(KUTV) A Salt Lake City woman is preparing for the next round of a beauty pageant, after winning a crown in a competition last weekend. The catch, she has no hair.
19-year-old Angelica Galindez was diagnosed with a condition called Alopecia, when she was 12.
"The hard part was just looking at myself in the mirror," says Angelica, who is now completely bald.
Alopecia is a type of hair loss that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles. Angelica lost nearly all her hair by the time she was in high school.
"It was very challenging, I cried a lot, I slept a lot, just to sleep away the pain," says Angelica.
Her mother Patricia admits that was a very difficult time for both her, and her daughter. "As a teenager, an adolescent, it was difficult. School teachers were asking her to take her hat off in school." Patricia says Angelica often came home from school crying when kids teased her for having bald patches of hair.
Today, Angelica wears a wig and works as a beautician, often working with women dealing with hair loss. Recently, she shunned the hairpiece and stepped into the bright lights, courageously entering a beauty pageant.
"My grandmother's friend sent a picture of me, and he called me up and said, 'do you want to be in it?'"
Initially, Angelica admits she was hesitant to participate, but she decided to take advantage of an opportunity that could encourage other people who are dealing with hair loss.
Organizers initially accepted Angelica into the pageant based on a picture of her wearing a wig, but they would learn she had no hair.
"When I finally was committed to it, I asked, 'can I do this without my wig?'" Angelica says organizers completely embraced her courage to participate in her natural form.
Angelica lives in Salt Lake City, but her Filipino father qualifies her to compete in the Miss Philippines Earth, Pageant. She spent a few days last week in California, competing with dozens of other young Filipino women, who live in the US.
"I surprised myself, because I didn't think I could do it," says Angelica. "I was trying to dance backstage to pump myself up, cause I've never done anything like this before, never performed in front of anyone."
Angelica was awarded one of six victory crowns. She earned the title of Miss Philippines Water 2014.
"All they really told me was 'get prepared to go to the Philippines and tone up,' it's a lot of work to be in a pageant."
Angelica will spend the next several months preparing for the next round that takes place in April.
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