In 2016, Claire Fullam aka Claire Balding sat down with Ray D'Arcy to discuss her Alopecia, a condition that saw her lose over 85% of her hair. Now, in 2019, the Instagram star has returned to the RTÉ Radio 1 studios to share the incredible story that followed her diagnosis. Watch the interview in the video above.
Three years ago, Claire received a diagnosis of alopecia areata which occurs when the immune system of the body targets the hair follicles and disturbs the natural hair growth. However, there are many types of alopecia including; Androgenic Alopecia, Alopecia Universalis, Alopecia Totalis, Ophiasis, Traction Alopecia, Chignon Alopecia.
According to the HSE, it's totally normal to lose our hair. In fact, we can lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, often without noticing. Generally, hair loss isn't usually anything to be worried about but occasionally it can be a sign of a medical condition. If you have any concerns, you should visit your GP.
Fortunately for Claire, her condition quickly went away and her hair grew back in full health. However, it is a common trend for alopecia to return especially when stress is involved.
"Stress is the main factor for it. I found it very difficult to accept that, initially. I was 27 or 28 at the time, I had two young kids and a mortgage for five or six years at that stage."
"Only now I can say, I absolutely was stressed," she continued. "It was a very physical manifestation of that. I didn't feel overwhelmed, I killed the kids trying to get out the door every day like every other parent in the country," she laughed. "But I didn't feel like there was overwhelming stress on me so it was difficult to hear that from doctors."
Following her diagnosis, Claire used her Snapchat and Instagram account to document her journey and join a community of people who were going through the same process.
"I entered that community to draw strength from it and I really have. I hope that I've given some strength back to some people as well."
Over the course of a year, the social media star documented her returning hair growth in an open and honest way, sharing tips and stories. Her authenticity was quickly rewarded with a following of 57.6k people. Then, having built up a dedicated and engaged audience, Claire decided to launch a series of live shows.
"I'm telling people the importance of telling their story. I think all of us have a story to tell but a lot of us have a vulnerability of telling people about what's going on in your life because you're afraid of judgment."
"I never thought that people would relate to me on any level," she continued. "What that has done for me is completely life-changing. I want to share that with people and I want them to know that as insignificant as your story may seem to you, it may change somebody else's life."
Reflecting on the past three years and her newfound career, Claire says that she believes everything happens for a reason.
"It's an empowering thing. I'm telling people that we're all here for a reason. I believe that my hair was supposed to fall out, that this was the little journey that life was supposed to go on. We're all destined to sing a certain tune."
With the proceeds from her live shows, the motivational speaker joined up with a friend to work on building a hair salon in Dublin complete with a scalp clinic and wig clinic.
"It will be a fourteen seater salon, completely normal, but with hair health at the forefront of it with a dedicated wig room and scalp cameras. We'll cater to people with psoriasis on the scalp or head, alopecia, chemotherapy patients."
To find out more, listen back to Claire's interview with Ray on RTÉ Radio 1 above.
