It is with great sadness that we share the news that a much-loved and valued member of the alopecia community, Michelle Moffatt, has passed away.

Michelle was a generous supporter of Alopecia UK and will be remembered for the energy, kindness and fun that she brought to the alopecia community.

Michelle first contacted Alopecia UK in the Summer of 2015 when her hair began falling out. The staff team at that time was Amy Johnson and Jen Chambers. The pair travelled to Glasgow in the Autumn of 2015 to attend a GP conference and met with a lovely group of people affected by alopecia, which included Michelle, who by that time had lost all her hair. That group went on to become the Glasgow support group, of which Michelle was a huge part – finding the support that she needed to navigate her own hair loss, while supporting others too.

Michelle became an active member of Alopecia UK’s Facebook group, offering incredible support to others going through the same. She quickly became a strong voice in the group and an expert on all things related to wigs, headwear and make-up! Michelle created wig and make up tutorial videos on YouTube that have been viewed by thousands of people across the world.

In 2016, Michelle entered a beauty pageant and took centre stage telling the audience “This is me” before removing her wig and proudly declaring “…and this is me too.” She was given a standing ovation by the audience and was crowned ‘Mrs Bombshell GB 2016’, along with the title of ‘Miss Congeniality’. As a result, she was invited to attend the world finals in Gibraltar during September/Alopecia Awareness Month. Alopecia UK provided some sponsorship to help Michelle get there so she could fly the flag for the alopecia community. She competed under the title ‘Alopecia UK Bombshell’!

At the end of September 2016, Michelle was a hugely popular volunteer at our Big Weekend event in Glasgow. Michelle offered her make-up skills to give mini makeovers to attendees and enthusiastically took to the dancefloor for our Saturday night ceilidh.

Michelle was a regular contributor to media opportunities, raising lots of awareness of the challenges of living with alopecia whilst also helping to reduce the stigma of hair loss.  

The following year, Michelle turned her love and expertise of wigs into a business when she founded Mimo Wigs. Through the business, Michelle supported the community and Alopecia UK with giveaways, a wig bank, Alopecia UK Service Directory membership, and exhibiting at our 2019 Big Weekend in Bristol.

It was only a couple of months later in November 2019 that Michelle, whilst working in her role as an ICU nurse, suffered two prolapsed discs in her back, which began pressing on her nerves and spinal cord. Following surgery complications, Michelle was left paralysed from below the waist and became a wheelchair-user. Just as Michelle had done with Alopecia UK and our community, she got actively involved with the charity Spinal Injuries Scotland and became an ambassador for the charity.

In 2021, Michelle joined up with Laura Mathias to create ‘Chatty Tuesdays’, a series of popular Instagram Lives that offered support to people with alopecia at a time when face-to-face meetings were not possible.

In 2023, Michelle along with two other wheelchair adventurers became the first paraplegics to canoe nearly 300km down the Zambezi river in a week, raising funds for Spinal Research and WhizzKidz.

Michelle had a heart of gold and was always thinking of how she could help others. Anyone who met Michelle will not forget her kindness and positivity.

We send our love, support and condolences to all of Michelle’s family and friends, especially Michelle’s husband Ross and their four children.  

We will miss you Michelle x