ISN Works member Jodi Pliszka, Bald is Beautiful!

Feb. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Iwas born to ride, and I’m sure my first word was “pony.” By age 13, I owned just
about every horse that Breyer® had ever created, and my room was adorned with
horse memorabilia from top to bottom. I was a lucky child, because my mom
passed down her love of horses to me, and together we shared that passion.
One day, my mom was braiding my hair and found a bald spot the size of a
quarter. For the next few years, my head was not only filled with dreams of owning
a real horse but being filled with cortisone injections to regrow the bald spots that
kept appearing and disappearing monthly. During this difficult period, relief was
only five letters away—h-o-r-s-e. Then, my parents bought two beautiful Hanoverian
geldings, and my love story began.
Riding was a way for me to feel strong and confident about myself, and a riding
helmet was able to conceal my imperfections, which set me apart from the average
teenager. My mom and I both were soon avid riders, and it seemed that dressage
became a form of therapy for me.
As I grew, so did my riding talents, but then it was time to leave for college,
where I was only able to ride a few times each month. In my junior year, a car accident
accelerated my hair loss and, within one month, I was rendered totally hairless.
I have a rare autoimmune disease that affects less then 200,000 people in the
country. It’s called alopecia universalis—the body produces too many white blood
cells; these cells think that hair is an infection and kills it. I was and am healthy but
totally hairless—no eyebrows, eyelashes or even hair in my nose. As a 20-year-old,
having to wear a wig was a big cross to carry, indeed. A wig worn under a riding helmet
only offered discomfort, as you can imagine. I perspired a great deal from my
head and would be so itchy and uncomfortable that I eventually found excuse after
excuse to not ride. My dreams were shattered, and the one thing I loved the most
was slipping away from me.
My parents decided to move to a farm. It was their dream come true. We now
had five dressage horses and a beautiful arena—everything that I could have ever
dreamed of. Instead of relishing the situation, I moved to New York, finished my
graduate studies and became a clinical therapist with the idea of helping others like
myself. Being away was another reason to not have to wear that uncomfortable
helmet anymore.
Then my daughter, Jessica, was born, and she, too, quickly grew into a horse
lover. We decided to move back to Wisconsin to be closer to my parents and to let
her indulge in her passion for riding. Both Jess and my horse, Santino, helped me
realize that who I was on the inside was the most important part of me, not what
I looked like. Neither of them seemed to care that I was bald; both would remove
my wig from time to time in a playful manner. I was shocked the first time I was
picking Santino’s hooves, and he bent down to grab my wig in his teeth. He held it
like some animal he had rescued from
attacking me. It’s like he was telling me,
“You look better without the wig.”
This helped open new doors in life
for me, and it was at this time that I
found my hairless Sphynx cats. Knowing
that God did have a great sense
of humor—bald woman, bald cat—I
got my first two “soul pets” and wrote
books about them—Bella and Gizmo’s
Adventures: The Hairless Sphynx Cats and
Bella Gets a New Sweater. My books won
awards and helped kids realize that they
were “purrfect” just the way they are.
So, I removed my wig and placed
my riding helmet on my head with the
greatest feeling of liberation. I was back
to my “dressage therapy” and growing
leaps and bounds as a rider. I would
perspire so much that streams of sweat
would come rolling down my forehead
and, since I have no eyebrows, directly
into my eyes. All this seemed to enhance
the stinging sensation, and Santino was
learning to stop each time I had to wipe
my brow clean. My trainer was becoming
increasingly unhappy with my
riding, and so was I. I learned that this
seemed to be a universal problem, when
my mom and Jess told me that they
too were bothered by sweat rolling into
Jodi A. Pliszka and Santino
Fred Pliszka
72 Dressage Today March 2008
their eyes, as were many of our fellow
equestrian friends. I then read an article
in Dressage Today about a man who said
the “back of his horse trailer looked like
a feminine hygiene accident from all the
peel strips laying on the floor from the
panty liners he was using to stop sweat
from rolling into his eyes.”
At that moment, I knew I needed
to invent a product that would do the
same thing—more dignified and just as
effective. This is when I invented the
HEADLINE IT!™ product. I made a thin
disposable liner from high-tech wick
wear that fits securely under any helmet,
hat or wig, providing a comfort barrier
that absorbs oils and perspiration that
would otherwise saturate the lining. I
proudly told anyone who would listen
that HEADLINE IT! stops sweat from
rolling into and stinging your eyes.
As I began to promote my product,
my life story earned me a spot on ABC’s
television show “American Inventor,”
where I was a top 12 finalist. They
couldn’t believe that no comparable
product existed on the market today.
I was the first of the top 12 to bring my
product to market. Then, I wrote my
autobiography, Bald is Beautiful, My
Journey to Becoming. It tells how, with
faith, determination and belief in
myself, I overcame obstacles in my life.
I was on Lifetime TV for Women and
found other niche markets for my product,
such as cancer patients, motorcyclists,
bikers, golfers and fishermen.
Jessica, my mom and I are all enjoying
riding, without sweat rolling into our
eyes, as we share three generations of
love for dressage. I tell everyone, “There
is no greater gift than knowing your purpose
in life. Losing my hair helped me
find who I am. Dreams do come true!”
Find out more about Jodi Pliszka
and her helmet liner at the Web
site headlineitstore.com

# # #

ISNWorks is a marketing company that specializes in marketing programs for speakers, coaches, consultants and trainers. Our goal is to increase our clients exposure to meeting planners to increase their speaking engagements and speaker fees.