Looking fly

Some people with alopecia are most comfortable accepting their appearance without any wish or need to cover up. Others feel more comfortable disguising or covering their hair loss and for these people the following tips may be helpful.

Use HeadzUp Mates - the HeadzUp message board - to share your own tips and hear other teens ideas.

Disguising patchy hair loss

If you have patchy hair loss, you can help to disguise this simply by the way you wear your hair. Try experimenting by wearing your hair differently, such as changing the parting, tying it back in different ways, using grips or slides. A different hair style could help in making the patches less obvious - your hairdresser should be able to advise you.

There are also volumising sprays on the market that have the effect of thickening the remaining hair, which can help to conceal patchy hair loss. Using an eyebrow pencil or coloured spray similar in colour to your hair on the bald areas can also help to conceal the patches. These can be obtained from most wig companies.

Other ways to look good

• Bare Headz
• Hats, bandanas and scarves
• Wigs and hairpieces

Date: 21 June 2007