Hi, am Natalie i am new to this, never used anything like this before so not sure what it will be like. I am 14 years old, and i was diagnosed with Alopecia when i was 10, my first signs were; the usual bald patch the size of a 50pence piece on the back of my head. Then the patch started to get larger i was none the wiser and didn’t think anything of this i thought i had just pulled out by accident or something. But it did start to spread to the whole underside of my head, so i decided to definitely go see a doctor, so she provided me with a liquid tonic to put onto the patch, and over a long period of time the hair started to come back through which I was really pleased about! Although as the hair started to come in more hair started to fall out in other part of my head, which wasn’t something i was too happy about! But i stayed calm and tried not to worry myself too much about, :) Eventually, about 60% of my hair was gone, and i was still attending school not wearing anything to cover it, so yes i was bothered about it, I took it to heart too much! Which is only normal :) But i really couldn’t cope with it anymore, people staring the rumours started going uhh, it was just horrible.. so i stayed a few weeks off from school, which was good cause then i was so miserable having to go to school! So i went to see a dermatologist because i had just had enough, she gave me a stronger tonic for me too try.. Which wasn’t really helping. So what she suggested was for me too see someone about hair pieces and then this was where i was starting to draw the line, you know it was a horrible thought being thirteen and having to wear a wig! I went to see someone about wigs though and they weren’t at all what i thought i was going to be like, i was shocked, surprised! So i thought i would give it ago, i was up for trying anything so i could help myself and try getting myself on track again! But i was worried how people were going to take at school, i wondered if i was going to get more bother! But i never, it was the same colour as my hair before, i just told people that i had extensions in because i wasn’t really up for telling people was it really was, probably some people could guess! I was really nervous at first and when anyone asked me, i hated it and started crying it wasn’t nice. After a while i got used to it and i was happy to tell anyone that asked about me, and tell them what was really happening, instead of people believing stupid rumours! Now its great i love wearing my wig, its so much better than having hair, think about it you don’t have as much stress having to groom your hair everyday, i feel like the lucky one! haha..

After a while of being confident and getting used to everything, eventually all my hair had gone, and i was totally bald!! Because i had come off all treatment, but i didn’t want to have hair but have to use treatment all the time. It was just a waste of time really. So went back to the dermatologist and she gave me some injections and yes they sunk and hair started come back through but then fell out again! So i gave up, i said hair obviously doesn’t want to be on my head, so i will live the way i'm suppose to be! After a few months, miraculously hair started to grow back through naturally, and i was so excited and got all my hopes up thinking i was going to be a normal teenager again! But after going to the dermatologist to show her, and few weeks later it fell out again. Which was not so good and yes i was rather down for a while, but you know its not life threatening, i am still living! After a while, I noticed that my eyebrows had taken a bashing and they were becoming rather noticeably thin! So my mum suggested pencilling them in, she was a make-up artist at one point so it great she showed how to do them. Eventually like my head my eyebrows became totally bald. Bummer! Then shortly after that.. My eyelashes decided they would fall out (yes another thing to add to the list) and I had really thick long eyelashes before, so it was really starting to be noticeable , the answer to that was fake ones! I had never used these before so, that was something new too me but I get along fine :)

That’s pretty much it really, no hair, no eyebrows and no eyelashes!
But you know, I am still living, its not life threatening, I still have a great life and anyone that is living with alopecia and having to go through what I have then you just have to get on with life because its not the worst thing that could happen in the world!

I have a great family, and they have been so supportive throughout my past 4years. I really couldn’t have done it without them! I have brilliant friends they are also supportive. I appreciate all the support I have, and to be honest that’s the best treatment: support! If you have really supportive people around you it's an amazing help! :)

Thank you, if you have actually taken to time to read my big novel I have written! God, you must be bored feel sorry for you. Leave comments, and happy to answer any questions.

Natalie x