Baldness Won't Stop Miss America Contestant

Baldness Won't Stop Miss America Contestant

She is a stunning young beauty queen who is the reigning Miss Delaware, but underneath Kayla Martell's glittery tiara and long blonde locks there's a surprise, she's bald. She wears a wig to cover up her hairless head.

"I started losing my hair at the age of ten. It started coming out in clumps on the top of my head. It's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you can be 10-years-old and balding," Martell said.  

Kayla has Alopecia Areata, which is an unexplainable hair loss. The 22-year-old loses hair only from her head and eyelashes.  

"It's kind of like being allergic to my hair," The beauty queen explained.

Never letting her bald head stop her from entering beauty pageants Martell eventually decided to start wearing a wig in the competition.  As a dancer she will be taking special precautions for the talent portion of the pageant.

Martell said, "I have this recurring nightmare of doing constant turns on the stage and all of a sudden my hair flies off and hits the judges, so we're taking extra precautions by gluing on the wig and bonding it on my head. "

Martell has her sights set on capturing the Miss America crown later this month and redefining true beauty.