Can you imagine all of a sudden losing clumps of your hair, and not knowing why? 

It was the tough reality that a 7-year-old girl from Brooklyn had to face when she was diagnosed with alopecia areata. 

Natalia Niedzwiedzka from Williamsburg is raising awareness about alopecia.

"My mom, she was like washing my hair, all of a sudden when she wanted to put shampoo on she felt like hair on her hand," says Niedzwiedzka.

Niedzwiedzka say her parents looked up symptoms and came to the conclusion it was most likely alopecia.

"So we went to the doctors and we checked things out. I don't feel like I'm the same person as usual," says Niedzwiedzka.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes severe hair loss, affecting about 6.8 million people in the United States, according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. 

Niedzwiedzka says she wants to remove the stigma of baldness by spreading awareness on her condition.