Welcome to our first blog post - I hope you find these blogs to be both helpful and insightful whether you're experiencing hair loss yourself, know somebody that is or are generally interested in the hair loss journey!

 

For the first post, I wanted to talk about something which I personally found to be very challenging throughout my hair loss journey and that is coping with a changing appearance. This was probably the biggest challenge I faced due to how rapidly my alopecia progressed. Within just a few months, I went from a full head of hair to no hair at all. It’s taken me nearly a year to look in the mirror and recognise myself as ‘me’. When you go from looking the way you have for 22 years to something that is drastically different, it can a little bit disassociative and hard to process. I have picked up a few tips along the way which I have found to help alleviate this a little, I hope they help you too.

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Talking it through

Talking about what I was feeling was the last thing I wanted to do when I was going through the initial stages of hair loss, I was somewhat in denial. However, as time has gone on, I realise just how important it is to discuss these feelings as it can help you process them so much better. Having those around you understand what you're feeling can help them to help you. For me, talking to family, my partner and a phone councillor are all things that helped me to process the changes once I allowed it to. I was not actually offered any therapy at the time from my doctors which I do wish I had sought out, but there are options readily available to you. To name a few: Mental health charities such as Mind UK, AlopeciaUK support groups, AlopeciaUK online support groups (inc Facebook and other links on their website) and finally social media - there's a lovely community of fellow alopecians on Instagram that has helped me greatly. These can all help you to work through your hair loss journey.

 

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Coverups

There are many options available to you to help you feel comfortable out in public regardless of which stage of hair loss you are experiencing. These include headbands, headscarves, turbans, wigs and hats. It can be daunting though, particularly if you're just starting out with them. I allocated some time each day to sit down in a stress-free environment and try on, style, and play around with my wig. It can take time to become familiar with what works for you! If you're looking for a detailed insight into the types of cover-ups that are out there.

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Make up:

A changing appearance with regards to hair loss can include loss of eyelashes and eyebrows - I actually found this harder than the loss of my head hair. For me, wearing liquid eyeliner & eyelashes were new to me, even though I wore some makeup. I found focusing on one thing at a time to be helpful, otherwise I'd get overwhelmed and stressed. Similar to headwear, allocate some time each day in a relaxed environment to work through them. Youtube videos are a huge help for this! I still haven't figured out how to apply eyelashes though...

 

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Photos in the home:

This is my favourite tip that I found has helped me hugely. When I was losing my hair, there were pictures everywhere of me with my thick, brown, beautiful bio hair which was a constant reminder of what I was loosing, it also made accepting my new look that much harder. I introduced some photos of me in my new wigs of my changing style - this definitely helped me become familiar with my changing appearance and more accepting of it.

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There are many more steps you can take which can help you to accept your hair loss and the resulting change of appearance. If you have any tips that have helped you, I'd love to hear them as it is important to note that I am very much still working through this process - despite braving the bald! Head over to my Instagram page or youtube & leave me a comment there - it would be great to hear some more.

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Jess x