A woman has opened up about the difficulties she has faced since being diagnosed with alopecia at a young age – which is surprisingly common among women, and can have a devastating impact on mental health.
Alopecia Areata Awareness Month takes place every September with campaigners working to increase awareness, reduce stigma and empower those living with hair loss.
Female hair loss is surprisingly prevalent – over 85 percent of women will encounter some degree of it during their lives.
A variety of factors can trigger over 100 different types of hair loss, including genetics, hormonal changes, autoimmune disorders, psychological stress, and even certain hairstyling habits.
It’s perfectly normal to lose up to 100 strands of hair per day but those with alopecia often notice more significant amounts falling out, particularly while washing or brushing their hair, or by finding hair left on their pillow after a night’s sleep.
Sam, who didn’t want to reveal her surname, said that she was “so young” when she noticed that her hair had started to fall out in clumps. This made her “stick out like a sore thumb” at school, she said.
“There was nobody my age who was bald and it was a very difficult time. People have asked if I have cancer. It means I have to say no and explain about the alopecia,” Sam told Express.co.uk.
But Sam decided to research pemanent makeup options at the Tracie Giles’ clinic in London. She said: “I’m so much more confident now. I even go out without a hat as my head doesn’t bother me as much now. I can approach people and want to go out more. My female friends have said my eyebrows are better than theirs!
“I’ve just started a new job in a warehouse. Before this nearly everybody I met would be looking or asking questions about my hair loss. Now no one’s said a thing. I feel so much more normal.”
Alopecia can make people feel self-conscious and may cause them to withdraw from social situations, and lead to increased “anxiety and depression,” the National Alopecia Areata Foundation said.
Jacqueline Phaby, 69, from Bedfordshire, said she had a similar experience of feeling self-conscious about her thinning hair, with her eyebrows causing her the most upset. She told Daily Express that her hair fell out due to “age-related hormone changes”.
Jacqueline added: “I’m very image conscious and will regularly go to the shops to see how to recycle the clothes. I have and keep my look current. I’m often told I dress well for my age – but age is just a number.
“Unfortunately I never really felt that confident, even with the compliments about my clothes as I have always been conscious about my eyebrows. It’s been such a challenge to have to draw them on every single day, and to achieve the right shape and style for me.
“I also love to travel and when travelling I love swimming in the sea, but haven’t felt able to as my eyebrow makeup would come off leaving me with no eyebrows.”
After getting some advice from her daughter, Jackie got a hyper-realism brows treatment at Tracie Giles to improve the appearance of her eyebrows, permanently.
Jackie said it has been “life-changing” and has helped her regain her confidence. She explained: “Rather than tattooing individual strokes into the skin, like with Microblading or Digital Hairstroke Brows, the Tracie Giles London Artists tattoo wispy, overlapping hairstrokes in a unique pattern to mimic the natural movement and direction of real eyebrow hairs.”
The experts at Tracie Giles, who offer a wide-range of beauty treatments, also help youngsters who suffer from alopecia. Kayla lost her hair when she was very young and decided to go to the clinic to get the hyper-realism brow treatment at 16.
“At 16, her confidence has grown so much. There just isn’t enough awareness or any help available for sufferers alopecia and I can honestly say that her treatments with Tracie Giles have done more than just transform her appearance, they have changed her life,” her family said.
Tracie Giles London support clients who are often navigating a difficult time in their lives.
They offer services such as specialised medical and correctional tattooing services, which include recreating the appearance of lashes with permanent eyeliner treatments, eyebrow tattooing techniques or even restoring the appearance of the areola following breast surgery.