Kieran Thompson, 20 year old university student and blogger recently opened up in Huffpost about his experience of starting to go bald at 16. Hair loss can be a traumatic experience at any time but when you realise that you’re losing it before you’ve even completed your GCSEs then the psychological effects can be profound.
Spotted by friends after a hair cut
Keiran recounts how the condition was quite isolating and how it began to subsume all his thoughts and was a constant source of worry. Initially spotted by his friends after a hair cut they indulged in some light hearted banter which he pretended to laugh along with, although this masked an inner trauma.
After keeping the problem to himself he eventually opened up about his concerns to another friend who gave him what he needed, a healthy sense of perspective saying, “You may be losing your hair but there’s somebody out there without a leg and someone else who doesn’t have any food”.
There’s always someone worse off than you
With this advice which made Keiran realise that there’s always someone worse off than you he turned a corner and began to stop worrying about the condition as well as signing up to work with a charity which gives young people a voice, Fixers. Most recently he’s designed a poster for bars, gyms and student unions to put a message across about positive body image.
It’s great that Keiran has come to terms with hair loss and at 20 it’s not been as rapid as he might have worried. The other good news for him is that there is a range of treatments available these days from medicines such as finasteride and minixoxidil which can slow down hair loss to Scalp Micropigmentation SMP) where organic pigments are injected into the scalp. Whether Keiran opts for a treatment or not he’s clearly got his head screwed on.
If you’re worried about hair loss (whatever age) then please visit our website or give us a call on 0121 516 1767
