Woman tells of brave battle with hair loss which involves GLUING locks to her scalp to cover her baldness

A WOMAN has told of her courageous battle with losing her hair at just 18 years old.

Nicola Hanratty, now 27, noticed her thick auburn hair was thinning and prayed it would grow back.

But devastatingly by the time she hit 20, her hairline had completely receded, exposing large bald patches.

As clumps of her hair fell out, doctors also diagnosed Nicola with agoraphobia, as she became too self-conscious to leave the home she shared with boyfriend Cameron Gentleman in Musselburgh, Edinburgh.

Thankfully she discovered a revolutionary treatment to hide her baldness, which involves GLUING hair to her scalp.

Nicola explained: “My hair had been falling out constantly since I was 18, and as my hairline receded my confidence went with it.

“A lot of people define a woman’s beauty by her hair, so it was devastating to see mine disappearing.”

Nicola – who has been dating Cameron, a 38-year-old council worker, since 2005 – was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome in 2006, aged 16.

She was 18 when she first noticed her hair becoming thinner, but assumed it was linked to her condition.

She recalled: “Before then it had been quite thick and I’d often get compliments for the rich auburn colour.

“Doctors had said PCOS can cause mild hair-loss, so while I was upset, I wasn’t too worried.

“I tried to cut down on how often I washed and brushed my hair to avoid exacerbating the problem.”

But over the next two years large chunks of hair began to fall out, leaving her with noticeable baldness, which she tried to disguise by wearing hats.

In 2011, age 20, she was told a disproportionately large amount of testosterone in her body was causing the hair loss, and she was diagnosed with female pattern baldness.

The condition mainly affects women in their fifties going through the menopause and there is no ‘cure’ – though in some cases hair re-grows naturally.

Nicola said: “When I realised I had no way of stopping my hair-loss I sobbed.

“As a woman, it felt like I was losing my femininity and I felt painfully self-conscious about it, even when Cameron insisted I was beautiful.

“Everywhere I looked I saw women with luscious hair, and couldn’t help but compare them to my patchy scalp.”

By the age of 24, Nicola had around 60% baldness, and the top of her scalp was totally exposed.

She explained: “When I went out I would hear people laughing in the street and be convinced it was aimed at me, even if it wasn’t.

“My confidence hit rock bottom and I skipped shifts on my job as an NHS support worker.

“In time, I became afraid to leave the house.”

In February 2015, she was diagnosed with agoraphobia and signed off work.

She said: “I stayed indoors crying all day. Even watching hair adverts on telly would set me off.

“I’d ask Cameron to leave the lights dimmed with the curtains drawn, because I didn’t want my scalp to be obvious in the light.”

But in February, a year after she’d been signed off work, Nicola was browsing Facebook when she discovered a revolutionary treatment to hide her bare scalp – which involved GLUING human hair over bald patches to cover them.

She explained: “A hairdresser called Ashley Miller shared a post about glue-on hairpieces for people with alopecia or patchy hair.

“When I heard about this new solution I was desperate to try it.

“It sounded like the answer to my prayers. Immediately I messaged her and booked a consultation.”

Hairdresser Ashley, 41, explained that she could glue hairpieces – called crown extensions – to Nicola’s scalp with a medical adhesive.

Unlike a wig, the glue-on hair can be brushed, styled and washed as though it is natural – but must be removed and re-glued once a month, to prevent infection on the scalp.

Nicola splashed out £250 for the stick-on hairpiece at Salon 99 in Edinburgh in time for her dad George Hanratty’s 50th birthday party, where she showed off her new locks for the first time.

She said: “I thought, reality TV stars have made extensions acceptable, what’s the difference between gluing hair to your head to build length as opposed to on top?

“Why is there still a stigma attached to hair pieces? What’s the difference?

“Friends and family were full of compliments, and I posed for photos for the first time in years.”

Since the treatment newly confident Nicola, who has to have the hairpiece removed and re-glued every month, has returned to employment and now works as a barista – and is determined her condition won’t beat her.

She said: “Gluing on hair might sound odd and it hasn’t ‘cured’ me – but it has changed my life and salvaged my confidence.

“I want to urge other bald women to do whatever it takes to feel confident – whether it’s stepping out bald or wearing wigs or hairpieces.

“One day I may be completely bald, but having the option of gluing hair to my scalp helps me accept that.

“Nobody would ever guess that the hair’s fake – now I look like any other woman.”