ELIZABETH began losing her hair when she was 30. At the time she was a high-profile TV journalist, a confident woman who was able to hold her own in any situation. Within weeks, she had given up her job and barely had enough confidence to leave the house.

"My hairdresser noticed a bald patch about the size of a 10p piece at the back of my head and suggested I go to my doctor," she said. "I thought it all sounded very silly, but when I went to my GP he looked surprisingly serious.

"He obviously didn't know what to say. In the end, he just looked out of the window and said 'well, you can get some very nice hats these days'. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was horrified."

Within a month of the alopecia diagnosis, Elizabeth had lost 90 per cent of her hair. She was completely bald at the front with just a few wisps remaining at the back.

"I looked like an alien," she said. "We all have bad hair days, but this was something way beyond that. It was utterly debilitating."

Her confidence waned as her hair thinned. Some days she felt so depressed she couldn't leave the house. And when she did pluck up the courage to go outside, the reception she received was enough to drive her back.

"You're not ill and it doesn't hurt. There's nothing wrong with you, you just don't have any hair," she said. "That's the thing with alopecia; people think it's okay to laugh and point because you're not ill. But it is very serious to the individual who is affected. I know some sufferers who have been driven to suicide. You don't get any more serious than that."

Elizabeth eventually decided to get a wig. She went to a department store for advice and a quick chat. What she got was a quick lesson in humiliation.

"The woman behind the counter just whipped off my scarf without any notice," she said. "I was left in the middle of the store with my bald head on display for everyone to see. I ended up buying a wig just to get out of the shop. It was big and bushy and horrible - it made me look like one of the Queen's guardsmen."

Surprisingly, this didn't put her off. She returned to the store and, with the help of a more sympathetic assistant, found a wig she liked. In fact, 'like' is probably not a strong enough word.

"When I found the right wig it was like falling in love," she said. "It made me feel wonderful. In the end, I bought 70 wigs, and I loved every single one of them."

Elsie Holt, owner of Betty Brown Wigs in Clarence Street, York, has seen this look of love numerous times in her 30-year career. About 25 per cent of her business comes from York Hospital, which sends her patients who have lost their hair through alopecia or chemotherapy.

"Women with alopecia tend to take a long time before deciding to go for a wig," she said. "I think it's human nature. They think by wearing a wig they are saying their hair is never coming back. It's something they don't want to face."

A standard wig costs around £85. A monofilament wig, which gives the wearer more flexibility in terms of style and comfort, will set you back about £180. A natural human hair creation will cost anything from £450. And a made-to-measure wig, which takes six to eight weeks to complete, will weigh in at £800 to £1,000.

"Even relatively modest wigs look good these days," said Elsie. "They are very realistic now - I have some clients who haven't even told their families that they wear a wig."

When deciding how much to spend, you have to consider that most wigs can only take about three months of continual use (longer if they are well-maintained) and it's not unusual to have several wigs on the go at once.

"Most women have at least three wigs," said Elsie, "one for the garden, one for the shops and one for evenings out."

She sees more women with alopecia now than she did 30 years ago, blaming the increase on the stresses and strains of modern life. But some things never change.

"My job will always be about trust," she said. "People with alopecia are vulnerable enough without me making life more difficult for them, so I spend a lot of time making them feel comfortable and secure. All the hard work is worth it though when you see their confidence start to come back. They just light up.

"It's a strange business, I suppose. At the end of the day I want them to be one of the lucky ones, for their hair to grow back, and for me to not see them again."

Elizabeth was one of the lucky ones. After eight years, her hair has now grown back.

"I look like a piebald pony because it's all different colours, but it's hair, and that's all that matters," she said. "If I could give other sufferers any advice it would be this: think positively - it really does help - and treat yourself to a gorgeous wig. This isn't the time to scrimp and save. If you haven't got any hair, buy some."

Alopecia facts

The word alopecia comes from the Greek 'alopex', which translates as 'fox's disease'.

It is defined as a hair loss disease that can affect men, women and children. The onset is often sudden, random and frequently recurrent.

Alopecia affects about two per cent of the population. The exact cause is not known, but it is generally agreed that it is a disease of the auto-immune system. The body wrongly attacks the growing cells in the follicles, stopping them from producing new hair and causing existing hair to fall out.

About 25 per cent of sufferers have a family history of the disorder. However, this doesn't necessarily mean you will pass on an 'alopecia gene' to your children. You might be genetically predisposed to the condition, but other factors, such as stress, trauma or a hormone surge, are usually needed to kick start the process.

If you have had eczema, asthma or a thyroid problem you are more prone to alopecia.

Most sufferers experience some re-growth. The cells that supply the hair follicle remain active, so the potential for re-growth is always there. It is most common to experience hair loss and re-growth over many years. The re-growth can be any texture and colour, from fine, downy, white hair to your natural look.

For help and information about alopecia, contact Hairline International (The Alopecia Patients' Society) on 01564 775281 or by clicking on

www.hairinternational.com

Updated: 11:11 Tuesday, November 22, 2005