The requirements on the Miss America’s Website are as follows:
- Be between the ages of 17 and 24.
- Be a United States citizen.
- Meet residency requirements for competing in a certain town or state.
- Meet character criteria as set forth by the Miss America Organization.
- Be in reasonably good health to meet the job requirements.
And although it doesn’t say here explicitly that you must be good looking, being attractive is definitely a given.
We live a world where attractiveness has some social standards. These standards are obviously subjective but there are some items that seem pretty universal- A general appearance of youth and health, which includes flawless skin, clear eyes and lustrous thick hair.
How is it that a woman suffering from Alopecia Areata became a Miss America Contestant!?
Allow me to introduce Kayla Martell, Miss Delware 2010!
Kayla Martell started loosing her hair at age 10 and by the age of 13 was completely bald. She grew up in Delaware and was a Miss American fan long before she began loosing her hair. Her mother took her to watch her first Miss American Pageant at age 4. Regardless of her hair loss, she won her first pageant at 13 yrs old and didn’t stop there. Unlike many who loose their hair, Kayla chose to go wig-less. She attended many of her pageants without a wig and spends her personal life, comfortable in her on skin. 
She now can be seen sporting a blonde wig as after a few years of not winning Miss Delaware, she decided to see if the public would respond differently to her with a blonde wig. Although she is completely confident and comfortable without a wig she acknowledges that bald women are not something seen everyday, and she wants to remain approachable to everyone. Wearing a wig also allows her to address her Alopecia on her own terms rather than having the first question be- why are you bald and are you ok?
Her confidence is inspirational. Here is a video and article from ABC News featuring this amazing woman.
If you or someone you love is suffering from Hair Loss read more here:
Coping with Hair Loss
• I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata. A dermatologist ran a few test and confirmed this through a skin biopsy. The test showed an abnormal concentration of immune cells in the affected area. Soon after I was prescribed with topical steroid which comes in the form of cream. Since the treatment showed very little effect, I was later prescribed with steroid jabs. This method showed some improvement, however it was short term as the hair that grew fell off after a few weeks. While doing some research through the net I came across a treatment called PRO ALOPECIATA. It is formulated with pure herbs and is only available online, www. curespotbaldness.com. After 4 weeks of usage I noticed the spot on my scalp was becoming smaller and I continued to my second bottle. I was surprised when the spot was totally covered with hair by the 3rd month of treatment. Although this treatment works slowly, the result was remarkable. The setback has to be the price and the delivery time.