Teen model Tiahna Faraci’s runway dreams in disarray after battle with alopecia

A teenager who dreamed of becoming a model has revealed the horror she faced when her long locks began to fall out due to a mysterious illness.

Tiahna Faraci was just 15 years old when she noticed a bald spot the size of a 50-cent piece on the front of her scalp.

Within a few months, bald patches had spread on his head, and large clumps were constantly falling out.

“Later on the way, it was all over the sheets, on your pillow,” she told The Project.

I was moving like a dog.

His mother, Rosanna Faraci, an accomplished fashion model and photographer who is a single mother of two daughters, could only watch in anguish.

“It was a really dark time,” Rosanna said.

‘She (Tiahna) just shut down. She didn’t think she was adorable and that really broke my heart because without hair, you’re still very adorable.

Tiahna was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to attack its own hair follicles.

Initially it seemed confined to Tiahna’s head, but it soon spread to the rest of her body and even her eyebrows and eyelashes fell out.

“I didn’t even want to leave the house,” he said.

‘I thought it was like the ugliest thing on this Earth. You really learn how low your self-esteem can get.’

Rosanna spent thousands of dollars on treatments for her daughter, but to no avail.

At one point, Tiahna was receiving about 100 cortisone injections into her scalp every month.

‘That was torture and every morning and night she had been crying. Her spirit was completely broken,” Rosanna said.

In December, Tiahna finally decided to shave what was left of her hair and found it to be a liberating experience.

“It was very empowering,” Tiahna said.

‘That’s when I knew I was going to get through this.

‘I just had a giant smile on my face. I was happy. When I looked in the mirror, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t look so bad with a shaved head.

In March, Tiahna even debuted her new look on the runway at the Melbourne Fashion Festival.

“I was very nervous at first, but when you get on the catwalk, you get a lot of adrenaline,” Tiahna said.

“I felt really famous.”

Proud mom Rosanna watched.

“Just seeing what he went through last year and seeing his smile again, that was it,” he said.

Tiahna now alternates between looking bald or wearing a wig, which children’s charity Variety Australia helped achieve.

“I just like to wear a wig, so people don’t stare at me all the time,” Tiahna said.

She is still hoping to get her hair back and is trying medication to do so.

“Alopecia has its ups and downs,” he said.

‘As a teenager, I want to get my hair back.

‘Pick it up in a bun, without having to worry about putting on a wig.

‘I’m still learning to love myself again.’