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The Second Annual "Putt Fore Ponytails"
Golf Classic benefiting the National Alopecia Areata Foundations's
Links for Locks

was held on September 22, 2006 at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill., home of the Western Open Golf Tournament. Prizes for the golfers, the raffle and silent auction, cocktails and dinner followed by a speech by yours truly (CLICK HERE to read the speech) and then entertainment by the amazing Jim Peterik (yes, my illustrious rock star husband!) all added up to yet another spectacularly successful event! Frannie Naughton (Mom of Maddie, 11) along with many devoted committee members and sponsors make it look so easy and yet, I know better. It's great when you can have so much fun and feel good at the same time by helping a great cause such as this. If you haven't been able to attend the last two years, please consider clearing a day or evening to join us at next year's event. I will post the information well in advance on my site. You will be so glad you made the effort!

	JP Singing: My husband, Jim singing some of his best-known hits by The Ides of March, Survivor and 38 Special. Jim has a gift for putting people in a GREAT (and GENEROUS) mood! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear.

	Karen +Maddie: Here I am with Maddie who just won a gift basket she had her heart set on at the raffle. Maddie is going through the patchy stages of hair loss and dealing with it quite well. It's tough when you have to be constantly changing your hair style to cover those bald patches. I'm guessing that 11 year-olds have an easier time of this than adults, but it's still very difficult to deal with.

	Peterik's+Stadtler's: Jim and I really enjoy partying with my client, Karin and her husband Bob at these events. They have always been so supportive (not to mention they enjoy having an evening away from the kids!).

NAAF'S 25th Anniversary Celebration
was held June 29 through July 2, 2006
in the Land of 10,000 Lakes - Minneapolis, MN.

Record attendance levels were reached within the enthusiastic and eclectic gathering of 800! The weekend kicked off with a special kids outing to a Minnesota Twins night baseball game where special pre-game activities and a sea of bald-headed kids helped raise awareness for this lesser known auto-immune skin disease. During the day, the kids were grouped into age-appropriate camps, I was busy greeting old and new friends at our Freedom Hair booth, and the adult attendees enjoyed informative and inspiring sessions ranging from relationships and intimacy to medical questions and answers fueled by the latest research results. These conferences also provide a unique opportunity for individuals who have alopecia areata to exchange valuable insights with each other as well as those who play supporting roles. The Saturday evening talent revue and ensuing dance party were a HUGE hit that left many of us ushering in the new day! I can't explain the feeling of being part of a conga line with 100 or so bald dancers. I remember Martine, our Aussie Freedom Wigs dealer saying to me. "Come on Karen, off with your hair. Let's dance!" It wasn't until the clean-up crew arrived that I realized we were the last ones on the floor.

Saying good bye is always the hardest part of these conferences. I especially cried when it was time to part with the Freedom Hair dealers from New Zealand and Australia. It was their first time to the U.S. and we had so much to talk about and learn from each other. I must admit that I just fell in love with these two fun-loving girls - Martine, having lost her hair as a child, and Deanna, the Mom of a teen-aged daughter with alopecia. Each of them has a HUGE loving heart and will undoubtedly help many, many alopecia sufferers in their respective countries.

Can't wait until next year's event - maybe YOU can join us! Below are a few images that will bring me back to the great people and good times we all had this year.

	Here is our stylish Freedom Hair booth in the exhibitor's hall. Lot's of sample hairpieces to try on, glossy photos of our latest cuts and colors, colorful orchids and even a few bowls of kiwis! (Hint: our hair is made in New Zealand.)

	For the second year going, Murray and Averill Barrington generously donated a free custom-made vacuum hairpiece to a conference attendee. The winner's name is being drawn by Maddie Woytovich. Her dad, Jeff founded CAP - the Children's Alopecia Project and devotes countless hours to raising awareness and money for alopecia research.

	What I like to call "Murray's Hairem" - the Freedom Hair dealers, clockwise from the left: Dianna from New Zealand's north island, Debbi Fuller from New Hampshire, Martine from Australia, Donna Schillaci from Portland, Oregan, Murray Barrington, owner of Freedom Wigs and myself. The last night of the conference, Murray treated us all to an AMAZING dinner at the hotel. On our way out, we started messing around with one of our waiters who happened to have a shaved head. Well, all I can say is that, once one hairpiece came off - they all came off and we coerced him into this humorous group shot!