Trichotillomania is a very misunderstood condition.  It is compulsive pulling of the hair, typically as a symptom of various anxiety related conditions, including obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD.  People with trichotillomania often end up with patches of short hair, bald patches and or thinning hair.  This condition can create a destructive cycle of shame and embarrassment, which, only lead to more hair pulling.

Between 1 to 2 of every 50 people suffer from trichotillomania.  Most will never tell their friends, family or significant other due to the embarrassment associated with this compulsion.  Most of the sufferers will never come into a hair salon because of shame.  Most color and cut their own hair at home.

Some salons who have worked with clients with trichotillomania, have some definite ideas as to how to work with these people.  Charlene Blacer, owner of The Secret Mane Salon in Pennsylvania, says she never shaves a client’s hair as, she insists, this only defeats the purpose.  Blacer has extensive knowledge of the disorder.  She has a reputation for returning her client’s hair back to a state of health and vitality.

Blacer says “I determine which hairpiece will work for a client’s individual needs.  Once their own hair starts to grow in, I may change the piece or they can upgrade to hair extensions, or use the piece as a clip in.  My work is amazing, and no one can tell it’s a hair piece.”

This is a great commentary on Blacer’s work and hopefully, any good salon working with hair loss issues would be able to say the same thing -that no one can tell it’s a hair piece.

Hats off to Blacer who has also formed a non-profit organization, Help Me 2 Stop (the website is:  www.HelpMe2Stop.org)  The purpose of her organizationis to help people suffering from Trichotillomania who do not have the financial resources to be able to restore their hair back to health.

Hopefully with salons like Blacer’s working with people with this disorder, helping them to restore their hair, we can bring more of an understanding to a very misunderstood condition.