We get a number of telephone enquiries everyday from people wanting to organise a consultation or from people that want to find out about our services in general.

One client recently enquired with us and she said she was overwhelmed to discover that there was actually a name for her type of hair loss and also that there were other people with the same problem – Trichotillomania. She explained that her call to us was particularly difficult as she had never told anyone the real reason for her hair loss. Her parents had assumed that it was Alopecia and so she went along to various appointments but was never willing to say that her hair loss was a result of hair pulling. I explained to her that we have had similar calls in the past – many of our Trichotillomania clients would have kept their hair pulling a secret. This hair loss type is something we deal with on a daily basis and it is very important to put the caller at ease – imagine having kept something like that to yourself for years and years, I can appreciate that having the conversation with me was quite daunting but the client was happier having taken the plunge.

There is now more information about Trichotillomania on various websites but not everyone uses the net and this lady said she would not have even considered doing a search for hair pulling – she really did think she was the only person that did this. She happened to be reading a colleague’s magazine during her lunch break and there was an article about a client of ours with Trichotillomania in the ‘real life’ section. She stored the info in her head for 6 months before making the call to us.

This lady has now been to see us for a consultation. She had the opportunity to speak to another of our clients with the same problem and she is now focused on getting the help that was recommended. She is having her hair done with us but alongside that she is now having appointments with a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. Talking through the problem with both us and her CBT specialist has been a real positive step forward for her. It would seem that this is a happy ending to a lonely experience.

This is a hair loss type that can be caused by many factors to include childbirth, severe illness, medication, hormones or dieting. 

There tends to be a sudden reduction in volume as opposed to patchy hair loss.  Of course, like all types of female hair loss it is distressing but it does tend to correct itself after a number of months.

If you are worried about your hair then you should consider visiting a registered consultant trichologist who will be in a position to advise as to what is the best course of treatment for your hair.

There was an article recently published in the April Edition of Top Sante magazine about Alopecia (reprinted in our main site). The lady featured in the article, Helen, described how her life was affected by her thinning hair. Many people endure months and possibly years of putting up with hair thinning or patchy hair loss caused by Alopecia before they find a solution to help them disguise the areas of loss. It can affect all areas of someone’s life. Helen spoke about how it had affected her relationships. Most partners or husbands are very understanding about how losing your hair can affect a woman’s day to day well being. Some women find everyday activities like dropping the children to school or even going to work a real challenge. Unfortunately for us ladies, it would seem that it is not acceptable within society for us to have anything but a full head of hair. Many clients of ours will say that before they had their hair makeover that people would only look at their hair whilst talking to them, they would not look them in the eye.

It is important to know that there are great options available in terms of replacing the hair that is missing. If your hair thinning or hair loss is affecting your everyday life then a positive step forward would be to investigate what can be done to give you a head of hair that in turn restores your confidence.

There was an article in today’s Daily Mail about our client Robina and her experience of living with Trichotillomania. There has been a huge amount of interest from the press in Robina’s story and as a result she is going to be on the ‘couch’ tomorrow morning on GMTV.

Trichotillomania or hair pulling is something that we deal with on a daily basis so we are sure that tomorrow’s program will raise awareness about this little known condition. Robina uses the Intralace System to help her manage her hair pulling and it also gives her a beautiful disguise! The Intralace System has two benefits for our trichotillomania clients – it acts as a physical prevention to hair pulling as well as replacing the hair that is missing. The client feels better because they look better, and their hair gets a chance to regrow.

We often find that following a press article or TV piece that clients are overwhelmed that Trichotillomania is actually much more common than most people think.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy may be recommended for people with Trichotillomania. Your GP would advise as to whether or not this would be beneficial in your particular case but it is suggested frequently by the medical profession to help with managing Trichotilomania.

CBT is an Orientation of psychotherapy. It is essentially a talking therapy. The client and therapist work together to understand problems in terms of the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

We have a number of clients who have had CBT to help with their trichotillomania and many have found it hugely beneficial however I appreciate that it is an individual thing but I would be interested to see if anyone has any feedback on this.

If your hair has reduced in volume and there are no obvious areas where you can see through to the scalp or there are no patches of hair loss, then you may want to consider using some fine hair extensions to help introduce some volume into your hair.  Extensions on fine hair need to be really lightweight.  It is important that they are applied professionally and it’s also just as important that they are removed by a professionally trained technician.  You should have a consultation first to discuss how many you would need to make a difference to the volume of your hair.  Most extensions available nowadays are real hair therefore the general day to day looking after your hair is easy as there are more styling options available with real hair extensions.

You can use them until you are happy with the volume of your own hair, but they can also be used to change the length of your hair, so you may want to explore using extensions as a means of increasing both the volume and length of your hair.