Let me introduce myself. My name is Geraldine Stafford. In October 2004, at a routine hairdresser appointment, I discovered that I had Alopecia Areata. Before this I had been totally oblivious to the bald patches that had formed at the back of my head. On closer investigation, I discovered a number of small circular patches throughout my head. My hairdresser advised me not to worry as worry would make it worse and that I must be stressed. I certainly was after that, but who is to know if I was stressed because I lost my hair or lost my hair because I was stressed. Nobody could answer that question for me.
In the next few months the ‘circles’ expanded and I really didn’t know what to do. I used eyebrow pencil to mask the scalp and this worked for a few weeks. I then got temporary extensions which provided complete cover for my bald patches which were joining up to become one. By Christmas I had to give in and buy my first wig.