A mum-of-two from Tuam in County Galway has spoken out on what is often perceived to be an embarrassing medical condition – female hair loss. Vivienne McIntyre has spoken to local newspapers and even appeared on a TV show to talk about her fight with not one, but two types of alopecia.

Vivienne, 52, first realised she was losing her hair when she awoke to clumps of it lying on her pillow. At the GP’s office, she was told in no uncertain terms to prepare herself for total baldness. She describes her experience, saying:

“I always had a great head of hair. Then last year, I started noticing hair on my pillow every morning. I ignored it for a while, but it started getting worse and worse.

“I went to two different doctors and their lack of empathy was overwhelming.

“I was told it was due to menopause and to forget about it — at least I didn’t have cancer. I went away feeling very alone, guilty and down.”

This continued until Vivienne visited a trichologist, a specialist in female hair loss, who told her that she had two types of alopecia. She is currently undergoing hair loss treatment and is in recovery.

Overall, Vivienne wants to use her experience to tell other women suffering from hair loss not to be embarrassed or to pretend it isn’t happening. Her message to hair loss sufferers is: “you are not alone”.

When women reach a certain age, typically around their early fifties, they find that they bodies start to go through the menopause, which can result in very little, some or large changes which varies from woman to woman. A lot of women find the menopause to be something that they have to go through, whereas for others it is a lot more difficult because they suffer more with the general symptoms such as hot sweats, hormone imbalances and sleeping difficulties. Some women even experience hair loss as a result of the menopause.

Most doctors believe that the hair loss that is experience is due to the hormone change within a woman’s body that occurs during the menopause. Some find that the hair loss is only minimal whereas others find the hair loss to be more substantial. Whatever hair loss you are suffering with as a result of the menopause, you need to speak with your doctor to ensure that you are getting the right treatment for the condition.

In most instances, you will find that the hair loss that you are experiencing can be treated through forms of medication and by ensuring that you are doing all you can to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

If you have been suffering hair loss throughout your life or you have just started to experience it recently, you will know how uncomfortable it can make you feel and how hard it can be for some women to come to terms with what is happening to them.

Hair loss doesn’t need to be something that you suffer with on your own. You can easily get support from your friends and family as well as getting the most appropriate treatment for your hair loss from your doctor.

There is a large proportion of women who suffer with hair loss throughout their lifetime and they have found many different ways to cope with it and disguise the fact that they have lost some or all of their hair. Most women who suffer with hair loss turn to wigs made from human hair in order to prevent their hair loss being noticeable.

Human hair wigs are truly amazing and you wouldn’t even be able to tell whether it is your own hair or not without examining the wig really carefully. Your new human hair wig can be styled just like normal hair so you can have whatever colour and cut that you want. You could even enlist your hairdresser to help you create a great barnet.

Hair loss is a condition that some women suffer from and others are lucky enough to avoid going through losing their hair during certain times in their lives. There can be many reasons why women lose their hair and most of the time their hair loss can be treated by their general practitioner.

No matter what kind of hair loss that you are suffering from, there will be a form of treatment for you to have which may stimulate the growth of your hair and lead to all of your hair returning.

In order to ensure that you are getting the right treatment, you need to speak to your doctor and get your hair loss formally diagnosed. Although this might be embarrassing for you to admit that you have lost some or all of your hair, your doctor will be able to put your mind at rest and ensure that you receive the right treatment for the specific type of hair loss that you are suffering with.

Your doctor may have experience in their field of female hair loss but they may also refer you to a specialist so that you can get expert advice about your hair loss.

If you have lost your hair recently but you haven’t yet plucked up the courage to tell your partner or even go to the doctor, you need to realise that in order for your hair to come back, you will need to speak to your doctor and ensure that you get the right treatment for the type of hair loss that you are suffering with.

Some women feel embarrassed that their hair is falling out but in actual fact it happens to many women and it can be for a variety of reasons. Regardless of why your hair is falling out, you still need to speak with your doctor.

Getting a formal diagnosis of the type of hair loss that you are suffering from is essential so that you can get on the right kind of medication and start making changes to your life in order to ensure that you are doing your best to get your hair to grow back again. It might be that some of your hair follicles are dormant and they need to be stimulated which can be done through drug therapy. Or it might be that you are going through a hard time and your body is struggling to cope with it, but your doctor will be able to give you some advice.

If you have been under the impression that hair loss and baldness is only something that is experienced by men then you need to think again. It might surprise you to hear that a large number of women suffer with hair loss throughout their lifetime and it can be down to a variety of different reasons.

Some scientists believe that genes play a large role in whether or not women will lose some or all of their hair. But there is also a school of thought that believes it might be a hormone related illness and can be linked to certain times in your life such as when you are having a baby or when women go through the menopause.

It is believed that we all lose a certain amount of hair during the day and this is often not very noticeable. However it is when it comes to more than a few strands that you need to go to the doctor and find out what is going on. Getting a formal diagnosis from your doctor is essential and they might be able to put you in the right direction for some treatment for your hair loss. This can sometimes be through medication whereas for others it might be making some lifestyle changes such as diet or doing more exercise.