‘Losing my hair at 16 has controlled me’ | UK News

A teenager who started losing his hair when he was 16 has described the experience as “completely and utterly exhausting”.

Judah Cousin, 19, said male pattern baldness caused him to withdraw from family and friends and that his life was “controlled” by the condition.

“I wouldn’t go out if it was windy, I wouldn’t go swimming, I’d always go to the gym with a hat on… I remember showering three times over to get the hair right and I ended up being late to my prom because of that,” said Mr Cousin.

Male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is the most common type of hair loss in men which usually begins between the ages of 20-25 years, according to NICE.

It is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors and usually involves hair loss from the front and sides of the scalp before progressing towards the back of the head.

Judah, from Cardiff, said it was when his friends started making comments about his hair loss that his insecurities ramped up and his parents began to worry.

“I was so in denial about it, I’d start almost hearing people saying things about it and I would manifest these comments,” said Judah.

“I have hundreds and hundreds of videos of me looking absolutely miserable and checking my hair and hair loss progression.

“I was completely controlled by it.”

Judah said he told his friends that comments about his hair loss had been affecting him, and that they now respected his boundaries and had been supportive.

He said he had explored treatment options such as medication and hair installations, including a semi-permanent hair piece which he now wears often, and said he hoped others were able to do the same “without shame”.

“It’s about seeing what gives you the most confidence, and being open about it is a bonus,” Judah said.

He is also making a film which draws on his own experiences which he hopes will help to “destigmatise” hair loss.

There is no cure for male pattern baldness, but some choose to pursue treatment.

In the UK, there are two medicines licensed to treat male pattern balding – finasteride and minoxidil. Neither are available on the NHS and both can cause unwanted side effects.

Hair installations or systems – such as wigs, toupees or extensions – and skin camouflage products such as pigmented fibre sprays may help to disguise the condition, according to the British Association of Dermatologists.

Surgical treatments, such as hair transplants, can also be sought privately. According to the NHS, the cost of a hair transplant operation in the UK can vary from between £1,000 and £30,000.

The hair transplant industry has boomed in recent years with many young men travelling abroad for the surgery.

It was New Year’s Eve when Luke Shepherd caught a reflection of himself at a friend’s house and decided he did not like what he saw in the mirror.

“It was all combed over, really flat, sprayed with almost half a can of the root touch up sprays and building fibres,” he said.

“I didn’t like what I could see.”

In January, Luke got a hair installation which he said had been “completely life-changing”.

The 34-year-old primary school teacher, from Blaenavon, said he felt there was a lot of pressure to look perfect.

“I was seeing all these people doing hairstyles on Instagram and thinking ‘I’d like to do that’ but I couldn’t,” he said.

“Seeing TV shows and they all have perfect hair. For me it was almost like I wanted to have those opportunities, I felt my hair was holding me back.

“I just couldn’t keep going that way because it was getting me down, making me feel bad about myself so that’s why I took action to do something about it.”

Ex-professional rugby player, Xavier Rush, had a hair transplant once he retired from the sport, which he said was to avoid the “abuse” he might have received from other players.

The former Cardiff and New Zealand player has since opened a hair transplant business after he said a number of men were asking him about his procedure.

“We’re in the Instagram age, people are doing Zoom calls. The amount of people ringing in saying ‘my God I see my head on the camera every day and I don’t like it’,” said Rush.

“There’s becoming less and less stigma around [hair transplants],” he added.

“[But] in saying that, I was still terrified about having the procedure in terms of how it would look. Would it look natural? Would it always look like I’d had a hair transplant?”

Sharon Thomas, a non-surgical hair replacement specialist who creates hair systems for men and women, said she saw clients ranging from the ages of 17 to 80.

“I’ve been doing this since 1996 and when I first started the hair systems were a lot thicker and took a lot longer to be made,” said Sharon, from Cardiff.

“Now about 70% of our clients are men coming in.

“Hair transplants take longer whereas this is an instant fix, you get the volume and [it’s] more affordable.

“You see a massive difference. Even when they come in and have a fitting for the first time, you see them smiling.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can find a list of organisations who offer support on Action Line.