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Nurse, 48, who was left with a grapefruit-sized bald patch after pulling out clumps of hair is transformed thanks to a pioneering £1,600 head mesh

  • Siobhan Kenny, a mother-of-two, diagnosed herself with trichotillomania
  • The cancer nurse, from Downton in Wiltshire, said stress had triggered it
  • She obsessively pulled out her hair until she was left with a huge bald patch
  • Thanks to a new mesh wig she has kicked the habit and regained her confidence

A nurse left with a bald patch the size of a grapefruit on the top of her head after she couldn’t stop pulling out her hair has undergone an incredible transformation.

Siobhan Kenny, from Downton in Wiltshire, dealt with her embarrassing problem using a unique mesh therapy.

After diagnosing herself with trichotillomania – also known as trich – she has had a special type of wig attached to her hairless patch which has stopped her pulling her hair.

She believes the breakdown of her marriage and the stresses of single motherhood triggered the condition. 

Ms Kenny first paid £1,600 for the therapy in March and it costs an extra £150 every six weeks. But the mother-of-two says it’s worth it because she’s ‘got her mojo back’ and has been able to start dating again.


Siobhan Kenny, a cancer nurse from Wiltshire, compulsively pulled out her hair until she was left with a bald patch the size of a grapefruit (left) but has managed to kick the habit and ‘get her mojo back’ thanks to a mesh wig covering the hairless section (right)

Ms Kenny’s hair loss was caused by trich, a compulsive disorder in which people feel an uncontrollable urge to pull out their hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. 

The cancer nurse was left with no hair in the centre parting of her head but with long strands on either side.  

She said: ‘I self diagnosed myself with trichotillomania about one year ago after I started pulling at my scalp.


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‘I was pulling my hair out most days and I was left with a huge bald patch on the top of my head.

‘It took ages in the morning to try and cover it with my remaining hair.

‘I hated people standing behind me and if it was windy outside I was worried my bald patch would be on show.’

Doctors don’t know exactly what causes the hair pulling disorder, but think it can be triggered by stress or anxiety, or be a chemical imbalance in the brain similar to OCD. 

Ms Kenny believes her trichotillomania began due to the pressures of being a single mother, her divorce, and anxiety and depression.

She added: ‘I felt so isolated at first as I didn’t realise it was a condition others also suffered from.

‘When I was a teenager I suffered a brief spell of anxiety-induced hair pulling, but this was short-lived and appeared to be a one-off episode.

Ms Kenny, 48,  believes her trichotillomania began because of the pressures of being a single mother, her divorce, and anxiety and depression (pictured before)

Thanks to a £1,600 mesh woven into her hair and has patches of hair regularly replaced, Ms Kenny has got a full head of hair again and regained her confidence (pictured now)

‘However, five years ago the habit returned. 

WHAT IS TRICHOTILLOMANIA? 

Trichotillomania, also known as trich, is an impulse control disorder which causes sufferers to impulsively pull out their hair at the root.

Sufferers often feel a high level of tension and a strong urge to pull, followed by pleasure or relief when it is done. 

The condition may be caused by anxiety or depression and can result in baldness.

Females are most commonly affected with the condition and it usually starts between the ages of nine and 13.

Treatment focuses on therapy which records what an individual’s triggers are and discusses how to overcome them.

Source: OCD UK 

‘During a period of immense difficulty and depression that arose as a result of problems at work and the breakdown of my marriage I unknowingly started pulling my hair again.

‘I suffered hair loss on the crown and top of my head as well as on the front right-hand side, which as you can imagine made me feel extremely self-conscious as it was so close to my face.’

But now Ms Kenny wears a type of mesh which covers just the bald patch and has hair woven into it to match up with her own.

And if her own hair grows back it will grow through the mesh, called an Intralace System and made by the company Lucinda Ellery.

Ms Kenny has since stopped pulling her hair and has a full head of hair with no bald patches. 

‘It wasn’t until last year that I realised it wasn’t just me who had the condition and I came across Lucinda Ellery.   

‘The initial appointment for the mesh treatment cost around £1,600 – it was worth it to have my confidence back.

Ms Kenny lost her confidence and would be worried to have people standing behind her because she had lost so much hair and had to try and style her remaining hair to cover it up (pictured before her treatment)

Ms Kenny had suffered from trichotillomania when she was 15 but thought it was a one-off, until it returned after her marriage broke down (pictured before she had the Intralace system put in, when she had to style her hair to try and cover the bald patch)

‘I have the mesh reinserted every six weeks and this is another £150 per time.

‘I can’t recommend the company enough, they have been amazing and now I look completely different.     

‘I love my new hair and enjoy swishing it around! I have felt confident enough to start dating again and friends and family have noticed both my improved hair style, and that that my “mojo” appears to be back.’

Ms Kenny’s Intralace system is made of a breathable mesh which is placed between her existing hair and scalp. 

Panels made out of ultra fine mesh containing human hair are then added to disguise her hair loss. 

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