"I want to fit in and be a normal person, not someone defined by alopecia"

She believes two years of being badly bullied at school caused the stress which triggered her alopecia. Soon after her diagnosis she was told her hair was unlikely to grow back.

"I want to fit in and be a normal person, not someone defined by alopecia," Emma said. "But the effect on my life of living with alopecia is huge. I feel that we’re pushed to the back of the shelf and forgotten about.

"The emotional stress of being bullied caused the hair loss initially. It started to have an impact on my mental health, I became quite depressed and had a lot of anxiety about my body image.

"Looking back, if I had someone to talk to, if I had a counsellor to offload about how I was feeling that would have really helped me."

Emma, from Harrogate, has one of many different types of alopecia called alopecia areata, the same kind of sudden hair loss experienced by TV presenter Gail Porter.

Alopecia is thought to be an autoimmune condition whereby the body’s own immune system attacks the hair follicles causing the hair to fall out. One and two per cent of the general population will experience alopecia areata at some point in their lifetime, statistics suggest.

Because of her experiences, and the confidence she now feels, Emma has launched an alopecia support campaign, with the aim of getting adequate financial and emotional support for people with alopecia.

To highlight the point, Emma has created a short film highlighting the costs associated with buying, maintaining, and replacing wigs.

"The attitude from medical professionals seems to just be 'it’s only hair loss, you can get on with it, hide it,'" Emma said, "We’re just told basically to get on with our lives without hair."

"I’ve had to save up thousands of pounds over quite a short space of time in order to get the wig that I feel comfortable wearing," she said.

At Betty Brown wig makers in Clarence Street in York there's a steady flow of people with alopecia seeking out the help of Emma Romans, the owner of Betty Brown, and her staff.

They see someone with alopecia every day. "There's a large number that come York but they come from further afield," Emma says.

A typical wig will cost between £100 to £800, with a custom made wig costing £1,500 to £2,000.

The lack of emotional support available to people with alopecia is something that rings true with Emma, who hosts a monthly alopecia support group.

"For the cancer patients there's lots set up to support them emotionally and physically," Emma (pictured centre with Trevor Sorbie, celebrity hairdresser and founder of a hair loss charity, and Michelle Chapman an alopecia charity worker) said, "Unfortunately with alopecia it tends to be 'you have lost your hair, there's nothing we can do about it'.

"What the support group does is allow people to come together. Even if you don't talk about hair loss, it's about common understanding."

Amy Johnson from Alopecia UK is supporting Emma’s campaign for better support for people with alopecia.

"Many people with alopecia have anxiety issues," she said, "We have some people who get in touch with the charity who struggle to leave the house or who struggle going to work and it really can have a devastating impact.

"Some doctors understand the psychological impact of hair loss, but for many they still just view alopecia as being a cosmetic thing.

"Although it’s not life threatening, it is life changing, and so there definitely needs to be far more support given at that point of diagnosis.

"I think it would be really exciting if this went further and that people started to listen to us and changes were made."

Having experience of alopecia herself, Amy added: “When we’re experiencing hair loss it’s so easy to think that we’re the only one. When I lost my hair back in 2010, I thought I was the only woman in her 20s to go through it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Hair loss is much more common than we might think. The key thing to remember is ‘You’re not alone’.”

- If you are experiencing hair loss, Alopecia UK recommend you go to see your GP and ask for their advice. A referral to a dermatologist may be appropriate. If you are struggling with the emotional side of alopecia, it’s important to seek help. Alopecia UK can put you in touch with local support groups or online support. For more information about alopecia and to find support, visit www.alopecia.org.uk

- The next alopecia support group is being held at Betty Brown in Clarence Street, York, on September 21. Anyone interested in joining should contact the shop on 01904 674242.

Hairloss factfile:

- Male and female-pattern baldness Male-pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss, affecting around half of all men by 50 years of age. It usually starts around the late twenties or early thirties and most men have some degree of hair loss by their late thirties. Male-pattern baldness is hereditary, which means it runs in families. It's thought to be caused by oversensitive hair follicles, linked to having too much of a certain male hormone. As well as affecting men, it can sometimes affect women (female-pattern baldness).

- Alopecia areata

This form of alopecia causes patches of baldness about the size of a large coin. They usually appear on the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body. It can occur at any age, but mostly affects teenagers and young adults. In most cases of alopecia areata, hair will grow back in a few months. At first, hair may grow back fine and white, but over time it should thicken and regain its normal colour. Some people go on to develop a more severe form of hair loss, such as alopecia totalis (no scalp hair) and alopecia universalis (no hair on the scalp and body). Alopecia areata is caused by a problem with the immune system (the body's natural defence against infection and illness). It's more common among people with other autoimmune conditions, such as an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes or Down's syndrome. It's also believed some people's genes make them more susceptible to alopecia areata, as one in five people with the condition have a family history of the condition. Alopecia areata can occur at any age, although it's more common in people aged 15-29.

- Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia

This is usually caused by complications of another condition. In this type of alopecia, the hair follicle (the small hole in your skin that an individual hair grows out of) is completely destroyed. This means your hair won't grow back.Depending on the condition, the skin where the hair has fallen out is likely to be affected in some way.

- Anagen effluvium

Widespread hair loss that can affect your scalp, face and body. One of the most common causes of this type of hair loss is the cancer treatment chemotherapy. In some cases, other cancer treatments – including immunotherapy and radiotherapy – may also cause hair loss.

- Telogen effluvium

A common type of alopecia where there is widespread thinning of the hair, rather than specific bald patches. Your hair may feel thinner, but you're unlikely to lose it all and your other body hair isn't usually affected. It can be caused by your body reacting to hormonal changes, such as those that take place when a woman is pregnant, intense emotional stress, intense physical stress, such as childbirth, a short-term illness, such as a severe infection or an operation and a long-term illness