Three people affected by phenotypes of the autoimmune disorder
Alopecia Areata have opened up about their experience in a new short film for leading
hair loss charity, Alopecia UK.
Its title - Shedding - is intended as a double entendre as it applies to both shedding their hair and 'shedding their facade' in order to reveal their true selves and feelings to the audience.

By talking candidly about losing their hair and how they dealt with it, including its affect on their self-esteem and how they regained their confidence, it is hoped this documentary will help others struggling with
hair loss.
Personal stories of dealing with Alopecia Areata
The three alopecians featured in the short documentary are Angie, Naomi and Tom, each of whom discusses the way their 'life changing' diagnoses affected their
mental health, as well as their experiences of trying to find suitable treatments.
Although the scalp-only form of the condition may benefit from
Alopecia Areata treatment, this is less often the case with the more severe forms
Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis which cause baldness of the head and from head-to-toe respectively.
Tom is no stranger to appearing on camera. He is a popular video blogger and Alopecia UK ambassador, whose Tomohawk YouTube channel, dedicated to Minecraft, video games such as Fortnite, and fun DIYs, has over 160,000 subscribers. He also has a dedicated hairloss channel, called Tomohawk Talks Alopecia. In November 2018 he will be running the Clowne half marathon and is currently accepting sponsorship via his
JustGiving page to raise money for Alopecia UK.
We hope you enjoy this incredibly honest, drp-produced short, which - when it debuted on the Alopecia UK Facebook page - received a wave of positive feedback from both those affected by various forms of
autoimmune alopecia and those trying to support friends or family with the disorders. Director Dominic Allen commented, "So pleased to see all the positive feedback on here. As a filmmaker it was a genuinely very rewarding experience to be a part of, and I hope ‘Shedding’ makes the positive impact it was intended to, as well as promote the great work that Alopecia UK do in supporting people."
Click the image below to watch the full documentary on the Alopecia UK website.