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

A mum-of-two with alopecia says she feels ‘at peace for the first time in years’ after shaving her head.

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.

Robyn Bridge, 27, who grew up in Blackpool, developed alopecia when she was just two-years-old. She shaved her head this summer after her hair loss worsened.

placeholder image — Robyn Bridge, 27, who grew up in Blackpool, developed alopecia when she was just two-years-old. She shaved her head this summer after her hair loss worsened.

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.

Robyn Bridge hopes to raise awareness of alopecia.

“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.

Kayleigh Tomlinson and Danny Gough have pledged to do a skydive this week to raise money for their friend Robyn Bridge to be able to buy a wig

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/