Channel 4’s ‘Embarrassing Illnesses’ and Embarrassing Teenage illnesses have both featured the hair loss conditions Alopecia and Trichotillomania.

More and more worried parents are calling us about their children’s hair loss problem. One lady enquired on behalf of her thirteen year old daughter who was being badly bullied at school because of her patchy hair loss. We know that hair loss is embarrassing anyway but children can be very cruel to each other.

The young girl in question dreads going to school everyday and has told her Mum that she would prefer to die than have to face her bullies. How sad that not only has she got to cope with all the other teenage challenges but her peers are teasing her about something that she can not control?

Children with hair loss problems will shy away from certain activities to avoid bringing attention to their hair – swimming and sleepover would be very difficult. I know one young girl who said she gained a reputation for being a loner so that people would not ask her to stay over and so that she could avoid the inevitable girly conversations about hair. Don’t underestimate the lengths people with a hair loss problem will go to just to avoid a hair conversation.

It is important to find the right cosmetic solution for children with hair loss. Timing is also crucial. A child will not want to go to school one day with patchy hair loss and arrive the next day with a full head of hair. Finding the right solution can make day to day activities much easier. We recommend speaking to an advisor at Lucinda Ellery so we can explain our services. We offer a free of charge consultation for children on the basis that we can offer advice in general and where appropriate, recommend one of our cosmetic options. What we do is not always suitable for younger clients so everyone is seen on a case by case basis to make sure we are right for them.

We appreciate that parents want to make the right choices to help their child.