After being shocked at the lack of support available to her and realising first-hand the devastating impact losing your hair can have, Jayne Waddell set up a campaign group to raise funds for medical research into alopecia.
Jayne was a confident 19-year-old studying her first year of physiotherapy at a university in Glasgow when she noticed clumps of her long, black hair started to fall out.
Bewildered, Jayne went and saw her doctor who informed her she had alopecia and that is was probably caused by stress. Thinking she led a relatively stress-free lifestyle, Jayne became more confused. “I enjoyed student life, loved sport, ate healthily, didn’t smoke, and didn’t drink much.’
Sadly, a few months later, her older brother James was killed in a motorbike accident at the age of just 20. Grief-stricken, Jayne dropped out of university for a year. When she went back, she continued to study physiotherapy but moved to Aberdeen, where she settled quite happily – until her hair started falling out again when she was 21 and this time it was a “much more ferocious attack.’
“My scalp was sore and itchy and hair came out in handfuls – there seemed to be no stopping it. There was nothing I could do and I realised that this time I was going to lose all of it.”
Over a period of seven months, Jayne lost all her hair, including her eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair – known as alopecia universalis. Naturally, the impact this had on Jayne was devastating. She stopped exercising, stopped going out and dropped out of university. She was told that there was no cure and her hair was unlikely to grow back.
“It is not so bad if you are bald and still have eyebrows and eyelashes but without it all I just looked like an alien.’
She moved to Ireland to get away from everything but when she eventually decided to move back to Scotland she felt like she was reliving it all again and became very depressed. “I was single with no career and 30 years old. Because of the alopecia my career had suffered and so had my relationships, as I had no confidence.’
For a while, Jayne went around bald, hoping that this would help her accept her condition, but it didn’t make life easier. She invested in a good quality wig, and decided to set up a campaign group to raise funds for medical research into the condition.
Remarkably, Autoimmune Alopecia Research UK is the first charity of their kind because alopecia has traditionally been treated as a cosmetic issue.
“I can’t sit back and accept a condition that has impacted my life so massively.’
Here at Transitions we understand the frustration with hair loss and how much of an impact it can have on a person’s life. Whether you are suffering from alopecia like Jayne or are experiencing general thinning of the hair, we have a solution to suit everyone. Click here to book a free confidential consultation with one of our hair loss professionals or call 1300 427 778 to discuss the options available to you.
