Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Armani Latimer Ditches Wig To Spread Alopecia Awareness

Armani Latimer performed without a wig for the first time on the field on Monday (Dec. 9) at the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals game since revealing her alopecia diagnosis on America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

The 23-year-old was tearful backstage as she prepared for the monumental moment in support of Alopecia Awareness and the team’s ‘My Cause My Boots‘ platform. Her fellow dancers rallied behind her, sharing how this representation would be seen by so many young girls and they’d be “so in awe of [her] strength.”

“You got this, ‘Mani!,” one person exclaimed as Latimer wiped away her tears and linked arms with the team.

In the clip, someone expressed, “We’re so proud that you’re doing this and you’re representing a lot of little girls out there. And they’re going to be looking at you in awe, at your strength knowing that they are going to feel so beautiful after this because of what you’re doing today. So, we’re just so proud of you.”

The caption of the post read, “Confidence takes center stage for Alopecia Awareness #MyCauseMyBoots | #DCCheerleaders.”

Women’s Health reported that Latimer was diagnosed with alopecia areata at age 12. Per Cleveland Clinic, Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that attacks your body’s hair follicles, resulting in patchy hair loss.

Latimer explained to Women’s Health, “I went through high school without telling anyone I even had alopecia. But once I got to college, stress caused more hair loss; loss that took much longer to grow back.”

She admitted that it was “hard to navigate” having the condition in her early cheerleading days. She would initially wear sew-ins to cover the bald patches and switched to wigs after joining the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders when her hair completely fell out.

“It was such a tumultuous time that I was only able to give about 50 percent of my effort. Some people picked up on the fact that I was more withdrawn and not my bubbly self, and having teammates that I could sit and cry with about what I was going through was healing,” Latimer shared. 

She credited her team and family for helping her maintain a “positive mindset.”