TV Star Shobna Gulati Fights Hair Loss with Seaweed
Shobna Gulati, the 47 year-old star of Loose Women and Coronation Street, has come forward to reveal that she has been battling thinning hair for years. This may come as a surprise to her fans as she's known for her lustrous, voluminous hairstyles.
Traumatic events
The star first noticed her hair was thinning in her teens, after the death of her father, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that the situation became more severe. She started to notice bald patches appearing on her scalp, and later began finding clumps of hair clogging her shower and in her hairbrush. Shobna commented: “An inch fell out from around my hairline, and I had bald patches in my parting all over the top of my head that were up to a centimetre wide. I was miserable and hated looking at pictures of myself.”
Potential causes
Shobna says she still doesn't know what caused her hair loss, although it started after the death of her father, and skipping meals may have exacerbated the problem. A later relationship breakup while she was pregnant put further strain on the star, and she also turned to clip-in hair extensions for a glamorous look whilst working on Coronation Street.
Regularly wearing hair extensions can lead to Traction Alopecia, where weakened hair can cause patchy hair loss due to excess tension on the hair shaft. However, Shobna's thinning sounds like it may be a stress-related hair loss condition, such as Telogen Effluvium, Diffuse Hair Loss or Alopecia Areata. From the areas in which it appears she is experiencing shedding, we suspect this may also have triggered the onset of female pattern hair loss.
Algae supplements
Shobna is currently taking a supplement with sea algae, which she believes is helping her to regrow her hair. There are many of these types of vitamin, mineral and marine extract supplements available on the market but there is no solid evidence that they can help regrow hair.
Better hair loss treatments
Hair loss conditions that cause thinning hair such as the aforementioned Diffuse Thinning, Telogen Effluvium and Alopecia Areata, can often right themselves, with hair growing back naturally given time. This can also happen in some cases of Traction Alopecia, providing the cause of the tension - for instance, hair extensions - is removed so that the hair can rest.
Where the hair does not appear to be growing back, and for persistent thinning like Shobna's, minoxidil is a medically-proven hair loss treatment with a stronger track record of success in stabilising hair fall and aiding regrowth. Minoxidil generally forms part of a comprehensive hair loss treatment programme and is applied directly to the scalp, stimulating the blood supply to encourage regrowth in the affected areas.
This treatment is also suitable for female pattern baldness, the hereditary hair loss condition that can be triggered by stress-related Alopecia Areata in those who are already genetically predisposed to hair loss.
The Belgravia Centre treat a number of female hair loss patients who achieve positive results by following bespoke hair loss treatment plans for this type of hair loss, including Lia, pictured here, who told us after her first three months of treatment for female pattern hair loss and diffuse thinning, 'The pace of hair loss has significantly reduced within the last month... I can see a lot of new hair growing and the crown looks much better'.
Shobna may also want to investigate Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT). Devices such as the HairMax LaserComb use low-level lasers and LED lights to increase the action of the molecule Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is thought to play an important part in hair growth. We include the FDA-cleared HairMax LaserComb free of charge with the majority of Belgravia hair loss treatment programmes as it can help to boost the effects of the treatment medication.
The Belgravia Centre
Browse our constantly updated collection of over 1,000 male and female patients’ progress images and feedback in our photographic Hair Loss Success Stories gallery. If you are worried about hair loss and would like to speak to one of our experts, call us now on 020 7730 6666 or send us a message to book your free, discreet one-on-one consultation at either of our Central London clinics. Alternatively, if you are unable to visit us, you can complete our Online Consultation Form instead.
Related stories:
| Women's Hair Loss Success Stories | What is Diffuse Thinning? | The Best Treatments for Thinning Hair in Women |
The Belgravia Centre
The Belgravia Centre is a world-renowned group of a hair loss clinic in Central London, UK. If you are worried about hair loss you can arrange a free consultation with a hair loss expert or complete our Online Consultation from anywhere in the world for home-use treatment.
View our Hair Loss Success Stories, which includes the world's largest gallery of hair growth photos and demonstrates the level of success that so many of Belgravia's patients achieve.