My hair has taken a battering over the years. At 17, I’d lay it across an ironing board and press out the natural wave with an iron.
By my mid-20s, I was bleaching it, too – I’ve always been blonde and hated my hair suddenly going darker.
All that straightening and dyeing meant that throughout my 30s it wasn’t in the best, silkiest shape, but I still had loads of it and never had a problem with handfuls of hair in the shower drain or on my brush.
Which is why nothing could have prepared me for what happened in the summer of 2021, when I was 41.
One morning I woke up to find my pillow covered in hair. My hands shot up to my head and, as I ran my fingers through my roots, I could feel patches of bare skin. It sounds horrid, but at that point I hadn’t washed my hair for a week. It had been tied up in a bun, probably hiding what was happening.
After washing it, I lifted the damp hair at the back of my head and took a photo in the mirror with my phone. There were bald patches all over my scalp.
Sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at that screen in horror, the panic was overwhelming. I kept thinking: ‘What if I lose my entire head of hair?’
I’m a personal trainer and founder of Roar Fitness – where clients have included singers Mel B, Ellie Goulding and Pixie Lott, as well as TV star Graham Norton – and, in my industry, hair is shorthand for health.
Nothing could have prepared me for what happened in the summer of 2021 when I woke up to find my pillow covered in hair, says Sarah Lindsay
After washing it, Sarah lifted the damp hair at the back of her head and took a photo in the mirror with her phone – she saw bald patches all over her scalp
People look at you and assume if your hair looks good, you’re doing everything right – eating well, keeping your body healthy and taking care of yourself. My first thought was: ‘How can I inspire people to live well if my hair is falling out?’
My husband Rich couldn’t hide his shock, either. ‘Oh my God, this is awful,’ he said, inspecting my scalp before immediately offering reassurance. ‘You’re still you,’ he soothed. ‘I love you with hair or no hair.’
Despite the professional implications, I posted a photograph of the bald patches to Instagram. I was desperate for answers and didn’t want it to be a secret or to feel like people were whispering behind my back.
Sharing felt like taking ownership of a frightening situation.
The response was huge. Within hours, I had received thousands of messages. I never realised how many women it affects – the NHS estimates around eight million suffer hair loss in the UK.
Men were messaging for support, too. Some said their wives were so traumatised by hair loss, they wouldn’t leave the house. It was heartbreaking.
When facing challenges, I go into ‘fix it’ mode. I was an Olympic speed skater before setting up my gym and nothing teaches you resilience like competing at the highest level. If I knew what I was dealing with, I knew I could solve it.
So I booked an appointment at the London Centre of Trichology, where the consultant delved into my history, asking about hormones and diet. Then he examined my scalp under a magnifying camera to see each follicle up close and did a gentle pull test to see how much was actively shedding.
He told me the most important thing was that the follicles were intact and not scarred or destroyed, which meant the hair could – and would – grow back.
Hearing that, I cried for the first time. In fact, he said, the problem was telogen effluvium – temporary hair shedding triggered by stress.
When the body goes through emotional, physical or hormonal stress, more hair follicles than usual switch into a resting phase, which means a few months later that hair falls out.
And I had been exceptionally stressed. We’d just been through a pandemic, I’d lost two grandparents and I was running two London gyms that seemed to come with daily dramas.
My years as an athlete taught me to push down uncomfortable emotions and keep moving forward, but what my hair loss proves is that eventually stress will show up.
I left the centre with various ointments, and then turned to the clinic founded by the late hair-loss specialist Philip Kingsley, where the focus was on diagnosis and emotional support.
For months I visited the salon for weekly scalp treatments, including prescription drops, specialised masks and infrared therapy. After about a year, I had full coverage. And another three years after that, my new hairs had grown to the same length as the rest.
Throughout that whole time, however, I never wore my hair down. I kept it hidden under a cap in a loose ponytail or a messy bun using a matching hair piece, which I even wore on TV as a BBC pundit for the Winter Olympics in 2022.
If someone said they loved my style, I told them the truth – that the bun wasn’t real. Being open about my situation helped me to normalise my struggle.
There were tough moments. I didn’t want to be seen with wet hair because then the thinning was obvious. Even sweating in the gym made me anxious. That meant exercising – something I love – was less appealing to me.
The NHS estimates around eight million women suffer hair loss in the UK – and some were said to have been so traumatised by it that they wouldn’t leave the house
After a few sessions of microneedling with exosome therapy, Sarah noticed obvious regrowth following her hair loss
I threw everything at regrowth. I took supplements – vitamin C, biotin, selenium and collagen – wore silk scrunchies and slept on a silk pillowcase to minimise friction. I washed only my scalp, and conditioned only the ends to help lock in moisture. I even tried PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy – where blood is removed and then the plasma, full of concentrated growth factors, is separated and re-injected back into your scalp – though it didn’t work. One treatment that did was microneedling with exosome therapy, which uses stem cells to stimulate dormant hair follicles. After a few sessions of that, I noticed obvious regrowth.
And then last summer, I made a big mistake. I had tape extensions put in for my brother’s wedding – three on each side at the front.
They hurt going in, which I assumed was normal. But within days, three clean strips of hair came away with the extensions.
It was an awful moment and took me straight back to that horrendous morning when hair was scattered over my pillow. I felt so stupid.
An expert later told me the extensions had been placed too close to the scalp and on an angle, meaning all the tension was in one spot, which caused the hair to sever.
If you expect me to say here that I’ll never have extensions again, you’re wrong. In fact, I had some more put in quite recently – but this time by extensions specialists Beauty Club London, and there’s been no pulling or shedding since. The team has also been highlighting my hair in a way that now brings me total peace of mind.
For two years after my initial hair loss, I stopped dyeing my hair blonde. I then started using small amounts of lowlights and got braver with the colour as more time passed.
Now, instead of layering bleach over already fragile strands, shorter, damaged pieces are backcombed out before colour is applied only to the area of strong regrowth. Today, my real hair is healthier than ever and the bald patches caused by the dodgy extensions are recovering.
Fortunately, stress-related hair loss has been a one-off. I now prioritise scalp care to help hair growth by using good quality products by Philip Kingsley. I take Correxiko Collagen to boost hair follicles, and try not to use too much heat – only straighteners in emergencies!
I know other women aren’t as lucky and many have been through far worse than me. My hair could fall out again because a relapse is possible, but I’m not going to waste time worrying about something I can’t control.
What I can control is stress. I get up early, walk, exercise and give myself 90 minutes before switching on my phone.
I also never forget gratitude. Now when I run my fingers through my hair and feel fullness, I’m thankful. I’ll never take my hair for granted again.
- Follow Sarah Lindsay @roarfitnessgirl. For information on Roar Fitness in London or Dubai, visit roar-fitness.com.
