SECRET SHAME: I spent THOUSANDS trying to hide my balding… until a hair transplant changed my life

Katie, 42, first struggled with hair loss as a teenager after a traumatic childhood, but it worsened after giving birth to her daughter Rosie and entering early perimenopause. As a single mum, she spent thousands on powders, wigs, hats and serums, avoiding mirrors, windy days, and even swimming with her daughter.

I spoke to Katie for Secrets & Lives, Daily Mail, about the gruelling £5,000, 11-hour hair transplant that finally gave her thick, healthy hair — and the confidence to go bare-headed in public for the first time in decades. She now wants to raise awareness of female hair loss and inspire other women to seek help without shame, even appearing in a YouTube series with celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas.