Eighteen-year-old Rada Prelevic has a unique strand of hair on her forehead, which has prompted online trolls and negativity – despite helping her career as a model.
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Rada, who’s from from Flekkefjord, Adger, Norway, has been scolded by the media for the lone strand on her forehead and while she’s been told to remove it, she says she’s proud of her appearance.
“For my whole life, everybody would ask me questions like ‘What is this weird thing on your forehead?’ or ‘Why do you have hair on your forehead?’, ‘Why don’t you cut/laser it?’” she said.
“It makes me really sad that people are so bothered by it. I love my forehead hair, and have never thought about it as an ugly or weird thing, and never even thought about cutting it.”
Rada first noticed the stray lock of hair on her forehead when she was a young child in Kindergarten but she thought it was something that everyone had.
It wasn’t until the kids in her classes started pointing out her strand of hair and asking about it that she realized her hair was unique.
After leaving school, Rada decided to move into modeling, where she has now taken part in multiple photoshoots for different agencies.
However, not all of her agencies have been supportive of the lone strand on her forehead and she says that some of them have even asked her to laser the hair off.
In sharing her story online, she says she sometimes finds negative comments about her hair – which she finds incredibly upsetting.
On the upside, some users love her hair as much as she does and Rada is always happy to read their nice comments.
Now, Rada aims to continue her modeling career and she is looking forward to showing her unique hair off.
“It has definitely helped with modeling! Everybody thinks it’s so special and unique! They use it as an accessory, and they love it! Especially the hairstylists!” she said.
“I try really hard not to listen to the negative comments and try to listen to the positive comments, even if it’s not always easy.
“Everyone has their dark days and that’s when the negativity hits the hardest. I also love people who see it as I do, like a special and unique thing and I love that so many people see inspiration in what I post on my TikTok page.
“I even asked my parents, and they told me I always loved it. Even as a little girl, I would tell everyone that I am special because of it.
“My mom thought it would cause me problems with my mental health and was afraid of it, but it was the complete opposite with me. I accepted that I was special and saw it as a positive thing.
“I think my mom played a huge part in this by always telling me I am special for having it.
“Some modeling agencies have even asked me if I would consider lasering it off.
“I try to explain to people that having things that nobody else has is not weird, but special and unique, and that you should love yourselves for who you truly are.”
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