'Blonde or brunette, I love changing my wig to suit my mood,' says teenage alopecia sufferer, 18, who has embraced going bald

  • Sian Pennant-Jones' hair began falling out after her exams, and within three weeks she was completely bald 
  • Was diagnosed with alopecia and told she would need to wear a wig
  • She was due to start a job as a holiday club entertainer and was devastated as she knew the NHS wigs might slip off during a performance
  • Her mother set up a fundraising page and raised enough money to buy a non-slip wig so she can perform with pride

By Fiona Locke For Mailonline

Published: 04:54 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 08:02 EST, 9 July 2015

Almost three months before she was due to start a new job, Sian Pennant-Jones’ hair began falling out in clumps.

The 18-year-old woke each morning, terrified to see her pillow covered in her own locks.

The teenager was left devastated when doctors diagnosed her with alopecia totalis, and told her she would need to wear a wig. 

But she knew it would be difficult to perform her job as holiday club entertainer with a wig, as it might fall off during the show.

Desperate not to give up her childhood dream of being on stage, her mother found a non-slip wig, but was dismayed to find it cost £600.

Sian Pennant-Jones, 18, had all of her hair fall out in the space of three weeks after her exams in June 2013

Sian Pennant-Jones, 18, had all of her hair fall out in the space of three weeks after her exams in June 2013

Miss Pennant-Jones went completely bald and was diagnosed with alopecia. She was told she would need to wear a wig, but worried it would fall off when she began her new job as a holiday club performer

Miss Pennant-Jones went completely bald and was diagnosed with alopecia. She was told she would need to wear a wig, but worried it would fall off when she began her new job as a holiday club performer

Miss Pennant-Jones' mother raised £600 to buy a special non-slip wig which wouldn't fall off in shows, and her daughter also has other blonde wigs she can wear (pictured) depending on her mood

Miss Pennant-Jones' mother raised £600 to buy a special non-slip wig which wouldn't fall off in shows, and her daughter also has other blonde wigs she can wear (pictured) depending on her mood

Miss Pennant-Jones bought a  Trendco Semi Customer Designer wig (pictured) which has a suction cap and is made from real hair that can be styled as normal

Miss Pennant-Jones bought a  Trendco Semi Customer Designer wig (pictured) which has a suction cap and is made from real hair that can be styled as normal

While the NHS refused to pay, her mother set up a fundraising page, and was surprised by the generosity of family and friends.

Now, Mrs Pennant-Jones, can perform with pride, knowing her brunette wig won’t slip off, and said she can also wear a cheaper blonde wig, depending on her mood.

Miss Pennant-Jones, from Portishead in North Somerset, had dreamed of becoming a holiday club entertainer ever since staying at a Haven holiday park with her family as a child.

Not only did she love watching the entertainment but since the age of four she loved singing and dancing.

‘Performing was my thing, it was in my blood,’ she said. ‘I loved being on stage and making people smile.’

Last summer she passed her Performing Arts course at college with flying colours.

But just before her final exams in June 2014, she noticed two bald patches, each the size of a 10p beneath her long brown hair.

‘Putting it down to college stress I managed to style my hair to cover them up,’ she told MailOnline.

WHAT IS ALOPECIA?

Alopecia is a hair-loss disease that affects, men, women and children.

The onset is often sudden, random and frequently recurrent.

Although the disease does not damage a person's physical health, it can have severe effects on quality of life and emotional health through its impact on confidence and self-esteem.

Alopecia affects around 1.7 per cent of the population, with men and women equally affected.

About 25 per cent of people affected have a family history of the condition.

The exact cause of alopecia is not known, although experts generally agree it is a disease of the immune system.

There is believed to be a genetic component and in some cases it is linked to stress.

In alopecia, the immune system attacks the affected hair follicles by mistake.

That halts hair growth and causes hairs to abruptly shed.

There are several different types of alopecia, ranging in severity. Alopecia Universalis is the total loss of hair across the body, while Alopecia Totalis is loss of hair on the head alone.

The vast degree of sufferers will experience some re-growth, some complete re-growth.

To find out more about the condition visit Alopecia UK here.

‘It wasn’t enough to make me worry to the point of going to the doctor’s.’

Then in October she got an audition as a cast singer at a Haven holiday park.

‘It sounded like my dream job, I was thrilled but I also knew I’d be up against hundreds of other hopefuls.

‘On the day I had to sing and dance before five judges - nerve-racking. It felt like X-Factor. But I thought I’d done ok.

‘And a fortnight later when they phoned to offer me a job as a cast singer I had to stop myself screaming down the phone. I couldn’t wait to get started. '

But a week later Miss Pennant-Jones long hair started falling out in clumps.

Within three weeks she’d lost it all.

‘It was terrifying,’ she recalls. ‘It wouldn’t stop. 

'Handfuls were coming out daily and each morning when I woke up it would be all over my pillow.’

She rushed to the GP, who ran blood tests, and finally gave her the diagnosis..

‘He told me I had alopecia totalis,’ Miss Pennant-Jones said.

‘It’s a hereditary autoimmune disease and he explained my hair was unlikely to ever grown back.

'By now I was bald and with the thought I’d be like that for the rest of my life I just burst into tears.

‘I was in a dreadful state. And my thoughts turned to my new job. I was due to start in ten weeks.

‘But what was I going to do now? I knew looks were so important in the entertainment industry and there was no way I could perform with no hair.'

Although Miss Pennant-Jones was eligible for two free NHS wigs a year she knew they wouldn’t be sturdy enough.

'I’d be forever paranoid that it would slip off while I was on stage - which it probably would - and that would be mortifying,' she told MailOnline.

‘And besides the NHS synthetic ones couldn’t be styled in their uniform look - of a quiffed up front and ponytail at the back.’

Feeling devastated for her daughter, Mrs Pennant-Jones’s mother Deb, did some research and tracked down a woman who made special anti-slip wigs.

They were called the Trendco Semi Customer Designer wigs and had suction caps and were made from real hair that could be styled as normal.

'I can just slip my wig on and go and now, as well as my expensive brown one for performing I've also got cheaper blonde ones. I can chop and change my colour as often as I like, depending on my mood,' she said

'I can just slip my wig on and go and now, as well as my expensive brown one for performing I've also got cheaper blonde ones. I can chop and change my colour as often as I like, depending on my mood,' she said

‘Losing your hair at 18 is traumatic enough without the fear of seeing your dream disappear,’ Ms Pennant-Jones says, pictured as her hair was falling out
‘I was devastated. Not only was I trying to get over the shock of it all but everything I’d been working towards was slipping away. My dream was in tatters,' she added

‘Losing your hair at 18 is traumatic enough without the fear of seeing your dream disappear,’ Miss Pennant-Jones says, pictured (left and right) as her hair was falling out

But they cost £600, an amount Ms Pennant-Jones couldn’t afford.

‘We just didn’t have that kind of money spare,’ she said.

‘So my mum and I spoke to our GP and my consultant to try to see if the NHS would pay. We also spoke to my MP who tried to help too.

‘There were numerous phone calls and conversations but we kept going round in circles. And at the time the funding didn’t happen.

I can chop and change my colour as often as I like, depending on my mood. Losing my hair has brought a lot of advantages - I haven't looked back once
Sian Pennant-Jones 

‘I was devastated. Not only was I trying to get over the shock of it all but everything I’d been working towards was slipping away. My dream was in tatters.’

But Mrs Pennant-Jones refused to see her daughter's dream slip away. So she set up a fundraising page.

The response was overwhelming as friends, family and even strangers began donating cash.

Miss Pennant-Jones said: ‘It was amazing and we ended up raising the full amount. And a few days later I was fitted for a non-slip wig similar to my hair. 

‘At first it felt like a swimming cap but once it was properly styled I began to feel like me again.

‘And two months after being diagnosed I began my dream job.

‘Now I perform in four shows a week and I’m loving every minute. I've since moved on to a different holiday park, Glan y Mor Leisure Park in Aberystwyth, where I'm assistant manager.

‘I cover a massive range of songs from Cher to Alexandra Burke.’

She added she is grateful she was able to continue working despite her diagnosis.

‘Losing your hair at 18 is traumatic enough without the fear of seeing your dream disappear,’ she said. 

‘At first it felt like a swimming cap but once it was properly styled I began to feel like me again,' Miss Pennant-Jones says of her non-slip wig. She is pictured with her father and brother

‘At first it felt like a swimming cap but once it was properly styled I began to feel like me again,' Miss Pennant-Jones says of her non-slip wig. She is pictured with her father and brother

Miss Pennant-Jones, pictured in her younger years before her hair fell out, now says it is great not to have to do her hair in the morning, and she is saving money on shampoo and hair cuts

Miss Pennant-Jones, pictured in her younger years before her hair fell out, now says it is great not to have to do her hair in the morning, and she is saving money on shampoo and hair cuts

‘But thanks to the generosity of friends and strangers I can walk on to that stage with my head held high.

'What's more it's great not having to do my hair when I get out of bed in the morning and I'm saving a fortune on shampoo and hair cuts.

'I can just slip my wig on and go and now, as well as my expensive brown one for performing I've also got cheaper synthetic blonde ones which I can pick up for just £30.

‘It means I can chop and change my colour as often as I like, depending on my mood.

‘Losing my hair has brought a lot of advantages - I haven't looked back once!’

 

 

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