A young woman battling alopecia has gone viral for bravely sharing how she looks without her wig, in a bid to raise awareness of the autoimmune disease.
Lillie Goldie’s hair first started falling out when she was just eight years old, when her mum found strands around the house – which she initially thought came from her daughter’s toy dolls.
But bald patches soon started to appear on Lillie’s head, and doctors diagnosed her with alopecia areata.
The now-19-year-old from London has been battling hair loss ever since, often sporting wigs to cover her largely bald head.
Now, the brave teen has shared her story online to “take back the power” from the disease – going viral on TikTok with 880,000 views as she shared pictures of her head without a wig.
“My hair was falling out in chunks but no one realised [what was really going on],” the dancer told Need To Know.
“My mum thought I was cutting hair off my dolls and leaving it on my pillow until we started realising there was patches [on my head].”
Lillie was initially given steroid creams and different shampoos to try, but nothing had much of an effect.
As she went into her teenage years, the issue only got worse – resulting in the majority of her hair coming out.
Lillie said: “I was quite lucky that I didn’t experience any name calling [about it].
“People probably [said] things in their head but I was oblivious to it.
“I only began to understand it when I could see it myself – it would quite literally fall out in my hands in the shower.
“I didn’t know where to turn, what to do or how to react.
“My friends and family were so supportive, but we had no guidance from anyone really.
“No one understands unless you’ve also been through it.”
The condition has had a huge effect on her self–esteem – which she says was at an “all time low” when she was 17 and her hair loss accelerated.
Lillie said: “I had never felt like this before and I just didn’t know what to do or how to improve it.
“My mum always used to be able to cover it [bald patches] by plaiting my hair or doing it in specific ways that you couldn’t see it.
“But once it got worse, I bought a topper to cover the top of my head, and then when that didn’t work anymore, I had to then move onto a wig.”
Lillie opted to seek private healthcare advice once all of her hair had come out, where she was given oral steroids and steroid injections, which have helped halt the hair loss somewhat, and which she continues to take every six weeks.
Determined to not let her condition hold her back, Lillie has continued to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer.
She said: “Being a dancer, everything is about appearance, which is what massively affected me.
“I struggled going to college, contemplated dropping out and leaving that in the past, but dance was always the one thing that could take my mind off everything.
“But then, I grew to hate it, because I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin.
“I was around 17-18.
“I would sit on the train crying for over an hour on the way in every day not wanting to go, but I think that’s what made me so strong.
“Despite all of this, I still turned up every day.
“I just pushed through.
“I got to the point where I would take my wig off in college if it was uncomfortable and the support was like nothing I’ve had before.
“Every single person there helped me through the hardest time of my life.”
Lillie now wears a hair loss mesh integration, a permanent wig that can be worn each day like hair extensions, which still allows the scalp to breathe.
She also says this helps aid hair growth.
She said: “It allows me to have long hair, [while helping] my hair safely grow underneath.
“I have had it for nearly a year and have noticed such a difference.
“It’s massively grown and is so healthy too.
“When I [first] had my mesh, every time I saw my hair I would nearly cry because it was just growing so much.
“Now I’m going without, it feels so thick and it’s fun to play with.
“My hair growth at the moment is the quickest it has ever been.
“The problem I had with wearing wigs was taking them off at night and feeling back to square one.
“But with my mesh, I wake up in the morning and feel like myself.
“It’s helped me when I’ve felt so disconnected from everything.
“I just hope to get to the point of where I was before with my long thick hair – it’s a process but I’m so happy with where I am.”
In a bid to share her story and inspire others with her experience, Lillie has taken to TikTok, with one video racking up 880,000 views and 87,000 likes.
In the clip, Lillie posted two pictures of herself, the first being with beautiful, long blonde locks – a wig she often wears.
Then in the second, she shows herself rocking a bald head with a small patch of hair in the middle.
She jokingly writes over the top: “I’m grateful for my natural long hair.”
Users loved how open she was about her condition.
Leah said: “Beautiful either way.”
Elysha commented: “Ur so real for this.”
Emily wrote: “Beautiful no matter what girl.”
“You kill me!” added Stephanie.
“This is brilliant,” said GiGi.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” wrote Lissie.
Lillie says being vocal about her alopecia journey online has helped her massively.
She added: “It is like taking the power back.
“It’s also to help people in my situation.
“It was so hard [to lose my hair] and like nothing I’d had to put up with before.
“We didn’t know where to turn or what to do, so if someone else doesn’t have to go through that stress and process it will be more than enough.
“Now I know way more and I’m so much more educated after feeling along through it.
“I feel like I have the power to be able to help someone who feels the way I did, feel a lot better about the situation and offer solutions.
“If I have no solution, then I’m more than happy to listen to someone rant or cry.
“I was so young going through it and I know it’s just me, but that’s what it feels like in this situation.
“I just want people to know they’re not alone.”
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