'I was sick of hiding away' - brave mum opens up about life with alopecia

Robyn Bridge developed alopecia when she was just two-years-old and has spent years hiding her hair loss with hats, hair loss systems and wigs.

But when her hair loss worsened again this year, the 27-year-old decided she no longer wanted to ‘hide away’.

Robyn, a former Baines Endowed Primary and Millfield High School pupil, said: “My alopecia is stress-related.

“I was sick of hiding away so I decided to shave my head,

“I cried for two days afterwards - but this is me and, for the first time in years, I feel at peace with who I am.

“Now I feel like I have taken control; I can be myself, I feel happy.”

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition that develops when a person’s immune system attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss.

Robyn grew up in Blackpool before moving to Westhoughton, where she lives with partner Andrew Farrell and their sons three-year-old Sonny and one-year-old Albie.

She added: “When I was living in Blackpool I was very sociable. When my hair loss got bad, I cut everyone off.

“Decent wigs are anything above £500 and now I have two young children I just can’t justify spending so much money on myself.”

Now two of Robyn’s friends, Kayleigh Tomlinson, from Thornton, and Danny Gough, from Fleetwood, have pledged to do a skydive this week to raise money for Robyn to be able to buy a wig.

To date they have raised more than £1,000.

Danny said: “Robyn always goes above and beyond for everybody; it’s about time something was done for her.

“Wigs don’t come cheap and imagine being a young mum and having your confidence taken away by getting this horrible disease.”

Robyn, who is due to start as a healthcare assistant at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital next month, added: “They’ve covered the cost of the dive themselves, so all money raised goes

towards a wig. I was so emotional when my beautiful friends told me what they were doing.”

September marks Alopecia Awareness Month – and Robyn hopes she can raise awareness by speaking out about her condition.

She added: “Alopecia isn’t spoken about.

“People look at me and think I’m terminally ill because there isn’t much awareness. I want to raise awareness.

“I try to concentrate on the person I am inside rather than what I see in the mirror.”

To donate, search Skydive for Robyn on www.gofundme.com/