A BRAVE teen has set out on a mission to inspire, support and create awareness of Alopecia, after suffering from the condition herself.

Ashton Telford, 17, was initially diagnosed with Alopecia Areata in September 2020, and has since been diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis – a form of the autoimmune disease which causes hair loss across the entire scalp, face, and the rest of the body.

The Egremont woman has now taken to social media to share her story, clocking up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok with her videos.

“Alopecia has stripped away who I thought I was – my hair was everything. It was how I made myself feel better, and how I made myself feel beautiful on the daily," she said.

"Losing my hair has been one of the worst experiences of my life, and sharing this journey with others will hopefully help people understand all the positives and negatives to alopecia."

Alopecia affects two people in every 1,000 in the UK, and causes bald patches on the scalp, around the size of a large coin, with some people going on to develop more severe forms of hair loss.

There are two main types of Alopecia, the first being Alopecia Areata, which is caused by an overactive immune system.

The immune system targets the skin cells where hair grows, making it weaker and causing hair to fall out in patches, and this form of most common in women under the age of 30.

The second type is known as female pattern hair loss, and usually affects women going through the menopause, or after.

Ashton continued: "Although it is a struggle, I've joined an incredible community, and we all have social media accounts where we share our advice and tips.

"It has really helped me along the way with information on wigs and different products I can use for eyebrows, and if I could do the same thing for other people, it would make the this journey a lot more worth it.”

In her videos, Ashton has shown the process of removing her wig, applying press-on eyebrow tattoos, and wig reviews.

And with more than 700 followers on Instagram and more than 5,000 on TikTok, the young inspiration is successfully sharing her message of awareness and confidence as widely as possible.

She said: "It breaks my heart when I walk down the street, or walk in the hospital for treatment, and people look at me like I’m in pain, and they feel sorry for me – the last thing I want is sympathy, I just want support and for people to help me spread awareness.

“I would like people to realise losing hair isn’t always physically painful, and it just happens randomly.

"It is mentally painful to watch my identity be stripped away every day, but with the support of family, friends and my boyfriend, who I’m extremely grateful for, I have became a new person and built a stronger version of myself, and this is why I want to spread awareness.

“I want people to realise that no matter what you are or who you are, hair or no hair, we are all human, and I think this is something many people need to be reminded about.”

To find out more, follow Ashton on Instagram at @ashtonmaysjourney_, or visit her TikTok at ashtontelford53.