Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow……

Jo Tucker - 29 Jan 19

January marks the one year anniversary for the new me.  The completely bald me.

I lost 90% of my hair to Alopecia between Christmas and New Year 2018, with the ‘trimmings’ following shortly after.  I had suffered with small patches before, during and after pregnancy, but nothing quite on this level.   Patches had always grown back.  I panicked.  I was losing clumps in the shower each morning.  My hairbrush filled up daily.  A new patch would appear and I couldn’t do anything to control it.  I cried every day, worried I was seriously ill.  But every blood test thankfully proved I wasn’t.

Which was both a relief and incredibly frustrating.  I wanted to pin the blame on an unusual ailment to satisfy the unknown.  I was worried what people would think of me.  I started to doubt everything.  Would my husband still find me attractive?  How will my daughters feel about having a bald mother?

I called my Mum, desperate for help, who suggested a local shop that she thought sold wigs.  And I booked an appointment for a fitting.  Whilst lots of amazing women embrace the bald, I just didn’t feel ready to.  I wanted everything to go back to normal.  But life carries on.  And being busy with work and kids, meant I had less time to dwell on the large bald elephant in the room.

I picked myself up, bought some new hair and found that facing the issue head on really helped.

My 3 daughters took the change in their stride, and after the initial questions about why it happened, they’ve become alternative hair experts and very opinionated on what should be the hair of the day.  My eldest lends me hats for keeping warm, whilst my middle daughter prefers me with pink hair.  The youngest is just happy with a bald head slap.

I started an Instagram page at the beginning of my journey, to document the progress, which has been therapeutic.  And has since allowed me to connect with lots of others experiencing the same.  Knowing you are not alone is really comforting.

Worry over hair loss is sometimes seen as superficial and vain.

But it’s part of your identity, cold without it and don’t even get me started on the hazards of no nostril hair…

Jo Tucker

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