Charlotte “Charlie” Barela’s hairless head has become a canvas for creativity. 

On Friday, sparkly stars plus a headband adorned the bald head of Kelsey and Frank Barela’s 2½-year-old daughter.

“We try to bedazzle it a little bit, make it fun for her,” Kelsey Barela said, adding that the Fourth of July brought fireworks-themed stickers.

Other days, she might wear a hat that covers the results of her alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that caused hair loss. She is also missing most of her eyebrows.

The Lompoc girl sports a hat, her infectious smile and twinkling eyes in the picture that helped land Charlie in the quarterfinals of an online contest for the 2026 Toddler of the Year. Her family hopes she keeps advancing into the semifinals.

The contest doubles as a Toys for Tots fundraiser, with one free vote available on Facebook and more votes added for financial donations to the organization.

As of Monday, Charlie was in second place, with the round of voting ending at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The winner of the Toddler of the Year contest will star in a national ad campaign, take home $25,000 and lead the Hollywood Christmas Parade, according to the event website.

About a year ago, Charlie’s strawberry blonde hair began falling out before she turned 2 years old last fall, leaving patches on the back of her head.

“So, we shaved it. She doesn’t look good with a comb-over,” Barela said. 

The girl has spotty eyebrows, but she does have eyelashes.

“We’re lucky she does have the eyelashes, because if not it would have caused a lot of other issues,” Barela said.

Charlie’s hair hasn’t grown back because her body’s immune system is attacking the hair follicles. While some alopecia can be hereditary, Charlie’s is an autoimmune issue.

She could grow out of it, with her hair restored as mysteriously as it disappeared, or she could live without hair.

Since she’s so young, the treatment options remain limited, her family said. An ointment meant to stop her body’s attack and start hair growth hasn’t worked after three months.

In the months since her daughter’s hair loss, Barela has joined online support groups and learned more about alopecia.

The family has connected with another Lompoc girl also dealing with alopecia and who is about the same age as Charlie. They also have met an adult who had hair regrow as randomly as it disappeared after 25 years because of alopecia.

Eventually, Charlie could be eligible for a wig, but that can be expensive. An organization that supplies wigs for those with alopecia requires them to be at least 3 years old.

“She’s OK where she’s at right now, doing her thing. She wears lots of hats, and we bedazzle as much as we can,” her mom said. “She loves stars, so the more we put stars on her head, the better.”

Charlie’s alopecia is covered for the contest because the family didn’t want to seek sympathy votes. They submitted a photo of her wearing a hat. Some have mistaken Charlie’s alopecia for a side effect of a cancer treatment.

“We don’t mind people asking at all when they see her. We just don’t (want) them to feel sorry for her,” grandmother Renee Halterman said. “… We pray every day that God’s going to restore it, but she’s a blessed little girl.”

Barela said her daughter is “such a happy” child.

“She says hi to everyone in the store. She also isn’t inconspicuous, so they see her,” Barela said. 

To vote in the contest or to learn more, click here.