Every year the first Saturday in August is proclaimed 'International Alopecia Day'. Saturday 1st August 2026 is this year's date for raising some awareness worldwide! 

The annual awareness day is the brainchild of a wonderful woman with alopecia, from San Diego (USA), named Mary Marshall. We had the pleasure of meeting Mary at our Big Weekend event in Birmingham 2017 (picture of AUK Comms Manager Amy with Mary), where she spoke of her international awareness campaign. 

Mary's idea is a simple one; people with alopecia from all over the world share a photo of themselves on the same day. Any photos emailed to Mary are included in her International Alopecia Day (IAD) YouTube video. 

Alopecia UK has supported Mary's awareness initiative for a number of years now. 2026 will be the 17th International Alopecia Day. 

If you would like to be included the annual YouTube video, here are some important instructions and information provided by Mary: 

1. Try to take your photos on International Alopecia Day, Saturday 1st August 2026. This is meant to be a snapshot of people with alopecia around the world on ONE day. 
2. To stick with the “snapshot” theme, please try not to send in professional “studio” portraits OR photos that you’ve posted on social media before IAD.
3. You can be in a wig, bald, with patches or lots of hair, or in a hat or scarf. This is all of us, as we are! It's your choice. 
4. You can include any friends and family who don't have alopecia in your photo. 
5. If you have a group event, make sure that everyone in your IAD photo understands it will be in a public YouTube video and that they agree to that. 
6. It's great if you make and hold a sign saying where you live - and, you can write the sign in your language. Posting in front of a local landmark or scene adds to the international theme.
7. If you make a sign, please make sure you use the official name: “International Alopecia Day”, and not “Alopecia Awareness Day” or other variations. Using the name consistently will help raise awareness. 
8. Please send only ONE photo per person or family - your best and favorite. But, if you’re having a group event and need more than one photo to show everyone, you can send in more than one. Can’t decide which photo to send? You can make a collage in one image to include photos. But, remember that your photos will look smaller in the finished video if they’re part of a collage. 
9. To guarantee your photo is in this year's IAD video you must send it to: [email protected] before 22nd August 2026. Emailing your photo to me is how I can be sure I have your permission to put it in the video. Please don’t send me your photo by private message, or I might miss it. 
10. Please give me your country and region in the email you send with the photo so that I can put it in the correct place in the video. 
11. I will reply to ALL emails and this will be your confirmation that your photo was received and will be in the video! If you don’t receive a reply from me within a couple of days, email me again. The deadline to submit photos is August 22, 2026, so there’s plenty of time after IAD. The finished video will be online in September. Watch the previous IAD videos on YouTube to get ideas.

Thanks to Mary for all her alopecia awareness efforts over the years!