8-year-old was embarrassed after losing his hair, so his classmates lost theirs, too

A group of third-grade boys gathered around as one of their classmates sat in the barber shop chair.

That boy in the chair had just been draped in the black styling cape, and he was ready to get his hair shaved off. Meanwhile, his friends “were bent over belly laughing.”

A photo captured the moment in an Oklahoma Sports Clips. Those boys were giggling with toothy grins, and most of them were now without a head of hair. Those who still had hair would soon be losing it.

Each of those third graders — and the rest of the boys in their class at Oklahoma Christian School — gathered on Jan. 19 to support 8-year-old Luke Nelson, News9 reported. It was a “hair-shaving celebration,” Luke’s mom told People.

Just 10 weeks before they decided to shave their heads, in November, Luke’s hair suddenly started to fall out, according to News9. He was diagnosed with Alopecia areata. That’s a “common autoimmune skin disease, causing hair loss on the scalp, face and sometimes on other areas of the body,” according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

By Christmas, Luke was bald, his mom, Susan Nelson, posted to Facebook.

“The hair usually grows back after several months, although it may fall out again,” according to the National Institute of Health. That cycle can continue for years, but it’s “not painful or disabling.”

“For a little 8-year-old boy to lose his hair, of course, it was hard and it was very difficult,” Nelson said, according to People. “Once he lost all of his hair he immediately put a hat on and he kind of hid behind his hat.”

He was losing his confidence, and his classmates wanted to help, NBC Nightly News reported.

“I was afraid of being different,” Luke told NBC in a video interview.

Together, his classmates came up with the idea to lose their hair, too, People reported.

“Beyond thankful for these boys (and their parents!) who decided to go bald with Luke,” Nelson posted to Facebook. “I mean c’mon does it get any better than this?!”

The boys took turns getting buzz cuts (which the Edmond Sports Clips provided for free), and they showed their friend Luke that they were there for him — “hair or no hair,” according to his mom’s Facebook posts.

“At just 8 years old these kids have done something for Luke that has been truly life-changing — they showed up when he needed them most,” Nelson wrote. “Hair or no hair, no one cares. At the end of the day these kids have showed Luke (and all of us!) what it means to be brave, and more importantly to be kind.”

Luke “ripped off his hat” as soon as his friends started shaving their heads, Nelson told People, and his “swagger” is back.

“It feels like I don’t have to be afraid anymore,” Luke said in the NBC video.