Hair - your crowning glory – you feel fabulous and confident when it looks great and as for ‘bad hair days’, well, everyone has one at some time, but what if your hair begins to fall out?

For those who lose their hair as a result of Alopecia, it is devastating.  Alopecia (which means hair loss) isn’t particular about who you are; men, women, children - any age. The condition is a mystery and why it happens, is not fully understood.

My name is Michelle Chapman and I have Alopecia.  I don’t know why I began losing my hair when I was 5.  Slowly at first, just small circular bald patches, roughly the size of 10p.  Over time the patches grew larger and began to join together.  By the time I was 8, I was wearing a wig.  Then, for no apparent reason, during my teens, some my hair came back.  Not all of it, but enough that I could disguise and camouflage the condition, without having to wear a wig.  When it happened again, I was in the shower – suddenly ankle deep in water.  I pretty much lost the lot in one go – no reason.  I told you it is a mystery.

I began my campaign to raise awareness of hair loss in 1996 when I was featured in an article in the Daily Mail, the response was incredible.  Since then I have continued with my mission and was very fortunate to take part in a BBC1 documentary about the experience, pain, trials and tribulations of Gail Porter the TV personality, who was diagnosed with Alopecia in August 2005.  The documentary was shown in May 2006 as part of the One Life Documentary series.  It was wonderful meeting and working alongside Gail, since then the awareness for hair loss has increased dramatically. The letters, telephone calls and emails received by both Gail and I, have been touching and humbling in knowing that a positive difference has been made in helping those living with hair loss and educate those who know little or nothing about it.

As well as my friendship with Gail, I also work alongside Trevor Sorbie, the Celebrity Hairdresser who has launched the My New Hair project  which supports anyone experiencing hair loss as a result of cancer or alopecia.  Trevor and I appeared on the Channel 5 show The Wright Stuff, hosted my Matthew Wright, where we both spoke about wigs and hair loss.

I’ve come a long way since those early years. I spend time raising awareness of hair loss and help as a volunteer for the Alopecia Awareness Support Group, which was established in 2004. The group, which is now a registered charity No. 1115736, gives those living with Alopecia, or experiencing hair loss for any reason, the opportunity to communicate with others who understand the emotional trauma caused by this condition and by raising awareness, the group aims to create a better understanding. Alopecia Awareness aim to work alongside local GP’s, hospitals, schools and colleges to make people aware of the fact that this condition has more of an affect on an individual, than just losing their hair. With a positive outlook, the group gives those living with hair loss, a chance to learn from and speak with others who really know what it’s like and how it feels.  This doesn’t just mean the sufferer, but includes those closest to them, as it is equally important to support anyone connected with hair loss be that wife, husband, partner, child, or friend.

To top it all off, I now work for a wig company and my time is divided between working alongside the NHS with a number of hospitals, where I attend specialist hair loss clinics, and designing a range of wigs, after all – I do know how they should feel and what looks right!  I now have around 50 wigs in my collection, red, brunette, blonde, black, long, short, straight, curly – depends where I am going, what I am doing, what I’m wearing, how I’m feeling!  There is life after hair…..