“I started balding aged 13 – now I’m accepting my alopecia and taking back control”

A woman who started getting bald patches aged 13 is finally accepting her alopecia – and is taking “back control”. Nicole Thomas, 27, was just a teenager when her hairdresser noticed a bald patch at the nape of her neck. She went to the GP and tried several different treatments before she was referred to a dermatologist who diagnosed Nicole with alopecia areata – an autoimmune disease which causes patchy hair loss. Nicole lost 70 per cent of her hair and wore wigs for three years before she saw a steady regrowth aged 17. For the last eight years, Nicole has had “stable” hair growth and loss but 18 months ago she started to notice her alopecia had returned with a “vengeance”.