• Abby Engel is doing her senior project on her participation with Henna Heals. She’s working with Portland children’s hospitals to provide crowns for young patients who have lost their hair. She’s also offering henna crowns for free through April.
• For more about Engel’s work, visit www.abigailengel4.wix.com/hennabodyart or email abigail.engel4@gmail.com
For more information about Henna Heals, visit www.hennaheals.ca
Madison Powers started losing her hair in first grade.
Powers, now 19, was diagnosed with alopecia as a child and, initially, wasn’t bothered by her baldness. Neither were her classmates. Powers’ hair grew back before long, but by middle school, she had big bald spots that couldn’t be hidden by creative hair styling. As a middle-schooler, Powers’ classmates weren’t as accepting of her differences. They were mean, often bullying the young girl because of her medical condition.
• Abby Engel is doing her senior project on her participation with Henna Heals. She's working with Portland children's hospitals to provide crowns for young patients who have lost their hair. She's also offering henna crowns for free through April.
• For more about Engel's work, visit <a href="http://www.abigailengel4.wix.com/hennabodyart">www.abigailengel4.wix.com/hennabodyart</a> or email <a href="mailto:abigail.engel4@gmail.com">abigail.engel4@gmail.com</a>
For more information about Henna Heals, visit <a href="http://www.hennaheals.ca">www.hennaheals.ca</a>
“My confidence level was horrible,” she said. “I did not feel beautiful. I felt like I was some creature. I didn’t feel human.”
Things improved in high school — both her medical condition and her interactions with classmates — but Powers still lacked confidence.
That’s changed, though, in the months since Powers learned about an organization called Henna Heals and met Camas High School senior Abby Engel — the teen whose artistic abilities empowered the Vancouver woman.
“I couldn’t walk out of my house without something on my head, and now I do,” Powers said. “I can walk out of my house and feel confident and beautiful about myself.”
Creating crowns
Henna Heals is a community of artists who create and advocate for henna crowns — designs drawn using henna paste that stains the skin — as a form of empowerment for people experiencing hair loss. The organization’s creators are based in Toronto, but participating artists span the globe.
Engel, 17, first learned about the organization from a couple of her mom’s friends. They knew Engel has covered her hands, arms and legs with henna artwork since she was in the seventh grade. When they saw an article about Henna Heals on Facebook, they shared it with Engel.
“I was in awe of what they do,” Engel said. “I thought it would be so cool to be a part of that.”
She contacted Henna Heals and applied to be added to their database. In October, she got an email from her first client, Powers, who heard about the organization through Facebook, as well.
They met one morning, and together they came up with a design, pulling ideas from Google and Pinterest. The centerpiece of the design was a sun on the crown of Powers’ head with feathers hanging down to the nape of her neck. The piece took Engel about two hours to create.
“It was just an amazing experience,” Engel said.
“She was ready to just feel better about herself, and it was amazing to know that I played a role in that,” she added.
Empowering
The experience was empowering for Powers, who had for years lacked the confidence to tell anybody about her condition.
In high school, Powers was able to pin her hair up and cover the bald spots. But by the time she graduated from high school, the baldness could no longer be hidden. Powers decided to shave her head and started wearing wigs.
Powers never left her house without a wig, but she did explain her medical condition if someone asked. Slowly, she started talking about it more, but she still wasn’t confident enough to be out in public without a wig.
That changed when Engel drew the elaborate henna crown for Powers this fall.
“It opened my eyes,” Powers said. “You are beautiful no matter what. The right people will love you no matter what, hair or no hair.”
“She really helped me tell my story,” Powers said of Engel. “Henna Heals helped me tell my story.”
Powers took photos of her finished crown and posted them on Facebook, along with an explanation about her alopecia. Most people had no idea about the diagnosis and were surprised to see Powers bald. Since getting the crown, Powers has decided to venture out without a wig much more often. Now, she feels beautiful either way, she said.
“My true beauty is who I am, and I shouldn’t have hid it, and I hid it for so long,” Powers said.
“My mom always told me I hid my true beauty,” she added. “She always told me that. I never believed it.”
