WHEN Team GB cyclist Joanna Rowsell whipped off her helmet to accept her Olympic gold medal, revealing her bald head, she became an instant poster girl for alopecia.

In just a few seconds, Rowsell, 23, who started losing her hair when she was ten, had achieved something monumental. Not only was she an Olympic hero, she was shining light on an issue that silently plagues thousands – female hair loss.

Alopecia isn’t a subject that’s discussed very openly in society and, perhaps even less known, and certainly less understood, is trichotillomania, or TTM. Just like other forms of alopecia, the results are the same – patchy or even total baldness. But with TTM, sufferers have pulled the hair out themselves.

Sam Faiers, from The Only Way Is Essex, recently revealed that she lost her eyelashes due to TTM, and it’s thought that about four per cent of the population will experience compulsive hair pulling at some point. Women seem more prone than men, with pulling usually starting at about the age of 12, but it can start later in life too.

Despite being self-inflicted – and difficult for others to understand – the hair loss is no less difficult to live with, says specialist Lucinda Ellery. “There’s a massive lack of awareness, and girls with TTM are very isolated,” says Lucinda, who runs a hair-loss consultancy and has also been a sufferer.

She hopes that highlighting the condition will increase understanding among medics, schools and parents, so that girls affected can receive much-needed support.

She’s also keen to stress that TTM isn’t a hopeless cause – and she has successfully helped hundreds conquer their pulling compulsions and regain a full head of hair, thanks to her Intralace Systems. The systems involve a mesh being fixed to the head, with hair extensions woven through it. The natural hair is left to grow, out of reach of pulling.

  • National No Pulling Week begins on Monday. For details about The Lucinda Ellery Consultancy visit lucindaellery-hairloss.co.uk