April 2011

An alopecia sufferer says the lack of information for women with hair loss about government help to buy wigs is "outrageous", and she hopes to spread the message at the Women's Lifestyle Expo in Nelson this weekend.

Janine Antram, who has Alopecia universalis, an auto-immune disorder in which all the hair on the body falls out, will be at the expo to promote her wigs and offer support for people who have lost their hair.

Her hairdresser noticed a thumb-nail-sized bald spot on Ms Antram's head in February last year. The Cambridge woman went to her doctor two days later with a bald patch now the size of a golfball.

"It was pretty scary. I didn't know whether I was sick or dying."

Within two weeks, she had 27 bald spots, and six weeks later every hair on her body was gone.

After seeing five different specialists, it was not until she went to a wig provider that she heard about the government grants available for hair pieces, she said.

Grants of up to $400 a year are available for temporary hair loss from things such as chemotherapy, and up to $2280 for permanent hair loss every nine years.

"Often doctors are not even aware of the grants. It's quite outrageous really.

"I know of many women whose doctors thought the grants were only for cancer patients."

Finding a suitable wig proved another challenge.

Ms Antram went to five different providers in search of a wig before eventually buying some online from overseas.

It was cheaper for her to buy five and sell the other four, and she sold them on Trade Me in one day, she said.

Realising the demand, she started selling wigs as a "hobby", and with her contacts in the health and beauty industry, was able to source hairpieces at cost-price.

"The cheapest wig I could find when I started looking was $600. It was synthetic, and just appalling. You can get two of mine for $400."

Her top of the range human-hair wig sells for $750, while the same wig sells for $2300 in Auckland, she said.

"It's a problem up there, because people can only afford to get one wig. It's ripping people off really.

"If you can get a grant and afford lots of different styles, the transformation is incredible. And it can be lots of fun.

"Women are always changing their hair, so why should bald women have to live with one haircut and colour for nine years?"

Since her business started in January, she has sold 15 wigs to people from the Nelson area, and hopes being at the expo will also provide support for other Nelson women "suffering in silence".

Ad Feedback "Hair loss is such a private, secret thing, and it can be hard to find other people with it. At the expo others can come and talk to someone who has been through the same thing."

Ms Antram will also hold free consultations on Monday for any women who don't want to go to the expo.

Nelson resident Kirsty Paulin, who also has alopecia, will be at the expo to "meet people and just have a chat".

"There are a lot of people here in Nelson – and quite a few young girls – with alopecia."

Ms Paulin set up a Facebook page for people suffering from hair loss two weeks ago, and the page already has 137 followers.

She is also trying to start a support group. "I recently had a parent contact me whose daughter is only 14. Going through your teenage years is tough enough without having alopecia too."

Ms Antram will be one of 110 exhibitors at the Women's Expo this Saturday and Sunday at the Trafalgar Centre from 10am to 5pm. Entry $8, under-12 free.

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