A woman claims years of heartbreak left her going bald and now men reject her on dating apps when she tells them.
Lynn Sinclair, a 47-year-old singleton from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, has had an increasingly difficult time finding dates on online after opening up about her condition to potential suitors.
Her honesty prior to going out on dates with men has led them to reject her. The mum-of-one was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease alopecia in October after a bald patch appeared out of the blue on the top of her head.
Lynn didn’t give it too much thought at the time, until the bald patch grew to the size of a tennis ball.
After discovering the bald patch last month, further bald patches appeared, which Lynn called ‘devastating’.
‘About six weeks ago, I was driving my van for work and noticed my head was really itchy,’ she said.
‘I thought “do I have nits?” When I got home, I saw a little bald patch and thought it must just be the light and didn’t really give it a second thought.
‘A week later my hair was down, I took a picture and I noticed there was quite a big bald patch on the top of my head about the size of a tennis ball.
‘I went to the doctors the next day, did some blood tests and they were all fine and they told me to go to a skin specialist and that it’s definitely alopecia.
‘About a week or so ago, I thought my hair was growing back but then I noticed some more bald patches but apparently that’s what happens with alopecia.
‘A week before there was no bald patch, it’s really come out of nowhere. I was absolutely devastated. I rang my sister crying my eyes out.
‘You can’t do anything about it. They don’t know if it’ll grow back or I’ll be completely bald.
The food van driver of 23 years said the negative reactions to her condition have made her want to ‘swear off men’ for life.
But she stands by honesty being the best possibly for a very key reason.
‘I normally bring the alopecia up quite quickly like straight away. I just like to get it out there and be honest,’ she said.
‘I like to be upfront and honest with people. My hair’s getting thinner and thinner.
‘They would probably notice so I thought I’d just tell people and I expected people to say ‘yeah it’s fine’ but it’s been a very different reaction.’
What is alopecia?
Alopecia is a common condition that causes hair to fall out in patches. It develops when the immune system attacks your hair follicles.
There are different types of alopecia and various medical conditions can cause hair loss. Alopecia Areata is thought to be an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out, usually in round oval patches on the scalp or other places on the body from which hair grows, like eyebrows or eyelashes.
In some cases the hair might regrow without treatment although traditional treatments includes steroids that are either injected or applied directly to the affected areas via creams or liquids to suppress the immune cells attacking the hair follicles.
Although her condition didn’t stop her from continuing her search for love on popular dating apps like Tinder, Hinge and Facebook Dating, the men she matched with proved less than understanding.
Lynn recalled how conversations with men would come to an end with them wishing her good luck on her search for a partner and effectively taking themselves out of consideration.
‘As soon as I tell them, they’ll say “okay I hope you find someone” then that’s the end of the conversation and the possibility for romance.
‘It’s all about looks and not personality these days,’ she said.
‘I thought people would say ”’you’re still you”, “it’s just you”.’
Lynn believes her painful break-up six months ago has had an impact on her hair follicles.
‘I think it was years of really bad relationships and that last one has tipped me over the edge,’ she said.
‘These dating sites are full of idiots anyway – to get to them to understand this condition is a bit too much.
‘Hopefully there’ll be someone somewhere who does understand it.’
Alopecia areata can be triggered by stress. US board-certified dermatologist Dr. Dr. Hamdan Abdullah Hamed, who is the co-founder of PowerYourCurls.com, an online platform dedicated to provided natural hair care solutions, tells Metro.co.uk that stress, like a bad breakup, could be a factor in Lynn’s alopecia.
Meanwhile Dr. Alka Patel, a GP, says that stress, like a relationship breakdown, can ‘trigger a series of physiological responses with intricate hormonal implications’. Cortisol is one of the ‘primary’ hormones affected by stress.
‘The intricate interplay between stress, heightened cortisol, altered testosterone levels, and hyperinsulinemia can foster a pro-inflammatory environment within the body,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Chronic inflammation, a common consequence of prolonged stress, not only affects systemic health but also interferes with the normal hair growth cycle.
‘Stress-induced inflammation can also trigger autoimmunity and conditions such as alopecia areata’.
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