NO HAIR, DON'T CARE!

Lesley Walsh, 54, decided to embrace her hair loss

- FIONA FORD

Sitting in front of the TV beside my husband Jerry, then 46, I ran a hand over the base of my skull. It was December 2013 and I could feel a smooth patch the size of a 50p coin. Worry coursed through me, I loved my long locks.

‘What’s this?’ I asked.

Jerry carefully examined my head. ‘Just a small bald patch,’ he soothed.

Panic took hold.

I booked an appointment with my GP. She explained there was no definite test, but diagnosed me with alopecia areata – an autoimmune condition that can lead to unpredictable hair loss.

‘It often develops for no reason,’ she explained. ‘It’s more than likely your hair will grow back.’

I hoped she was right, but over the coming weeks, clumps of hair began appearing in the shower. I felt anxious and upset but tried to hide my worries from my children, Maddie, then seven and Alexander, four.