Gail Porter's Hair is Growing Back

Hair loss in women is one of the hardest things any girl could face and for some, it may seem like there's no light at the end of the tunnel. But for Britain's favourite bald female celebrity, it appears hell has finally froze over. Gail Porter, who has been bald for four years, has revealed that her hair is starting to grow back but says she prefers being hair-free and will continue to shave her head.

After losing her hair to alopecia areata in 2005, Gail Porter has revealed in Closer magazine that her locks are finally growing back. But after years of living without the hassle of styling it every morning, the 38-year-old said she couldn’t handle having hair again.

"I couldn't deal with my hair long any more. It's such a waste of time, continually blow-drying and straightening it," Gail said to Closer. "After being bald for so long I don't want it back.”

Alopecia areata affects men and women equally and causes clumps of hair to fall out from the scalp, eyebrows or lashes, leaving small, round bald patches. Even for the hardest of characters, this type of hair loss can have a profound effect on one’s self esteem. In 2005, a friend of the former model and TV presenter’s revealed in the Daily Mail that Gail hadn’t always been so accepting of her condition.

“At first she went into denial and hid herself at home she didn’t want to go out or see anyone,” the source said. “Initially she cancelled all her appearances… But [she] decided to face her demons.”

Like most alopecia sufferers, Gail had hoped her hair would grow back but when it didn’t she shaved it all off. Alopecia areata affects one in every 100 persons and there is no known cure. About 70% of the time, hair will grow back within a year or with treatment, like high strength minoxidil. The general rule of thumb is, the longer it takes to grow back, the less chance there is of that situation transpiring. Sometimes it may even lead to complete baldness (alopecia totalis) or total body hair loss (alopecia universalis).

You can imagine then how surprised Gail was when her hair started returning "in really random places", but what’s even more surprising is her complete acceptance of baldness. "I'm going to shave it off as soon as possible, so I can be a proper skinhead!"

There are a few lessons that can be learned here. First, there is always hope alopecia areata is a mysterious hair loss condition but regrowth is always possible. Second, acceptance is the key to happiness, and third bald is beautiful!

For more information on alopecia areata visit our alopecia information page.