When Laura was 13 years old, she started losing her hair to an autoimmune condition called Alopecia Universalis. Everything stopped. Laura refused to leave the house as the hair on her head, face and body fell out.
Finally, aged 14, Laura shaved what remained of her hair and felt she had no choice but to hide behind an oversized wig and get back to school. Wigs aggravated her eczema to the point she would have a bleeding scalp. But Laura wore one, every day, for 17 years.
When the pandemic disrupted all our routines, Laura was relieved to have a break from ‘disguising herself’. She started connecting with others in the hair loss community on social media and was soon challenging herself to 'ditch the wig'.
Laura is now a passionate advocate for living well with any sort of 'visible difference', campaigning with charities Changing Faces and Alopecia UK. Using her skills as a Communications Manager, and leaning into her neurodivergent creativity, Laura is relentless in finding new angles to raise awareness of visible difference in the media. She has secured international media coverage and been cast in advertising campaigns, using every opportunity to promote the importance of inclusive representation.
In February, Laura modelled at London Fashion Week but, more importantly, she is becoming the role model she so desperately needed as a child.
Follow her campaigning work at @RelightAlopecia