Mum told me I often developed small bald spots on my head from time to time when I was school age. They would stick around for a little while and then the hair would grow back.

I had so much hair back then – so thick and so long it never bothered me. I would whip it up into a ponytail, bun or braid and wouldn’t let it get in the way of whatever I was busy doing at the time.

When I was 32 years old, I fell pregnant with my first child. I started losing the hair from the nape of my neck and it slowly moved higher up my scalp. I was able to hide it easily by pulling my hair back in a low pony or bun. I thought my body must have been under strain with being pregnant. I was told by friends and family that I must be stressed. I wasn’t too concerned about it. I was busy preparing to birth my first beautiful baby.

I delivered my baby – we were both healthy and well. I breastfed her for 13 months and during this time the hair loss continued. It worsened, creeping further up the back of my head and then around the top crown around my forehead. I went to the GP for review who told me it was normal hair loss that occurs during pregnancy and breastfeeding and that it would grow back.

Shortly after I stopped breastfeeding, I fell pregnant for a second time and all my hair grew back. I’ve heard people say pregnancy has a protective effect on your hair, making it fuller, shiny, and thicker. This is exactly what happened with me

I delivered my second baby – again, we were both healthy and well. I breastfeed for another 13 months. My hair loss started again, from the nape of my neck, moving slowly up the back of my head. And then again from the crown of my head, around my forehead. I went back to the GP and requested a Dermatology referral. I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata. There wasn’t much the Dermatologist could do for me because I was breastfeeding. I was limited with medications that I could take. I was prescribed some low dose steroid creams to use on the bald parts, along with some Minoxidil. This didn’t help. When I finished breastfeeding the door opened for me to try some other things to see if they might help my hair grow back. I commenced regular steroid injections into my bald spots which my Dermatologist would provide. I would try hard not to cry in pain as my tiny children watched on wandering what Mummy was doing each time we went back to visit the Dermatologist. The injections didn’t help. My hair loss continued. I had several blood tests – all came back fine. The next option was to try a long course of oral steroids to see if this might help. It helped a little, I grew a small amount of hair, but I didn’t regain all my hair like I had hoped. As a result, I gained several other things instead including more kg’s to my weight from an increased appetite and a decreased metabolism, troubles sleeping and a few other annoying side effects. As soon as we started to wean me off the oral steroids my hair loss worsened. My Dermatologist suggested recommencing oral steroids. I decided against this. My thoughts at this time were ‘what will be, will be’. It’s only my hair and the perspective of having two little people to raise in this life far outweighed the importance of my worsening hair loss. 

However, my hair loss continued, I would find clumps in the shower drain, on my pillow and in my hairbrush. It was getting harder to hide the bad spots. I was having to become more creative by investing in hats and scarves. At this point I was exhausted with mothering two small children, waking several times every night, and keeping me busy during the day. I was also starting to become more anxious about my worsening hair loss. I couldn’t seem to shift the weight I had put on from the long course of oral steroids I had been on, so I decided it was time to get back into some exercise. I joined Mum’s on A Mission. A group of personal trainers providing outdoor fitness classes where you can bring your kids along with you. This was around 3 and half years ago and I haven’t looked back. The changes to my physical and emotional wellbeing have been profound. Thanks to the generosity and support of AAAF’s sponsorship program I look forward to sharing with you the changes and impact this has had on my life, my Alopecia journey and physical and mental wellbeing. TBC.

Christine is a recipient of the AAAF sponsorship. You can also apply here