THE LOSS CAUSE

By Anna Magee

“It was hopeless.  I tried to compose a letter to the television company but found it impossible.  How did I explain?  ‘I am afraid I have lost all my hair.’  It sounded so funny and begged the response:  ‘How very careless of you.’  I visualised the office staff, passing my letter around, secretaries hiding behind their word processors.  ‘I know we shouldn’t laugh, but have you heard…?’  The smothered guffaws, the guilty little giggles…”*

At 35, Elizabeth Steel had it all.  A promising career as news presenter and producer on ITV Midland’s Central Television Network, a loving husband and a beautiful three year old daughter.  Then she went bald, losing 90% of her hair in a matter of weeks as a result of the scalp disease Alopecia areata.

“My hairdresser discovered a tiny bald patch about the size of a 10p piece and said ‘I think you ought to see the doctor’.  I just laughed and said ‘Don’t be ridiculous, only men go bald.’  But she was right in her concern, and I was wrong in my indifference.  Within weeks it had all gone.”

Shiny, hairless heads are not immediately associated with young, successful women. Sure, bald pates often adorn the heads of evil figures in films - Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz in ‘Apocolyse Now', Arnold Schwarznegger as Mr. Freeze in ‘Batman & Robin’ and Mike Myers as Dr.Evil in ‘Austin Powers’ to name a few.  But healthy, professional women losing hair and in some cases going bald?  You better believe it - in fact some 30% of women will experience some form of hair loss during their lifetime.

When Steel lost her hair 12 years ago, it wasn’t only the humiliation of revealing her hairless head to shoppers in the middle of a ground floor department store in order to try on wigs, “People knew me because of the TV presence, I couldn’t wait to get out”.  It wasn’t just  the frustration of seeing a great clump of once long, dark hair come out as she pulled off a dress in a fitting room, “Suddenly I saw my bare scalp in the mirror.  Shiny, gleaming under the spotlight, it was the stark rounded shape of the Loch Ness monster’s head.”  It wasn’t just the indifference of doctors and their repeated assurances that the initial hair loss was simply the result of childbirth (telogen effluvium) or the fact that for most, baldness is funny - “See you at the party, I suspect you’ll be the one in the hat.”

For Steel, hardest to bear was the isolation.  “I thought I was the only freak that it happened to.  There was absolutely nowhere to turn and I’d certainly never met another woman in my life who had lost her hair so I just assumed it didn’t happen to anyone but me.”  Agoraphobia followed, with long days and nights spent at home wondering why.  “Every Friday afternoon I used to sort of ‘wash my hair’ - that’s what I’d done for years - and every afternoon I would just cry because there wasn’t any. I tried to tell myself that there are far more serious things than losing hair.  It didn’t hurt and certainly wasn’t life-threatening.  But when it happened, there was such deep shock and disbelief, I just couldn’t function.”

“I used to go to bed in my wig so my husband didn’t see my balding head, but that got so hot and sticky at night, I’d wait for him to fall asleep then dash into the bathroom to take it off.  Of course I’d wake up before him and put it on again in the morning.”

As a journalist, Steel’s natural inclination in dealing with the loss of her hair was to write about it.  And what began as mere therapeutic musings became an article in Good Housekeeping (which received an overwhelming response from women all over the UK) and Steel’s first book, Coping With Sudden Hair Loss. There followed radio features on BBC’s Radio Four Woman’s Hour and the BBC World Service, which met with calls from women all over the world - some as remote as Ethiopia and Afghanistan - who thought they too were the only freaks in the world who’d lost their hair.  For Steel, that was the turning point, “I realised, baldness was not only something that happened to old men, but also to women - of every age, all over the world.”

That led to the founding of Hairline International, now a worldwide network of alopecia (the word encompasses all forms of  hair loss) patients, providing support and advice to members everywhere at the cost of £21.50 per year.  Hairline also offers realistic, up-to-date information on effective medical treatments - realistic, effective and medical, being the key words in that sentence.  One of Hairline’s primary functions is to ensure that alopecia patients don’t lose their money as well as their hair to so-called ‘miracle cures’.  “There are no miracle cures,” says Steel, “and many cowboy clinics out there ready to siphon money out of people with absolutely no results.”

Despite having said that, Steel insists that the future is as hopeful as ever.  “Although the cause of alopecia areata is officially ‘unknown’, researchers are working on a number of clues as to what can trigger it off.”  Childbirth, thyroid disorder, iron deficiency and medical illness can play a part.  And while the good news is that in many cases once the triggering event passes or condition is treated the hair returns, the not-so-good news is that  in others, particularly children, it doesn’t. 

As to a cure? Legitimate, reasonably affordable and proven effective treatments do exist and Steel is adamant that anyone seeking treatment should approach the medical profession with their problem: “See your doctor and ask for a referral to a dermatologist.  He can then establish the type of hair loss you have and recommend treatment.  Don’t, under any circumstances settle for medical indifference.”

Today, Elizabeth Steel has hair.  While doctors insist that hair lost to  alopecia areata, often spontaneously grows back for no medically apparent reason, Steel is convinced the hairs’ return is the result of a daily topical treatment she was prescribed called Minoxidil - otherwise known as Regaine (most would have, by now, heard the media hype).  “It was like water and I’d just put it on every morning. After a few months, the hair started to come back.  It was like a multi-coloured soft fuzz - white, grey, black, brown.  But it was hair, and I was ecstatic!”  She continued to wear wigs to hide the new growth, “I looked like a piebald pony” but within a year the hair had returned, along with it’s colour and thickness.

Others are not so lucky and Steel continues to campaign for alopecia awareness and understanding, often taking Hairline calls personally.  Her latest book The Hair Loss Cure charts not only her own ordeal but that of countless men, women and children whose lives have been devastated by severe hair loss.  At the same time it contains treatment information and a clear line-up of facts relating to possible causes that can only inspire a reader.  In Steel’s own words:

“For too long we have all tried to hide it.  We have been inexplicably ashamed and humiliated.  Terrified that people would laugh at us.  But at last we are coming out of the closet and talking openly about our baldness.  Only good can come of it.”*

LOSING IT - THE FACTS

In men it’s a blow to the ego, but in women sudden and severe hair loss is devastating.  At last, there’s treatment and support available for both men and women.

It’s natural to lose an average of 100 hairs a day. Hair, like skin is constantly renewing itself.  The sad news is that in many cases age means we lose it faster than we can grow it.  In an increasing number of other cases though, age has nothing to do with it.  In fact, with alopecia areata, hair loss most commonly occurs in the first 30 years of life and can progress to eyelashes and eyebrows (alopecia totalis) or the entire body (alopecia unversalis).  If you’re experiencing worrying hair loss, there are steps you can take that,  according to research, the sooner begun, the better the results. 

Why does hair loss occur?

The most common cause of hair loss in both men and women is genetics.  It’s likely that if one or both of your parents experienced hair loss or thinning, you will too.  Other factors such as diet, male hormone (androgens) levels, stress, a thyroid disorder, medications, serious illness and of course age can contribute.

Not Just Men’s Business

Hair loss is estimated to effect 30% of  women. Thinning hair can be associated with an iron, protein or zinc deficiency in the body or with higher-than-normal male hormone levels, caused by progestogen in the contraceptive pill.   Hair can also fall out after childbirth or as a result of stress related to illness or trauma, a condition known as telogen effluvium.   “This is probably the best form of hair loss to have,” says consultant dermatologist at Blackrock Clinic Dr Wendy Lynch, “as in most cases, it’s not permanent and often the hair returns in the months after the triggering event or condition.”

Balding associated with alopecia areata often begins with small round patches the size of a small coin usually on the crown of the head.  Alopecia areata can affect anyone - man, woman or child - at anytime. According to Dr Lynch hair often grows back spontaneously, sometimes years after the initial loss occurs. While there is no known cure, there are treatments that can improve it. 

More Information?

If you’ve experienced sudden hair loss, *The Hair Loss Cure £9.85 (Harper Collins), by alopecia sufferer Elizabeth Steel, is a helpful reference.

What can be done?

Medication

Minoxidil is an over-the-counter topical solution sold as Regaine that’s proven to encourage hair regrowth. For maximum benefits it must be used permanently and treatment should begin in the early stages of hair loss. Finasteride is an oral prescription drug sold as Propecia which can also stop loss and cause some re-growth. Tread carefully though - both drugs are a lifetime commitment (once stopped the hair loss usually returns) and can have side effects so ask your doctor.

Surgery

If you’ve loads of time, loads of money and a high pain threshold, a hair transplant might be the answer. These work best on men who have hair remaining at the sides and back of the head and women with thinning hair. Hair is taken from one area and transferred to the bald  or thinning areas.  As any GP can practice this type of surgery, be sure to check out your surgeon with a dermatologist or Hairline.  Other effective treatments include scalp reduction - ask your doctor.

Wigs and Hairpieces

Clever wig-wearing can make you feel a whole lot better. Some sufferers, particularly women, say they end up looking better than they did before losing their locks.  At specialist wig suppliers like Grooms Hair Centre (6 Bedford Row, Dublin 2 Tel: 671 0911), consultations and fittings take place in private rooms and all wigs are cut and styled to suit you.  “Wigs are much more sophisticated than in the past and can be made from real or synthetic hair fibres,” says Grooms’ proprietor Monica Harrop, herself a victim of total hair loss resulting from chemotherapy.  “When your hair goes, so too does your confidence so it’s important customers have a safe, private place where they can try on wigs.”  With modern, realistic acrylic wigs costing anywhere between £75 and £250 and real hair wig prices soaring into the £1000s, it’s not surprising most wearers prefer the convenience of acrylic which can be hand-washed and left to dry back into it’s original style.  Real hair wigs on the other hand, have to be coloured regularly and re-set after washing.  Whatever you choose, once you find the wig that suits you, says Elizabeth Steel, “It’s like falling in love”.

Hair Extensions

A great-looking option for a woman with thinning hair, this method, though it produces good results is expensive and difficult to keep clean. What’s more, the false hair, woven into the existing hair can drag and pull on it, encouraging further loss.

Beware The Miracle Cures

Sufferers and medics alike insist there are no miracle cures.  So be wary of glitzy ‘clinics’ and seductive before and after shots of men and women with thick heads of hair.  Be doubly wary of anyone who expects you to pay out large sums of money before any treatment takes place.  Trichologist, John Mason says, “With the development of Internet marketing the road is paved for all sorts of  potions and supplements to pose as instant cures for hair loss - they are nothing more than a load of rubbish.”  Likewise Dr Lynch says “I’ve seen people referred that have been told things that just don’t make any sense.  One patient told me she was putting a cream in her hair that was changing the resting phase of hair growth into an active one - therefore the hair would grow.  That’s just not possible.”

Where To Get Help?

For factual information and support on alopecia write to:

Hairline International

Lyons Court, 1668 High street

Knowle

West Midlands

B93 0LY

United Kingdom

Phone: 00 44 1564 775 281.

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What to do if you have sudden hair loss?

.See your doctor.  If he/she is unsympathetic and sends you away with a “Learn to live with it” or “Nothing can be done” ask for a referral to a dermatologist.

. Ask questions.  “People deserve answers,” says Dr Lynch, “They should be asking their doctors or dermatologists three questions:  What type of hair loss do I have?  What is the prognosis?  And what can be done in the way of treatment?”

[pics: pic 1 shows Steel’s hair today, pic 2: how it looked when she was losing it (“Before long, only a little tuft remained at the nape of my neck, like a Chinese ponytail.” And pic 3 shows total hair loss though this photo is not Steel - could they please be returned, either to myself or the enclosed “Hair Trust” address]

COPYRIGHT ANNA MAGEE 2000