Nadia: I’m going bald
Nadia breaks down as she reveals she is losing her hair
LOOSE Women presenter Nadia Sawalha wept as she told her fans that she is losing her hair.
The TV star revealed she carries a hair-loss gene as she showed her bald patches in a candid Facebook video.
Nadia, 52, said her locks first started to change during pregnancy and then again when she entered perimenopause, which comes before the menopause.
She explained: “My hair really started to change after I had my kids. I lost a lot, like loads of mums do. Also, the texture started to change, so having gone from naturally curly hair it started to go a bit frizzy. It wasn’t really bad.
“Then, when I started to go into perimenopause I seemed to lose, I think, maybe a third of my hair.
“People do say, ‘Your hair is so thick and amazing’, but it’s not. It’s balding. I’m losing it all over.” Nadia visited an expert, who told her she carries a hair-loss gene and showed her how many of her hair follicles were closed and would not reopen. She said: “I went to the top hair specialist and he said to me that I have the balding gene. I didn’t know women could have the balding gene.”
She said she feels guilty complaining when others have lost their hair through illness, but admitted that it does get her down.
“I feel bad even saying this when you think of people who have lost their hair completely through alopecia or cancer treatment but it doesn’t really make it any easier, the fact I’m losing my hair.” The former EastEnders actress added: “Sometimes I think, ‘I shouldn’t be so ungrateful, why do I get so upset?’.
“My hair can still look really good with all the stuff on Loose Women.
“Make-up artists are brilliant and do all sorts of stuff to my hair, and I should just be grateful.
“It just sounds pathetic even saying it, but it does make me really sad. It just makes me feel old,.
“I can’t help it, it does. I should feel grateful I have any hair and it could be so much worse. I’m grateful for what I still have but it doesn’t mean I don’t miss my hair terribly.”
Nadia’s fans sent supportive messages, with many saying that they had been through a similar experience. One fan posted on Facebook: “Nadia I commend you for your honesty and bravery. You will always be beautiful.”
Another wrote: “Bless you Nadia. So many women have to face this and you do not realise how much you have helped others by being so honest and showing your feelings.”
While another fan added: “That was really admirable of u to admit that, u would really never know though... there is no doubt that u still look fab!!”
I should be grateful I still have hair but it just makes me feel old NADIA SAWALHA ON THE PAIN OF LOSING HER HAIR