Celebrity Wig Wearing Helps People With Trich

Controlling The Side Effects of Hair Pulling 

A person with trichotillomania credits celebrities as normalising wig wearing which has helped to control her condition. 

Trichotillomania, which is also known as trich, refers to a condition where people can’t resist the urge to pull out their hair from the root. It is uncommon, with around 0.5-3% of the population expected to experience symptoms at some point in their lives, with teenagers and young adults being the most affected. The urge to pull their hair out is completely overwhelming for those diagnosed. It’s usually head hair that is targeted, but can extend to eyebrows, eyelashes and beards too. Some are affected by a concurrent condition known as trichophagy which is the desire to swallow the pulled-out hair. This can result in significant gastro-intestinal problems. 

There’s no doubt that trichotillomania seriously affects the lifestyle and wellbeing of those who suffer from it. But one woman has found that the increase in celebrities wearing wigs has provided her with a newfound confidence and way to manage her journey with trich. 

From Nail Biting To Hair Pulling 

Hattie Gilford, is 27 and has been pulling her hair out compulsively since the age of 8 years old. As a result of her condition, she has been left with a huge bald patch in the middle of her head and hasn’t had a parting in her hair since she was a child. Prior to developing trichotillomania, Hattie had been a nail-biter, which is also common in childhood. Her mum offered her £1 for every nail she stopped chewing, but unfortunately, she found that the biting had been a way to stop herself fidgeting and she soon moved onto hair pulling instead. This is known as switching a single body-focused repetitive disorder (BFRD) with an alternative. 

Embracing Wigs 

People with trich may have problems with self-image and learning to be happy with their physical appearance. In the case of Hattie, she followed a ritual of spraying her scalp with brown hair shampoo, then backcombing the front of her hairline into a top knot, and spraying it tight to cover the bald patch. 

However, following the rise of celebrity wig-wearing from the likes of trendsetters such as Kylie Jenner, Hattie feels that wearing a hairpiece has been completely normalised. She can now cover up her bald patch with the use of a hair topper, which covers a single area of the head. But one of the main perks of wearing real hair wigs is that they allow you to change up your style as often as you wish. You can invest in different wigs for daily wear, special occasions or just the change in seasons! 

Symptom-Free  

The great news for Hattie is that wearing wigs has changed her life to such a degree that she no longer feels the urge to pull out her hair and has been symptom-free since October 27th, 2019! A combination of joining a trich awareness campaign on Instagram and being inspired by the trends of celebrity wig wearers has created a different motivation for Hattie, and she is now also completing cognitive behaviour therapy as another way to keep her condition under control. 

Hair loss can be enormously damaging to a person’s self-esteem, so if you’re experiencing trich, or another condition such as alopecia which causes bald patches, then it’s important to access resources such as support groups, therapy sessions and of course wig-wearing to take positive steps so that you are in control of your condition, rather than your condition being in control of you!