I was ‘diagnosed’ with Alopecia back in May. I had noticed a huge change in my hair over the 6 months prior and put it down to age.
The moment I found my first patch-a coin sized spot of zero hair-my heart sank. I felt sick. ‘MY HAIR 😭’

Since May I have lost half of my hair and there are no signs of stopping.

Treatment is ‘possibly works but mostly doesn’t’. There are people that after one or two patches grow back hair and nothing happens after. That’s fantastic! But most people have a lifelong battle of emotional hope and dispair.

My treatment options have not been right for me and knowing they may or may not work has been such a dilema. Time off work to get appts, the stress of fitting things in, the greasiness of creams, the excess facial hair from injections, cost of derma rolling. Wigs are so expensive and not available on the NHS, and not once has a medical professional asked me how I feel.

Some days I’ve woken up and felt great, other days I’ve just wanted to cry and hide. I get used to the hair that’s gone and then I find a new patch. Hair grows in short white spikes of hope then that falls out too! My children have been so careful to hug me, the smallest pull on my hair will mean I spend the next half hour catching strands.

I hope that the money alopecia raised this September can allow Alopecia UK to campaign further for emotional and cosmetic support on the NHS or for the NHS to be able to offer credible referrals to wig shops or places to buy pretty head wraps or covering or learning how to wrap them for example. I’m an adult, I can handle it. My heart has broken when I’ve seen children with alopecia and how common it is. Fair enough for adults, but children should definitely be able to access better emotional and appearance support.

So this September I’ve challenged myself to give up coffee. I’m replacing coffee with either a glass of water or a green smoothie to help me maintain an anti-inflammatory diet. If you know me, you know I dislike smoothies with a passion, so this will be a real challenge!

Sakina Needham