- author, Gemma Dunstan
- role, BBC Wales Live
When Poppy Davis was just 16, her hairdresser noticed her thinning hair and, due to alopecia, she was unable to look herself in the mirror anymore as her hair fell out.
The 21-year-old from Cardiff said it “snowballed” and became her “life-changing” experience, destroying her confidence.
Celebrities such as Jada Pinkett Smith and Louis Theroux have been praised for sharing their experiences with alopecia, a disease in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing hair loss.
Poppy said she believed she had to keep her alopecia a secret, adding: “I felt like I had to hide it when I was at school.”
“For me, wearing a wig was a chore so no one would know. It was very isolating.”
“I even wore a wig when I went into the garden so the neighbours wouldn’t see me.”
She saw going to college as an opportunity to take a different approach in life, and said her new friends have been incredibly supportive.
“It’s been a long five years but I’ve learned to embrace it. If I don’t want to wear a wig then I don’t, and if I want to wear a wig then I style it and have fun with it,” she added.
Poppy said she had an “amazing community” both online and in person, and had been able to reach out to local support groups which helped her regain her confidence.
“Right now I’m just looking at the positive side and thinking about how I can help other people,” she said.
Ben Lawley, 40, has taken a different approach to fuelling his fitness by becoming a nude model.
In 2012, a fitness fanatic from Rhondda Canon Taff lost all his hair within a few months.
“I couldn’t control my hair, but I could control my fitness,” he said.
“There wasn’t much negativity. Instead, there was a lot of positive attention about how well I was doing.”
He joined an agency, became a “naked butler” and worked as a drawing model at bachelor parties and events.
“Not only was I naked, but I was also commanding a room, speaking to groups of people and attending their special events, which made me feel a lot more confident,” Ben said.
He said that if he had the choice, he wouldn’t choose to grow his hair back.
“Alopecia has helped me become more confident in other ways and has made me focus on my values, goals and beliefs,” he added.
Ryan Rush’s story begins when he was just a little kid.
He first experienced baldness at age four.
A 22-year-old man from Caerphilly said his symptoms progressed further until he was 10 years old.
“I took eyebrows for granted and they’re much more noticeable than hair and harder to hide, so losing them was a big blow to me,” Ryan says.
He said that as his symptoms progressed during middle school, negative comments began to be directed at him.
“It was mostly verbal bullying but overall it wasn’t too bad. I think the attention was more out of curiosity,” he added.
He believes representation is important because he had never met anyone with the disease until he went on holiday there as a teenager.
Last year he was seen on a billboard in Cardiff, along with model Adam Lazzari, who also has the condition.
“It was really amazing to see someone like me step up and do it,” he said.
“I felt more proud and confident and more comfortable.”
What is alopecia?
- Alopecia is the common medical term for hair loss
- Hair loss can be caused by genetics or by stress.
- It is usually an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks hair follicles.
- Can affect hair all over the body
- Some hair loss is temporary, while others are permanent.
Dr Manju Kalavara, consultant dermatologist and clinical director at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, called this “good news”.
He said he has seen a “surge” in demand from alopecia sufferers, but has seen waiting times of up to two years since the pandemic.
“We tried hard and managed to beat it,” he said.
“Currently, the wait time is about 42 weeks. At the same time, we recognize that we can’t keep patients waiting that long.”
Dr Karavala said the scheme, which was piloted by Cardiff and Vale Health Board, was now being implemented across Wales to ensure patients could get help as quickly as possible.
“we Teledermatology Then the GP can send a referral letter with the photo attached,” he said.
“We can respond within a few days and order tests or offer advice, helping to speed up the process while patients wait to see us.”