‘It’s like losing part of you’

Alopecia—hair loss—isn’t harmful but the anguish can be devastating

When Dr Nigel Hunt’s best friend died in a car crash in 1990 it was a terrible shock. Within six months he had lost all his hair. His partner at the time couldn’t come to terms with it and wouldn’t touch his head or even make eye contact. His confidence disintegrated.
The medical term for hair loss is Alopecia. It can mean the loss of patches of head
hair, all head hair or even all hair on the whole body. No one can say if the hair will ever grow back.
Alopecia is quite different from male pattern baldness and can affect women and children too. It isn’t life-threatening or painful, but can be extremely distressing. “Hair is crucial to our identity,” says Dr Hunt, now 41, a psychology lecturer in Britain. “Losing it is a severe disfigurement.” He and his wife, psychologist Dr Sue McHale, have written a book, Coping With Alopecia (Sheldon Press).
Alopecia can be associated with childbirth and some medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, but often there is no obvious cause. It may affect as many as 1% of the population, yet few in the limelight admit to having it—hair is a strong symbol of attractiveness and sexual power for both sexes.
Elizabeth Steel was a television journalist in her thirties when Alopecia struck. At first she hid it under a wig, even in bed, but eventually she went public and set up a support network, Hairline International (its website is hairline international.com). She was inundated with letters from sufferers. Using a questionnaire she has found that poor diet is often a fact for those with the condition, along with crash dieting, eating disorders and stress. More young women have been getting in touch, and there have been shown to be links with synthetic hormones in some varieties of the pill.
Although treatments such as Minoxidil may help, the bottom line is that there is no cure—despite the quack creams and alternative therapies you may be offered.
“It’s really a question of coming to terms with it,” says Dr Hunt. “You can still go to work and see your friends. People won’t react as you think they might.”