of one to a rare form of alopecia, the influencer embraced her unique beauty and showcased her incredible artistry as a professional makeup artist, amassing millions of admirers on social media. However, her journey to success was shaped by resilience, as she overcame school bullies and cultivated a profound sense of self-acceptance.
Highlights
- Emmy Combs embraced her unique beauty after losing all her hair at age one to alopecia.
- Emmy uses her face as a canvas to create stunning makeup looks, amassing millions of followers.
- She overcame school bullying and cultivated self-acceptance, thanks to her supportive parents.
- Diagnosed with alopecia universalis, Emmy never grew hair but embraced the condition fully.
- Emmy enjoys wearing wigs now, viewing them as fun accessories for self-expression.
Emmy is notable for using her face as a canvas, transforming it into a masterpiece with every look.
Just as a painter brings portraits to life on a canvas, she is known for using her eyes to craft a wide range of stunning creations—from otherworldly characters to elegant, glamorous designs.
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Emmy Combs has been redefining beauty standards and championing self-acceptance since she was a little girl
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy was born in Virginia and grew up in Maryland, USA, away from the glitz and glam she now experiences while living in Los Angeles, with a visible difference—one she quickly noticed when she came to realize her schoolmates would point out the obvious.
The makeup artist told Bored Panda: “I would say not until my junior year of high school, maybe senior year, I was comfortable with myself.
“It took me that long, and it’s because I had to, as a child, learn that I was different. It wasn’t like I one day had hair, then one day I lost it.”
She continued: “I had to go through kindergarten not having hair. I had to go through first grade, second grade, third grade.
“Going through school, not having hair is a lot different than losing it later on.”
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy further revealed: “Being a child and having to learn that you’re different and kind of having to adapt, because you know that people are looking at you differently, especially with kids, it was definitely a struggle.
“I’m so happy that my parents raised me the way I did. They raised me that if someone tries to bully you, you just don’t let it get to you, because that’s what they want.”
Even when school bullies affected her, Emmy said she made it a point to keep her emotions private, not letting others see her vulnerable side, which she saw as a way of displaying strength.
For years, Emmy hid her alopecia by wearing a bandana, even around close friends, due to insecurity.
Finally, in high school, she decided to remove the bandana, which she described felt like a breakthrough, allowing her to embrace life more fully.
After losing all of her hair at the age of one to a rare form of alopecia, the influencer has embraced her unique beauty
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy was diagnosed with alopecia universalis (AU), a condition characterized by the complete loss of hair on the scalp and body, the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) explains.
According to the GARD, it is an advanced form of alopecia areata, a condition that causes round patches of hair loss.
Although the exact cause of AU is unknown, it is thought to be an autoimmune condition in which the person’s immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. Fewer than 200,000 people in the US have AU.
Emmy candidly revealed that AU caused her not to grow hair on her entire body, or, on rare occasions, to experience the growth of peach fuzz, which she said comes and goes.
She also shared that she has never had eyelashes or eyebrows. However, Emmy shared that the possibility of her growing hair, although slim, is still possible.
Image credits: emmycombss
“It’s one of those small chance things that, it totally could be one day, and it’s up to my immune system to decide one day that it’s not going to attack my hair follicles anymore,” Emmy explained.
“It’s really just like, up to my body. But the longer you have it, the doctors say, the longer you will have it.”
Emmy has learned to manage her expectations, accepting that she would likely be naturally bald for the rest of her life, as she stated: “I think that I will never grow hair, but statistically, by chance I could.
“That’s what the autoimmune disorder disease, that’s what it kind of says, you could grow hair one day.
“Personally, because I know the way my body works, I really don’t think that I would ever grow hair.”
Emmy has since turned her difference into a true creative force, running a TikTok account that’s followed by 10.6 million people, where she often showcases impressive makeup looks that focus on her eyes.
Emmy has been showcasing her incredible artistry as a professional makeup artist, amassing millions of admirers on social media
View this post on Instagram
At first, makeup aided Emmy in blending in with her peers at school, but as is natural with any art, it quickly grew to become Emmy’s superpower.
“I’ve been wanting to do beauty since I was probably in middle school, and I think it did come from me looking a little different,” Emmy recalled.
The 24-year-old recounted feeling left out when her classmates used mascara and eyebrow products, as she couldn’t relate due to her lack of eyelashes and eyebrows.
Eyeshadow, however, became her way into makeup, as it was one product she could try. She started experimenting with her mom’s eyeshadow palette, discovering a routine she enjoyed, and her mom supported her interest.
By her freshman and sophomore years of high school, she had developed her own makeup routine and felt more confident with her creative outlet.
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy reflected on the reactions her makeup progressions would ignite in school: “So instead of being like, ‘You’re bald,’ or ‘Why are you bald?’ Or like, ‘What is causing you to be bald?’
“They’re going towards my makeup and being like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love your makeup,’ ‘I love your eyeshadow.’
“I started to do it really well, and they’re like, ‘How did you do that?’ And I realized I kind of had a natural talent for art and makeup.
“And people were gearing their attention towards my makeup instead of my head, and I was like, ‘bingo, this is it, yeah, this is how I do it.’”
Emmy admitted that if it weren’t for her alopecia, she probably would have still been an artist of some shape or form.
However, her journey to success was shaped by resilience, as she overcame school bullies and cultivated a profound sense of self-acceptance
Image credits: emmycombss
The content creator’s natural talent for makeup brought her all the way to the West Coast, where she graduated in 2018 with a cosmetology license from the Make-up Designory (MUD) in Burbank, Los Angeles, California.
Her life in the City of Angels led her to use social media as a tool for sharing her talent with a wider audience.
In addition to her popular TikTok page, Emmy also showcases groundbreaking looks and trendy designs on her YouTube channel, which has 6.23 million subscribers, her Instagram page, which is followed by 1.9 million people, and her Facebook page, which counts 262,000 followers.
“[I] like showing people that alopecia isn’t something to be scared of or be sad about because I’ve had alopecia since I was one year old,” Emmy told Bored Panda.
She added: “Since then, I loved sharing, my story. I love sharing my life. I just want people to see that I live a normal life, just like anyone else, even though I have this autoimmune disease, and I love it.
“I love having alopecia. […] I honestly would never wish for actual hair.”
View this post on Instagram
Nevertheless, Emmy’s alopecia has brought its own challenges, especially in dealing with uninformed reactions.
Consequently, Emmy shared that she frequently has to dispel the misconception that her hair loss signals a serious illness.
“A lot of people when I was younger really thought that I had cancer, so they thought I was sick,” the makeup artist admitted.
She further explained: “They thought I was a sick child. And now that I’m getting older, a lot of people think that I, by choice, am shaving my head for a statement, or a fashion statement.
“And so a lot of people will be like, ‘Oh, I love your haircut,’ and I’ve never had a haircut my entire life.”
Emmy is notable for using her face as a canvas, transforming it into a masterpiece with every look
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy explained that while she tried to be gracious when people assumed she shaved her head for fashion, it was often a “triggering” topic because it overlooked the struggles she’s faced with alopecia.
“I want people to walk on the street and see maybe, a bald girl and go, ‘Oh, she might have alopecia,’ instead of being like, ‘Oh, she’s really sick’,” Emmy exclaimed.
While adopting a career where appearances play an important role, Emmy revealed that her main goal was to challenge beauty standards, a concept she’s questioned throughout her life.
Emmy shared that she used to feel pressured to conform, even going as far as to style her bandana in high school to resemble her hair, trying to fit typical beauty ideals.
Reflecting on this, she said: “I want to be someone, and I am someone, who’s on social media just sharing my life, and just because I do beauty and, you know, follow some beauty trends, I’m doing it my own way.
“I love to do trends. I love to do, my makeup how a lot of people do their makeup, I’ll do some hairstyles and the wigs that, you know, follow that type of thing, but I always like to do it my own way.”
Image credits: emmycombss
Emmy shared that she first tried to use a wig at around seven or eight years old, expressing interest in them early on.
Her parents found a specialist who worked with girls with alopecia, providing wigs with a silicone base that suctions securely to the head.
This design, though expensive, was ideal for preventing accidental removal, particularly important for a young child.
Despite this, Emmy began to feel conflicted about wearing wigs. Her next wig came at 14, but instead of helping her fit in, she said it drew attention and comments that made her self-conscious.
People would ask why she wore a wig, or criticize its appearance, which made her feel like she stood out rather than blending in.
The makeup artist told Bored Panda: “I would say not until my junior year of high school, maybe senior year, I was comfortable with myself”
Image credits: emmycombss
For a long time, this experience kept her from wearing wigs, as she feared they would be seen as a sign of insecurity.
It wasn’t until 2023 that she “revisited” wigs with a fresh perspective, realizing that she could wear them simply for fun and self-expression.
Now, she enjoys them as creative accessories that add to her videos and bring her joy. In fact, Emmy has since shared a slew of videos on social media displaying her facial art paired with various wigs of different colors.
“Now I love wearing wigs because it’s so fun,” she said. “It makes for such great videos. People love to watch it. I love to wear it, so that’s a fun accessory for me.”
With millions of views on social media, Emmy has frequently encountered curious—and often intrusive—questions, such as people asking about her natural hair color.
Image credits: emmycombss
However, this line of questioning has rarely offended her, as she revealed: “I would love to answer those questions like they don’t offend me.
“And for the natural hair question, it’s actually a really funny one, because since I didn’t have hair growing up and I lost it at one.
“We really don’t know what color my hair would be now. But my DNA test said that it would be light brown [and] I had a 5% chance of having red hair.
“But my mom, when she was a kid, had red hair, and then it got darker as she got older, probably around in high school, it got a little darker.
“But when I put on the red hair, it suits me so well that it looks like it would be my natural color.”
Emmy was diagnosed with alopecia universalis (AU), a condition characterized by the complete loss of hair on the scalp and body
View this post on Instagram
She continued: “I actually love when people ask questions. There’s only a select amount of questions that I would really feel offended on, and it’s when people get too personal…you already know where I’m going with that.
“Other than that, I love the questions because I love the curiosity, and I love to answer them because my main goal is to make people aware about alopecia.”
Emmy, who now works full-time on her social media platform, was initially a self-taught makeup artist.
While she still takes on wedding jobs for friends and family, her focus shifted during the COVID pandemic to demonstrating makeup techniques herself, particularly related to her experience with alopecia, through content on social media.
Image credits: emmycombss
Today, she keeps herself busy with other commitments and doesn’t regularly book makeup jobs, though she remains a licensed makeup artist.
When asked about upcoming projects, Emmy hinted at something exciting on the horizon but chose not to reveal any details just yet.
She concluded: “Maybe for a follow-up interview.”
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.
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