UK Hair Loss Charities

The UK is home to numerous charities devoted to helping people deal with the effects of hair loss, whether through auto-immune disorders such as Alopecia Areata, or as a side-effect of receiving cancer treatment.

Children and adults who have experienced hair loss have a wide choice of charities to consult for advice, support and, in some cases, free wigs and other headwear.

At The Belgravia Centre, we believe it is important to give these charities the recognition they deserve for their important work, so we have compiled this list of hair loss charities, presented in alphabetical order:

Alopecia Awareness

Established in 2005, Alopecia Awareness provides information and organises support groups for people experiencing Alopecia.  This charity works alongside the BeBold Support Group and the Alopecia Areata Support Group in order to distribute its support more widely.

Website: www.alopecia-awareness.org.uk

Alopecia UK

This British charity provides information, advice and support for people across the UK with all forms of Alopecia Areata, and also supports research into the causes and possible treatments of the condition. Its patron is the broadcaster Jon Snow and ambassadors for the charity, which was founded in 2004, include Olympic Team GB sports stars cyclist Joanna Rowsell MBE and rugby player Heather Fisher.

In 2017 Alopecia UK merged with the charity Autoimmune Alopecia Research UK (AAR-UK), rebranding and changing their website address but keeping the name Alopecia UK.

AAR-UK had been founded in 2013, primarily to fund research into the autoimmune alopecia. It helped fund the UK's first ever Alopecia Areata biobank in order to help further scientific research into the disorder, with a view to this potentially leading to a cure.

Website: alopecia.org.uk

Alopecia World

This innovative site provides a free-to-use international social network for people with Alopecia. Members can add photos, videos and blogs, as well as contribute to forum discussions. There are over 15,000 people registered on the site.

Website: www.alopeciaworld.com

Cancer Hair Care

Founded by Jasmin Gupta, Cancer Hair Care aims to offer people with cancer “one small way of helping you to look good through your illness and into recovery.” Advice and support is available for every aspect of personal appearance, from wigs, headwear and scalp cooling through to false eyelashes and eyebrows.

Website: cancerhaircare.com/

HeadStrong Cancer Support

This free service from Breast Cancer Care helps people prepare for the possibility of losing their hair due to cancer treatment. Volunteers hold one-to-one consultations with each patient to give advice about how to look after their hair and scalps before, during and after treatment. Alternatives to wigs, such as headscarves and hats are also explored during the appointments.

Website: www.breastcancercare.org.uk/breast-cancer-services/talks-courses-local-support/hair-loss-advisory-service

Little Princess Trust and Hero by LPT

, as well as pop stars Jessie J and Harry Styles. Little Princess Trust provides real-hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment. Whilst the charity's main title, and the name of its girls arm is known as 'Little Princess Trust', the boys' division was previously known as Hair4Boys but relaunched in 2017 as Hero by LPT.

Website: www.littleprincesses.org.uk/  (Girls)  www.herobylpt.org.uk (Boys)

My New Hair

Founded and inspired by Trevor Sorbie MBE, My New Hair supports a national network of hair salons that provide a wig service for people experiencing both medical hair loss and chemotherapy-related hair loss.

Website: www.mynewhair.org/

Walk the Walk

This breast cancer charity recently issued grants to a number of hospitals in the Leicester area to help them pay for special hair-saving caps designed to reduce hair loss in people undergoing chemotherapy.

Website: www.walkthewalk.org