Alopecia Champion Tells Women "Bald is Brave and Beautiful"

South African Afro Jazz singer Vumile Mchunu has launched a campaign to raise awareness of Alopecia among girls in the country.

Mchunu has had Alopecia for many years, and is now completely bald.  Despite her hair loss, she has gone on to become a singer and wants to spread the message that 'bald is brave and beautiful'.

Low self confidence

Mchunu lost her hair while still at school, which she said badly affected her confidence, and she found it difficult to fit in: “I was in school and was reading a lot and was stressing, and that’s when I contracted Alopecia, my confidence took a knock. I think no one, given the choice, would want to lose their hair. The emotional aspects of living with hair loss can be challenging.”

Bald is brave and beautiful

Eventually, Mchunu gained the confidence to stop wearing wigs and pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Now 27 and a successful singer, Mchunu is sharing her experiences with girls on social networks and at schools. She wants to become a champion for the hair loss condition, telling girls that it is ok to have Alopecia: “you can still be beautiful even if you are bald or if society deems you as ugly,” she said, “you just need to stop listening a lot to people who get you down and start paying more attention to people who matter the most to you”.

Raising awareness of Alopecia

Mchunu has now embraced her baldness, and is keen to raise awareness of the condition among others, so that they can seek help early. Whilst Mchunu’s hair has not grown back, it is possible for people with Alopecia - whether it is Alopecia Areata, or the more severe Alopecia Totalis or Alopecia Universalis - may experience regrowth at any time. However, it is also possible for those who do get their hair back, to find that alopecia may recur.

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition which sends the hair follicles into a premature resting, or 'Telogen', phase. The follicles stop hair production and lie dormant, awaiting the cue to resume normal hair growth. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict if or when this signal will come, but this is the reason why alopecia is not always permanent.

Treating Alopecia hair loss

Month 1                                Month 5
Click the image above to view Belgravia client, Paris' Alopecia Areata Treatment Success Story

There is currently no proven cure for Alopecia and, whilst some people, like Mchunu, bravely embrace their hair loss, others prefer to seek ways to regrow their hair. Although treatment for Alopecia Totalis and Universalis is notably less successful, treatment for Alopecia Areata can be effective at prompting regrowth.

Many Belgravia clients who come to see us, concerned about their patchy hair loss caused by Alopecia Areata, see significant results from following a comprehensive treatment plan. The key component of which is a topical application of high strength minoxidil to the affected areas of the scalp, which can help to spur the hair follicles back into action.

You can find many examples of reviews from our Alopecia Areata patients - like Paris, pictured here - featuring images taken 'before and after' starting treatment to show their regrowth progress and the time each client took to see those results, in our Hair Loss Success Stories.

Anyone wanting to know more about our bespoke minoxidil products or with similar concerns about patchy hair loss should contact our clinic by calling 020 7730 6666 or sending us a message.