Hi Guys

I found this site through twitter and thought I'd give it a go. Friends/family are understanding to a point, but noone will truly be able to know what you are going through unless they have been through itthemselves - hence why I am here.

It's actually painfully ironic - as a child I had trichotillamania - I pulled out my own hair and had to wear a wig when I was 8 years old. As I got older, my confidence grew, I had good friends, so by the time I got to college I was over it and university was pretty normal which I was thankful for. However, October 2009 - just after my birthday, my boyfriend noticed a bald spot on top of my head right on the crown. It wasn't even tiny, it was a few inches across - how had I not noticed this before? I was distraught. All that hard work getting over trich - it was as if God was torturing me for pulling it out - "Now it's my turn! mwahaha". I cried for hours - sobbing into my boyfriends arms whilst he held me and tried to assure me it would be okay. Even he cried because he couldnt make it go away.

Slowly, the spot got bigger, I hated taking a shower because I'd have to watch the hairs fall out and spin away down the plug hole. I had to tie my hair up tight and spray with hairspray so it wouldnt move and show my guilty secret. I fell apart at work - couldnt cope with the workload - eventually breaking down in front of my boss and confessing all - thankfully they were supportive and offered me time off if I needed it.

I spent hours on the internet searching for a solution, I was petrfied that it would all fall out butpart of me felt in limbo - do I do something now, or do I wait and see if it gets worse? My GP wasn't understanding - no suggestion of treatments, counselling, wigs - no, it was just " well, wait and see if it grows back". She had no idea how this was already impacting on my life.

IEventually I found a sanctuary - Pink Hair SOlutions, in Birmingham UK. A clinic/hairdressers for women affected by hairloss. I eventually plucked up courage to make an appointment. The ladies there were so understanding - even though it wasn't advanced alopecia, they could see how upset it was making me. I took some mane spray to cover up the patch in the mean time, but I went back for a consultation for a hair piece later on.

I chose a shoulder length one - same dark brown as my own hair. My parents paid for it £400 - real human hair. I felt so bad for them, but they wanted to do it, wanted me to be happy. I learnt how to use the clips properly, saw a trchilogist and got some (expensive) hairshampoo to promote a healthy scalp.

I don't wear my hairpiece every day - sometimes I just wear it out with friends, sometimes its too much maintenance. I can still tie my hair back with the help of mane spray.

I just found another patch though a couple weeks ago - this time on my parting. Again, I broke down, but I'm just going to have to live with it, I can't change it.

And today I just bought a new hair piece! £130, more shaped syle, very excited!

PS: The pic is me with my hair piece :)