Leona Lewis reveals shocking health scare made her swap hair straightening for natural curls
The singer was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease around 18 month ago
LEONA Lewis has revealed how a debilitating illness prompted her to give up straightening her hair for good.
The singer, 32, turned to natural styling and products after she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease around 18 months ago.
She would often wear her thick curls dead straight after landing a record deal at the age of 20, however, she has now drastically altered her approach.
The chronic autoimmune condition can cause sufferers to experience fatigue, aches, hair loss and rashes, and Leona said the diagnosis "devastated" her.
Out of the blue she began to suffer from symptoms such as sickness, tiredness and pains in her neck and throat.
After undergoing a number of tests Leona discovered she was suffering from Hashimoto's, leaving her feeling "scared and alone".
In an essay for magazine, she wrote: "When my symptoms were the most severe, I could hear my body telling me that I needed to slow down. I also started to feel tired during performances.
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"I began taking medication but also turned to Ayurveda (my mum is a master herbalist) to help heal my body naturally.
"I just got to a point where I wanted to start over physically and emotionally. I started eating better and I stopped straightening my hair.
"I started using natural skin care and hair products (this inspired me to create a safe beauty brand for women, which I’m working on now), but I still had hesitations about wearing my hair curly at first."
Leona shot to fame in 2006 after winning the X Factor and securing a £1million recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco label.
Her debut album Spirit was released the following year and was a smash success, going on to sell more than nine million copies and spawning the mega hit Bleeding Love, which topped the UK charts for seven weeks.
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