...and if you can’t, ‘cheat’ like Nigella
DOMESTIC goddess Nigella Lawson was recently pictured with noticeably thinning hair – but then shortly afterwards at a professional photo-call she looked transformed, leading some to speculate she had had ‘a little help’ from a hairpiece.
Whatever the truth, the 55-year-old TV cook would not be the first celebrity to have enhanced her crowning glory.
Although wigs are still an option – something Nigella herself admits to having ‘fun’ with for parties – the modern choice is a system in which hair extensions are weaved into an ultra-fine lace cap alongside existing hair to disguise thinning and cover up bald patches. The method was pioneered in 1984 by hair loss specialist Lucinda Ellery (lucindaellery-hairloss.co.uk), who suffered from alopecia and wore wigs for 23 years before she developed what she has called the Intralace.
Singer Cheryl FernandezVersini and actress Barbara Windsor have relied on Lucinda’s expertise to add volume to their long manes.
Barbara, who used to rely on wigs, said: ‘I’ve seen women walk into her salon almost suicidal and leave it on cloud nine. She saved my hair.’
Lucinda said: ‘You can’t underestimate the devastating power a woman’s hair loss has over her life.’
An Intralace can be treated like normal hair – you can wash, brush and swim in it and it won’t stop natural hair growth. It costs between £1,895 and £2,500. Every two years it needs to be replaced.
Helen Todd, 52, from Dagenham, Essex, has had an Intralace for ten years. ‘I wore scalp make-up to try to disguise my thinning hair but was terrified of being caught in the rain, or sweating, as it would run,’ she says. ‘I hated meeting new people and lost confidence.
‘Now I go swimming and no longer shy away from people. It has changed my life.’