Jessica-Mae Harnett suffered her fair share traumatic childhood experiences because of her alopecia, but she isn’t letting it hold her back.
The Milton Keynes-based accounts manager has overcome severe ‘playground bullies’ to become a competitor in British beauty pageants.
‘The first time I suffered with hair loss, the doctors put it down to stress but I was only three years old so there was nothing to be stressed about,’ the now 21-year-old said.
Her condition, known as alopecia totalis, involves the complete loss of scalp hair. It only worsened as Jessica grew older. At age 12, she lost 80% of her hair in just a fortnight.
‘I remember waking up and there was hair all over my pillow … And it continued to fall out when I brushed it, I was sobbing watching my hair fall to the floor.’
Unfortunately, she had just started high school when this happened, and the bullies were relentless. So she cut off what was left of her hair and wore a wig.
‘My self-esteem was so low; people would always assume it was something more sinister and call me ‘cancer girl’ or pull my wig off.’
Jessica-Mae when she wore a wig in her younger days. (Picture: Caters News Agency)
While there is currently no cure for alopecia totalis, there are cases of sufferers experiencing hair regrowth after several years.
Jessica is one of these cases. She now maintains a healthy head of hair by undergoing scalp dermabrasion every six months and consistently taking vitamins C, D, B13 and folic acid.
After competing in Swimsuit British Isles this year, she has her sights set on the Miss England beauty pageant next year. Jessica hopes to use it as a platform to encourage people who are struggling with alopecia.
‘It felt amazing and it has pushed me to act as an advocate for alopecia – I want people who have it to stay strong as it will be fine in the end.’
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