Kindness of strangers gives alopecia teenager the gift of hair

A Borders teenager is looking forward to a school ball this winter after crowdfunding donors financed her dream to have a full head of hair again.

Jenny Thomson, 16, from the village of Morebattle, near Kelso, started losing her hair when she was nine, and has suffered with alopecia ever since.

She has tried various treatments with no lasting success, and thought she was unable to afford a technique called mesh integration because of its £2,600 cost.

Now, after setting up a GoFundMe appeal, nearly 300 donors have pledged more than double that amount to help her.

She has now booked an appointment for next week.

"I can’t believe what has happened and how amazing people have been,” she told BBC Scotland News.

"After seven years I’m going to have hair again, and be able to go to the ball with my friends just like them – with my hair done.”

Jenny originally set out to fundraise £800 but within days people from across the Kelso community and further afield had pledged more than £6,000.

She explained how the treatment will work. "It’s like a mesh material which gets fitted on to my head, and they finely braid the natural hair that I’ve got, and then they add extensions to it to build up and give me a full head of hair.

"So, by the end of next week I’ll have a full head of hair and be me again.”

The mesh is a temporary solution and will need to be repeated in two years’ time, but for a teenage girl facing key life events with school and social proms and dances the support has made Jenny’s dream come true.

"I’m very nervous to see it, but it’s got the point where it feels like an end to a very long seven years, so I’m just so excited, and can’t wait to see what it looks like," she added.

"I’ve got a ball in November and I’m finally going to have hair for, which is mad to think about."

Jenny's mum Morag said she is proud of how she has coped with the condition which first developed when she was nine

Jenny said it had been hard learning to deal with hair loss as a young child, and it was starting to become harder again as she grows older.

"I think seeing every other teenage girl doing her hair, getting dressed up and the hair is such a big part of what you look like, yeah, it’s been tough.

She also revealed that she didn’t tell her mum or dad about her crowdfunding appeal because she wasn’t sure how they would take it.

But mum Morag said: "I’m just so proud of her. She has coped with a lot and for her to do this off her own back is just her really – very determined.

“We can’t thank people enough for what they have done for us. It’s hard to take in.”

What is alopecia?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease, where the body's immune system attacks the follicles of the hair, causing it to fall out.

In severe cases, hair is lost from across the body, affecting eyelashes, nasal hair or hair on the skin.

Severe manifestations can leave people more vulnerable to infections and reduces their ability to regulate their body temperature.

Living with alopecia can also be profoundly challenging, causing anxiety and stress.

People may experience difficulty at school and in the workplace, and it can lead to social isolation, experts say.