A year after revealing alopecia diagnosis, Melanie Sykes offers candid update on hair loss
The former presenter shared a smiling image of herself to social media to show her now completely bald head
Melanie Sykes stepped away from the television industry in 2021 following a successful presenting career, but continues to update fans about her life on social media.
In April last year, she shared that she was suffering from the autoimmune condition, alopecia.
Melanie has sporadically offered photo updates showing varying stages of hair loss, but a year on from revealing her diagnosis she most recently posted a smiling picture of herself to Instagram displaying a completely bald head.
The fresh update come just a couple of days after she had posted a video to the platform moving her head from side to side to show balding patches on each side of her head, while the crown of her hair appeared to remain intact.
Melanie didn't elaborate on the photo of her bald head, simply captioning it, "Loss + Gain = Life."
Previously, the star opened up about her experience with the hair loss condition and other issues she was facing, after initially sharing a picture of a bald spot on her head with fans.
She later revealed her condition was progressing, and that she was now "two-thirds bald" and was simultaneously experiencing "excessive inflammation" throughout her body.
She shared at the time, "I am experiencing alopecia and heart issues due to all that has happened over the last few months. PTSD, shock, mistreatment and malpractice.”
Melanie suggests she developed an irregular heartbeat and hair loss following press intrusion when allegations were made against her former colleague, TV chef Gino D’Acampo, who has denied any wrongdoing.
The pair had worked together on the ITV show Let’s Do Lunch with Gino and Mel, which ran between 2011 and 2014.
She elaborated during a video "I went into the New Year with so much energy. I’ve slowed things down because I got a heart problem, which I developed during the whole Gino D’Acampo bull**** that happened in the news."
Melanie continued, "And suddenly, the stress levels in my life shot up because I left that industry years ago but it won’t leave me alone."
The former presenter appears to be working through her difficulties by embracing a spiritual life, and maintaining a positive outlook.
She says she's going through "post-traumatic growth", explaining, "I'm in both camps because you can be both things at once," meaning she can be suffering PTSD but still have the ability to grow as a person.
She continued, "We can transcend all trauma, we can be changed, and I am living proof of that."
According to NHS Inform, there are different types of alopecia, ranging from thinning hair to complete hair loss. The condition can affect multiple areas of the body, or be limited to one area.
It may affect the scalp, body, facial hair, including the eyebrows and eyelashes, and people can have alopecia by itself, or it can be linked to another condition.
In some cases alopecia can also be temporary, and for others it is permanent. Treatments for the condition depend on what’s causing it, which will be ascertained by a dermatologist.
Treatment won't be required if hair loss is found to be temporary or a normal part of ageing. If treatment is required, this can be in the form of steroid creams or injections, or immunosuppressant treatments that can adjust or supress a person's immune system.
Anyone undergoing treatment is informed that treatments for alopecia are not always fully effective and don’t work for everyone.
