A scholar who has struggled with melancholy and nervousness for the reason that age of 16 as a consequence of his hair loss has stated he felt he may now ‘do something’ after present process a hair transplant.
Alex Wooden, 21, who lives in London and is learning enterprise administration at Bayes Enterprise Faculty, began shedding his hair when he was 16 – however he solely began noticing it as a result of her hair was “always talked about” by these round her at college.
Alex stated he “did not actually care”, however his classmates relentlessly made enjoyable of him, making it seem like a “joke”.
He determined to shave his hair, choosing a ‘buzzcut’, as he thought it would enhance his look, however he stated it made his hair loss much more apparent, as his hair largely solely grew again on the perimeters. sides and never on prime.
Alex determined to attempt to deal with himself and his well-being, hitting the gymnasium and bettering his health the yr earlier than he began school, however he discovered it troublesome to dam out the negativity as a result of he noticed his classmates on daily basis.
On the age of 17, Alex contacted the Harley Road Hair Clinic – the place footballer Wayne Rooney acquired his therapy – to inquire a few hair transplant, and a few yr later underwent the process. £10,000 and now has “hair all over the place”.
“It is undoubtedly a burden on my chest as a result of now I am coping with regular points {that a} 21-year-old might need,” Alex stated.
“I haven’t got that additional thought, what is going on on with my hair?
“It simply makes it simpler to deal with the opposite issues in your life, and probably not fear about them.
“It is undoubtedly helped me socialize with folks as a result of I do not assume, what are they going to think about me by way of hair? It is extra, what are they going to think about me by way of what we’re speaking about and my character.
He added: “Proper now I really feel like I can actually do something.”
Alex began shedding her hair when she was 16. He stated he did not care about his hair, however as “lots of people made it an enormous difficulty” it affected his confidence considerably.
“It is a joke when it occurs a number of instances, however when it is for 2 years, and that is the one factor folks say, then it simply will get irritating and imply, actually, and disrespectful. too,” he stated.
“In school, it is in that setting the place it is thought-about joking, however it’s probably not joking.
“It will get to a degree the place it is simply imply about it.”
Alex feels that his friends at college have “created” insecurity in him, which has led him to undergo from melancholy and social nervousness.
He stated his hair loss was the one factor on his thoughts, and he went via a ‘fairly darkish interval of his life’ between the ages of 16 and 18, including: ‘I used to be fairly depressed; social nervousness prevented me from socializing and creating my confidence.
He stated he seen folks’s eyes “roll up” to have a look at his hair when speaking to him; he confronted rejection and he was often called “the man with the hair loss”.
Alex stated he was surrounded by ‘poisonous’ and ‘shallow’ folks at college, and as he ‘tried to place this life behind him and begin a brand new one’, he felt the fixed torment and negativity prevented him from rising and maturing as a young person.
He “needed to not care”, however subconsciously it “undoubtedly affected him”.
“I used to be already fairly shy, and whenever you’re 16 to 18, that is when you must construct your confidence and mature,” Alex stated.
“I really feel prefer it hit me on the mistaken time as a result of as a substitute of popping out of that shyness, that shyness became social nervousness.
“It made it arduous for me to develop as an individual, to deal with myself, when all I take into consideration is what my hairline appears to be like like and what folks consider me. “
Alex stated he “waited out” for his faculty days and began going to the gymnasium and “doing issues that made (him) really feel higher about himself.”
He maintained his buzzcut till he entered school, and he stated he was excited to start out over and make new buddies.
Nonetheless, his hair loss was nonetheless on his thoughts, and so he started researching hair transplants – a course of that replaces misplaced or thinning hair by taking wholesome follicles from a donor space of the top and by transplanting them to a sparse space of the top.
By way of his analysis, Alex stated he found he won’t be capable of get a hair transplant till he was 25, and he practically went to a “shady” clinic. and low cost for a process that supplied reductions for appointments. that very same weekend.
Nonetheless, Alex had doubts and sought recommendation from his dad and mom, who recommended he go to the Harley Road Hair Clinic.
After writing to the clinic and being interviewed by the group, Alex’s hair loss trajectory was tracked for a yr earlier than he underwent follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplantation on the age of 18, which prices a median of £8,000-10,000.
Alex did not assume it could be “financially attainable”, however his father supported him by paying for the therapy.
Whereas Alex was “nervous” earlier than the process, he stated he felt a way of “reduction” after contacting the clinic as he knew his life was about to vary.
The process befell over two days in January 2021, and Alex needed to sleep on his ft for 2 weeks afterwards, which was actually “uncomfortable”.
Nonetheless, he stated it was price it as a result of in about six months he had just about “a full head of hair.”
“It was good to look within the mirror and see the hair there, see this new hairline, after which watch it get thicker and thicker,” Alex stated.
“I used to be actually blissful about it.”
Alex stated shedding his hair at such a younger age and being the butt of fixed jokes at college “affected him so much rising up”.
Nonetheless, he now feels it has “made him a lot stronger” and that his hair transplant has helped him “enhance his confidence”.
He has made many new buddies since his time at college, he now not suffers from melancholy or social nervousness and he has since discovered love together with his girlfriend, Marysia, 21, who’s learning regulation at Coventry College.
Alex would advise anybody else affected by hair loss to conduct their very own thorough analysis into hair transplants, and he hopes that by sharing his story he can supply hope to these dealing with well being points. psychological well being as a consequence of hair loss.
Extra importantly, nonetheless, he stated it was necessary to “deal with your self” and “perceive that hair loss would not change something about you”, including: “On the finish of the day, it is It is as much as you to determine who you wish to be and who you might be.
“You should not let others construct you up, as a result of they will by no means do it to your benefit.”
For anybody who is likely to be involved about their hair, Harley Road Hair Clinic has launched a brand new app known as Hair Monitor, which permits customers to trace their hair and communicate to a advisor for personalised recommendation and steering.
Study extra right here: apps.apple.com/gb/app/hair-track/id1584288132.
